Year 1 · Maths
Count backwards within 20
Counting backwards in ones from any number up to 20, back past 10 and down to 0.
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.
Count back to blast off! Write the missing numbers.
Two minutes at home
- Ask
- Start at 17 and count back. Which number comes next? And next?
- Play
- Count down from 20 to 0 together and jump for blast off. Then start from a different number.
Common mistakes and how to help
The digits are the wrong way round, as in 41 for 14. "Fourteen" says the 4 first, but we write the 1 first.
Try this: Say "fourteen is ten and four" and write the 1 for the ten first, then the 4.
Stuck going back past a ten, as in 29 or 10 after 20, or 0 after 10: the number before a ten may not be secure yet.
Try this: Count down the stairs from 20 together, slowly past the tens: "21… no, 20, 19, 18".
Two out: they may have counted forwards instead of back.
Try this: Before starting, point along the countdown and ask "do the numbers get bigger or smaller?"
One out: a number was skipped or said twice.
Try this: Count back together, pointing at each number as you say it.
The answer is a long way off: counting back may not be secure yet.
Try this: Count back from 10 to 0 often, at bath time or before a race, then from other numbers.
Curriculum links
Count to and across 100, forwards and backwards, beginning with 0 or 1, or from any given number.
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.