← Number and place value

Year 1 · Maths

Compare groups

Comparing two groups up to 20 by counting or matching, using more, fewer and the same.

Print a new sheetOpens a PDF. Every sheet has different questions.

New sheets start on target. You can also print an easier one or a harder one.

What your child will see

The whole sheet as it prints. Every new sheet has different numbers.

Ring the plate with more or fewer. If they match, ring same.

1moresame2moresame3fewersame4moresame5fewersame6fewersame

Two minutes at home

Ask
How do you know this plate has more? Could you check another way?
Play
Grab two handfuls of pasta. Guess which has more, then line them up side by side to see.

Common mistakes and how to help

  • Picked the plate that looks fuller: its biscuits were drawn bigger to check they count rather than judge by size.

    Try this: Put 4 big biscuits next to 6 small ones and ask which has more. Count both, and talk about why bigger isn't more.

  • Picked the plate with more when asked for fewer, or the other way round: the words may still be muddled.

    Try this: Use the words at snack time: "Who has more grapes? Who has fewer?" Count both piles out loud.

  • The plates were close, 1 or 2 apart, and a biscuit was counted twice or missed.

    Try this: Match the biscuits up in pairs, one from each plate. The plate with some left over has more.

  • Ringed "same" when one plate has more: counting both carefully would show the difference.

    Try this: Count each plate out loud, touching each biscuit, and say both numbers before deciding.

  • Picked a plate when both have the same: they may not think "the same" is an answer.

    Try this: Share snacks equally into two bowls and ask "who has more?" Talk about "the same" being an answer too.

Curriculum links

  • Identify and represent numbers using objects and pictorial representations including the number line, and use the language of: equal to, more than, less than (fewer), most, least.

    National curriculum in England: mathematics programmes of study · Year 1 Mathematics: Number and place value

Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.