Grade 1
5 skill lessons · 3 math-through-reading
Math
Skill lessons
The mathematics the book carries, taught directly. Each lesson has printable workbook pages and a separate teacher key.
Math + reading
Math through the reading
The same book, entered through a sentence it prints. Change one word in the reading and the numbers change with it.
Reading
Reading and language lessons
The same book read as a text. What a word means in its sentence, how a character is shown, how the writing is put together - no mathematics.
5 lessons on the mathematics the book carries. Each lesson has printable workbook pages and a separate teacher key.
The book keeps a running score, and every score line sets two numbers side by side: Harriet three, Henry two. Students build both numbers as rows of counters, push the rows into one-to-one pairs, and read the leftover as the answer to two questions at once, how many more Harriet has and how many fewer Henry has. The reasoning is that one arrangement answers both questions, so students must keep a finger on the same leftover counter while they say each sentence. The difference stops being a number they compute and becomes a thing they can point at.
1. Build both scores (4 min)
Each pair lays one row of red counters for Harriet and one row of yellow for Henry. Put the rows straight across from each other on the score mat. Take the two numbers from the score line the teacher reads. Count each row aloud, one touch per number word. Keep the rows lined up from the same end so nothing has to be moved later.
Word preview: score
Harriet three, Henry two.
2. Match the rows and say the leftover (5 min)
Slide one Harriet counter and one Henry counter together into a pair, then another, until one row runs out. Point at the counters with no partner and say how many are left over. Then say both sentences about that same leftover: Harriet has one more, Henry has one fewer.
Word preview: more, fewer
3. Run four score lines (7 min)
Take the score-line cards one at a time. Build both rows, match them into pairs, and say the leftover out loud before you look at the next card. Two of the cards make rows that match exactly, so say zero left over and keep going.
Harriet five, Henry five.
Harriet four, Henry four.
Harriet 2, Henry 1.
4. Report the flower comparison (4 min)
Set out Henry's four flower cards and Harriet's three, lined up from the same end, and match them into pairs. Tell a partner how many more Henry has and how many fewer Harriet has, touching the unmatched flower on each sentence. Your partner rebuilds your two rows from what you said, without looking at your cards.
Henry has four flowers.
Harriet has one fewer flower than Henry.
1. Build both scores (4 min)
Each pair lays a row of red counters for Harriet and a row of yellow for Henry, straight across from each other. Count each row aloud, one touch per number word.
Word preview: score
Harriet three, Henry two.
2. Match the rows and say the leftover (5 min)
Slide the counters together one pair at a time until a row runs out. Point at the leftover and say both sentences about it: Harriet has one more, Henry has one fewer.
Word preview: more, fewer
Comparison syntax is two-sided: more than and fewer than swap the order of the two names, and many languages mark that with one word where English uses two. Give the sentence aloud and let students run it twice before the partner report, once with one more and once with one fewer, naming both children each time. Invite students to count and match in their family language first, then say the two frames in English while pointing at the leftover counter.
Put Harriet's counters in the top row.
Put Henry's counters in the bottom row. Start both rows at the same end.
Point at the leftover counter. Say each sentence.
______________ has ________ more.
______________ has ________ fewer.
Cut out the five flower cards.
Line up Henry's flowers and Harriet's flowers from the same end.
Cut out the word cards.
"Harriet three, Henry two." Harriet's row holds three counters, Henry's holds two. Two pairs match and one Harriet counter has no partner.
Expected: one left over. Harriet has one more. Henry has one fewer.
Expected: zero left over, said aloud as zero, with both sentences still offered about a difference of zero.
"Henry has four flowers." and "Harriet has one fewer flower than Henry." Henry lays four cards, Harriet three, lined up from the same end.
Expected: Henry has one more. Harriet has one fewer. The partner rebuilds four and three from the two sentences alone.
A close response keeps a finger on the same unmatched counter or card while both sentences are said, and swaps only the two names. A loose response recounts a whole row, or re-matches the rows between the first sentence and the second, or gives only the sentence about who has more.
One or more pages for this lesson were held back. The lesson names a set larger than it spells out — a deck of cards, a row of strips — and the missing items were not invented to fill it.
Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.
Standards are held back while this plan is edited. Every standard shown here was matched against the supplied wording of this lesson, quoting its steps, so a changed step is no longer the thing that was checked. Undo your changes to bring the standards back — your edits stay in this browser either way.
Henry has three pancakes and Harriet has four, and the book fixes it with one word: one more. Students build the two plates, find the empty spot where a pancake is missing, and add exactly enough to make the rows match, never more and never less. The concept is that making two groups equal is a question with one right answer, and that answer is the same number as the leftover when the two rows are matched, seen from the other side: the number you count as extra is the number you add to close it. One of the cards needs nothing added, so zero is a live answer here and not a trick.
1. Build the two plates (5 min)
Each pair sets out Harriet's plate with four counter pancakes and Henry's with three, in two straight rows one above the other. Count each row aloud, one touch per number word. Check every counter for a partner in the row above, and leave the empty spot where it is.
Word preview: match
She took four.
I only got three.
2. Add just enough (4 min)
Find the spot in Henry's row with no partner above it. Put counters in one at a time, counting each one you add aloud, until every counter has a partner. Say how many you added, then say the two numbers now: four and four.
Word preview: more
Mrs. Hedges gave him one more.
Harriet four, Henry four.
3. Three more matching jobs (7 min)
Take the matching cards one at a time. Build the two rows, then add counters to the shorter row until it matches, saying how many you added each time. One card is already a match, so say zero and move on without touching a counter.
She does three jobs and I do three jobs.
Harriet, three. Henry, three.
4. Say the matching sentence (4 min)
Hold up the counters you added. Tell a partner the whole move in one breath: Henry had three, I added one, now they both have four. Your partner listens for all three numbers and says them back before taking a turn.
If she gets four, I get four,
1. Build the two plates (5 min)
Each pair sets out four counter pancakes on Harriet's plate and three on Henry's, in two straight rows one above the other. Count each row aloud and find the spot with no partner.
Word preview: match
She took four.
I only got three.
2. Add just enough (4 min)
Put counters into Henry's row one at a time, counting each one aloud, until every counter has a partner. Say how many you added and say the two numbers now.
Word preview: more
Mrs. Hedges gave him one more.
Adding counters until two rows match is language-free work, and a child with no English will do it correctly on the first try. The English that carries the load is the three-part report, had and added and now, because it needs a past and a present in the same sentence, and many languages mark that with a different word order or with no change to the verb at all. Practise the sentence twice before the partner turns: what Henry had, what was added, and what they both have now. Students may count and plan in their first language and give the report in English, pointing at each row as they say its number.
Cut on the lines. Take one strip each.
Hold up the counters you added. Say all three parts.
Cut out the word cards.
"She took four." and "I only got three." Harriet's row holds four, Henry's holds three, with one spot in Henry's row that has no partner above it.
Expected: one counter added. "Mrs. Hedges gave him one more." The two numbers now are four and four.
Expected report: Henry had three, I added one, now they both have four.
"She does three jobs and I do three jobs." Three and three are already a match.
Expected: zero added, said aloud as zero, with no counter touched.
A close response carries all three numbers in order, what Henry had, what was added, and what both have now, and the middle number is the number of counters actually put in. A loose response gives only the last number, or says one more without ever naming three and four, or adds counters until the row simply looks full.
One or more pages for this lesson were held back. The lesson names a set larger than it spells out — a deck of cards, a row of strips — and the missing items were not invented to fill it.
Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.
Standards are held back while this plan is edited. Every standard shown here was matched against the supplied wording of this lesson, quoting its steps, so a changed step is no longer the thing that was checked. Undo your changes to bring the standards back — your edits stay in this browser either way.
A closing chart hands students four sentences and one starting number: Henry has four flowers, and everyone else is described only by how they stand against him. Students hear one sentence at a time and build the set it describes, counter by counter, before the chart says the number. The representation work is turning a relation into an arrangement: one more means the row goes one past Henry's, as many as means it stops exactly level, one fewer means it stops one short, and none means the row stays empty and is still a row with a count. Lining every row up from the same end is what makes the relation readable at a glance.
1. Build Henry's row (4 min)
Each pair lays four counters in a straight row on the top strip of the mat. Count them aloud, one touch per number word. This row does not move again all lesson. Every other row you build gets lined up underneath it, starting from the same end.
Word preview: row
Henry has four flowers.
Four flowers.
2. One fewer than Henry (5 min)
Listen to the sentence about Harriet and build her row underneath Henry's before anyone says a number. Stop your row one counter short of the end of Henry's. Then count what you built aloud and say the number you got. Check it against the chart only after you have said it.
Word preview: fewer
Harriet has one fewer flower than Henry.
Three flowers.
3. As many as, one more, and none (8 min)
Build the last three rows the same way, one sentence at a time, always lining up from the same end. Owen's row stops exactly level with Henry's, Uncle Ray's goes one counter past, and Judy's stays empty. Count each row aloud after you build it and say its number before the chart is read.
Word preview: none
Owen has as many flowers as Henry.
Uncle Ray has one more flower than Henry.
Judy has no flowers.
Zero flowers.
4. Read the mat back (3 min)
Cover the chart. Point at each row on your mat in turn. Tell a partner the sentence that built it. Henry's row is the one you compare to every time. Your partner checks that the row you point at really is one more, one fewer, level or empty.
Word preview: more
1. Build Henry's row (4 min)
Each pair lays four counters in a straight row on the top strip and counts them aloud. This row does not move again; every other row lines up underneath it from the same end.
Word preview: row
Henry has four flowers.
Four flowers.
2. One fewer than Henry (5 min)
Listen to the sentence about Harriet and build her row underneath Henry's before any number is said. Stop one counter short of the end of Henry's row, count aloud, and say the number you got.
Word preview: fewer
Harriet has one fewer flower than Henry.
Three flowers.
Building a row of counters from a heard sentence is where the mathematics and the English separate cleanly: the counting carries over and the comparative frame does not. English packs the whole relation into two small words in front of the noun, one more flower and one fewer flower, and puts the person compared to at the very end after than, which is where several languages put it first. Drill two sentences aloud before the third step, one naming who has one more than Henry and one naming who has one fewer. Students may say the number in their home language while pointing at the row and then give the full frame in English.
Build Henry's row on the top strip. It does not move again.
Line up every other row underneath it, starting from the same end.
Cut out the word cards.
A close response builds the row from the sentence and says its number before the chart is read, with every row started from the same end as Henry's, and treats Judy's empty strip as a row that counts zero. A loose response waits for the chart number and then lays that many counters, or starts a row from the wrong end so that one more and one fewer cannot be seen at a glance, or leaves Judy's strip out of the reading altogether.
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Standards are held back while this plan is edited. Every standard shown here was matched against the supplied wording of this lesson, quoting its steps, so a changed step is no longer the thing that was checked. Undo your changes to bring the standards back — your edits stay in this browser either way.
Henry's chart moves off four in single steps, one more giving five and one fewer giving three, and the pancake plate runs the same move to close a gap. This lesson is the computational side of it: students answer one more and one fewer for every number from zero to five until the answer arrives without counting. Zero is worked deliberately, because it is the number where one of the two moves has no answer inside the range.
1. Warm up on the chart numbers (3 min)
Sit with a five-frame and four counters. When the teacher says one more, add a counter and say five. When the teacher says one fewer, take one back and say three. Go back to four between every turn so the number you start from never changes.
Word preview: more, fewer
Uncle Ray has one more flower than Henry.
Harriet has one fewer flower than Henry.
2. Every number, both moves (6 min)
Work down the number strip from five to zero. For each number, say one more and then one fewer without moving a counter. Build it on the frame only if you and your partner disagree. Zero gets one answer only. Say that one more is one. Say out loud that there is no number below zero here to reach for.
Judy has no flowers.
Zero flowers.
3. Fast rounds with a partner (7 min)
Partners take turns dealing a number card from zero to five and saying more or fewer. The other says the answer inside three seconds. A slow answer gets built on the frame and dealt again later in the round. Keep the cards you answered fast in one pile and the rebuilt ones in another.
4. Say the two answers for one number (4 min)
Pick the number from your rebuilt pile that gave you the most trouble. Tell a partner both answers in one sentence: one more than three is four, and one fewer than three is two. Then say which of the two you were sure of first.
1. Warm up on the chart numbers (3 min)
Sit with a five-frame and four counters. On one more, add a counter and say five; on one fewer, take one back and say three. Return to four between turns.
Uncle Ray has one more flower than Henry.
2. Every number, both moves (6 min)
Work down the strip from five to zero, saying one more and then one fewer for each number without moving a counter. Build on the frame only where you and your partner disagree, and say aloud that zero has only the one answer.
Word preview: zero
Judy has no flowers.
Zero flowers.
English says one more than three, putting the number you started from at the end after than, when a child may be used to naming it first. Rehearse the two frames aloud before the fast rounds: one more than ___ is ___. One fewer than ___ is ___. Students may say the number words in their strongest language during the fast rounds and give the full frame in English in the last step, and a fast right answer counts as fast in any language.
Put your counters in the boxes, one counter to a box.
Work down the number strip from five to zero.
Say each frame out loud before the fast rounds.
One more than ________ is ________.
One fewer than ________ is ________.
Cut out the number cards. One set for each pair.
Cut out the word cards.
Starting from four, one more gives five and one fewer gives three, with a return to four between every turn.
A close answer arrives without a recount, inside the three seconds, and zero is answered as one number and a reason rather than as a guess or a silence. A loose answer rebuilds the frame first and reads the total off the counters, or gives one more for both moves because than was not heard, or leaves zero unanswered in both directions.
Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.
Standards are held back while this plan is edited. Every standard shown here was matched against the supplied wording of this lesson, quoting its steps, so a changed step is no longer the thing that was checked. Undo your changes to bring the standards back — your edits stay in this browser either way.
Henry's whole method is to count what his sister got, count what he got, and say the two numbers together: Harriet four, Henry four. Students do the counting job the book does, hearing a scene, counting each person's set, and reporting the pair in the book's own form. The application is that the numbers come out of a situation rather than off a card, so students have to decide what counts as one thing before they can count it, four guests or three cookies or three jobs, and then say both numbers in the fixed order with the thing they counted named first.
1. Count the guest lists (5 min)
Put one counter on the mat for each guest as the teacher reads Henry's party line. Then start a second row and do the same for Harriet's four. Count each row aloud when the reading stops, one touch per number word. Do not start the second row until the first one is finished and counted.
Word preview: score
Owen, Luke, Ted, and Uncle Ray came to Henry's pajama party.
Harriet had four people, said Henry.
2. Say the pair (4 min)
Say the two numbers in the book's order, Harriet's first and Henry's second, pointing at each row as you say its number. Then say whether the two rows match, and say how you can tell without counting either row again.
Word preview: match
Harriet four, Henry four.
3. Score three more scenes (7 min)
Take the scene cards one at a time. Build a row of counters for each child and count both rows. Say the pair before the card is turned over to check. On the shopping card the rows will not match, so say the pair anyway and say which child has fewer.
Word preview: fewer
A glass of milk and three cookies, please, said Harriet.
She does three jobs and I do three jobs.
Harriet three, Henry two.
4. Report a score to a partner (4 min)
Pick one scene. Tell a partner what you counted, what you got, and whether it matched. I counted the guests: Harriet four, Henry four, they match. Your partner rebuilds both rows from what you said and holds up the mat for you to check.
1. Count the guest lists (5 min)
Put one counter on the mat for each guest as the teacher reads Henry's party line, then build a second row for Harriet's four. Count each row aloud when the reading stops.
Word preview: score
Owen, Luke, Ted, and Uncle Ray came to Henry's pajama party.
Harriet had four people, said Henry.
2. Say the pair (4 min)
Say the two numbers in the book's order, Harriet's first and Henry's second, pointing at each row. Then say whether the rows match and how you can tell without recounting.
Word preview: match
Harriet four, Henry four.
Counting a set out of a heard scene is the transferable part, and a student can count guests in any language and land on four. The English that carries weight is naming what was counted before naming the numbers, I counted the guests and then Harriet four, Henry four, because the report is useless if the listener does not know what the four is four of. Rehearse the frame aloud twice before the partner report: I counted the ___. ___ ___, ___ ___. They match, or they do not match. Students may count and decide in their strongest language and give the report in English, and pointing at each row while saying its number is enough for a first turn.
Put one counter on the mat for each guest as the teacher reads.
Finish and count the first row before you start the second one.
Cut on the lines. Take one strip each.
Say what you counted first. Then say both numbers.
Cut out the word cards.
"Owen, Luke, Ted, and Uncle Ray came to Henry's pajama party." Henry's row holds four counters.
"Harriet had four people, said Henry." Harriet's row holds four counters.
Expected pair, in the book's order: "Harriet four, Henry four." The rows match, and a child can tell without recounting because the two rows end level and every counter has a partner across from it.
A close report names what was counted before it gives any number, gives Harriet's number first and Henry's second, and lets the partner rebuild both rows from the report alone. A loose report gives two bare numbers with no noun, reverses the order so the listener cannot tell whose four is whose, or answers whether the rows match by counting both rows over again instead of reading the pairs.
One or more pages for this lesson were held back. The lesson names a set larger than it spells out — a deck of cards, a row of strips — and the missing items were not invented to fill it.
Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.
Standards are held back while this plan is edited. Every standard shown here was matched against the supplied wording of this lesson, quoting its steps, so a changed step is no longer the thing that was checked. Undo your changes to bring the standards back — your edits stay in this browser either way.
The mathematics is reached through a sentence the book prints: change one word in the reading and the numbers change with it. These carry their own standards, matched against these lessons rather than inherited from the skill ones.
Students build a flower row from a comparing sentence, swap one word in that sentence, build the new row beside the first, and say what the word did to the number.
1. Build the chart row by row (5 min)
Each pair sets Henry's four flower cards on the top strip and then builds Harriet's, Owen's, Uncle Ray's and Judy's rows one heard sentence at a time, always lining up from the same end. Say each sentence aloud before touching a card, and count the row aloud once it is built.
2. Swap one word and build again (4 min)
The teacher reads Harriet's sentence with one word changed. Students build the new row underneath the old one without clearing anything, count it aloud, and leave both rows on the mat.
3. Say what the word did (4 min)
Students point at the two rows they built from the two sentences and tell a partner what the one changed word did to the number, naming the word and both numbers. The partner says which sentence goes with which row before taking a turn.
4. Swap the other three sentences (7 min)
Students take the sentences for Owen, Uncle Ray and Judy in turn, swap the relation word for a different one from the chart, and build the row the new sentence asks for. Say the new number aloud before building it, then check it against the row.
1. Build the chart row by row (5 min)
Each pair sets Henry's four flower cards on the top strip and then builds Harriet's, Owen's, Uncle Ray's and Judy's rows one heard sentence at a time, always lining up from the same end. Say each sentence aloud before touching a card, and count the row aloud once it is built.
2. Swap one word and build again (4 min)
The teacher reads Harriet's sentence with one word changed. Students build the new row underneath the old one without clearing anything, count it aloud, and leave both rows on the mat.
The building is language-independent and a child with no English will put down four cards correctly the moment they see Henry's row. The whole load sits on four small English items, one more and one fewer and as many as and no. Three of them are chunks that cannot be taken apart, and the fourth looks like ordinary negation while doing the work of a numeral. Rehearse the chunks aloud as whole pieces before the swap, each with a hand move: one more places a card past the end, one fewer holds a card back, as many as stops level, no shows an empty hand. Students may name numbers in their strongest language while building and give the full sentence in English when they report.
Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.
Standards are held back while this plan is edited. Every standard shown here was matched against the supplied wording of this lesson, quoting its steps, so a changed step is no longer the thing that was checked. Undo your changes to bring the standards back — your edits stay in this browser either way.
Phases are not grades. The Primary Years Programme is a developmental continuum and your school places each student in a phase, so this names the strand the lesson works in and the phases it could sit across. Confirm against your own school's placement.
Number · Phases 1–2
Students build the book's score pairs, sort them by whether anything is left over, and argue aloud to a partner whether the closing pair of two and one breaks Henry's rule, with both numbers in every argument.
1. Sort the score pairs (5 min)
Each pair takes the score-line cards one at a time and builds each score pair as two rows on a mat, matches the rows one to one, and sorts the mats into two piles, pairs with nothing left over and pairs with a leftover counter. Count the leftover aloud on every mat in the second pile.
2. Take a position out loud (4 min)
Students look at the closing mat, two against one, and tell a partner whether Henry broke his rule, saying both numbers and the leftover in the same sentence as the answer. A position with no numbers in it goes back to be said again.
3. Hear the other side (7 min)
Pairs who agree swap mats with a pair who disagreed and give their reason again to them. Students listen for the number the other pair leans on, say that number back before answering it, and say whether it changes their position. Changing your mind counts as an answer as long as you say which number changed it.
4. Say the two mats apart (4 min)
Students set the clothing-store mat and the closing mat side by side, both with one counter left over, and tell a partner what is the same about them in numbers and what is different in the story, using both pairs of numbers.
1. Sort the score pairs (5 min)
Each pair takes the score-line cards one at a time and builds each score pair as two rows on a mat, matches the rows one to one, and sorts the mats into two piles, pairs with nothing left over and pairs with a leftover counter. Count the leftover aloud on every mat in the second pile.
2. Take a position out loud (4 min)
Students look at the closing mat, two against one, and tell a partner whether Henry broke his rule, saying both numbers and the leftover in the same sentence as the answer. A position with no numbers in it goes back to be said again.
The counting and matching transfer whole; the argument does not. An argument in this shape needs a because clause carrying two numbers, and English puts that connector in the middle of the sentence where several languages put it at the front or at the end. Rehearse the frame aloud twice before the second segment: I think Henry ___ his rule because Harriet has ___ and Henry has ___. Rehearse the objection frame too: You said ___, but ___. Students may think through the mats in their strongest language and give the position in English, and a student may point at the leftover counter instead of naming it on a first turn.
Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.
Standards are held back while this plan is edited. Every standard shown here was matched against the supplied wording of this lesson, quoting its steps, so a changed step is no longer the thing that was checked. Undo your changes to bring the standards back — your edits stay in this browser either way.
Phases are not grades. The Primary Years Programme is a developmental continuum and your school places each student in a phase, so this names the strand the lesson works in and the phases it could sit across. Confirm against your own school's placement.
Number · Phases 1–2
Data handling · Phases 1–2
Students build the comparing chart's rows, then say each relation in both directions about one unchanged arrangement, changing the comparison word as the sentence turns around.
1. Build two rows and find the leftover (4 min)
Each pair lays Henry's four flower cards on the top strip and Harriet's three underneath, lined up from the same end, then slides the pairs together and leaves the unmatched card where it is. Count each row aloud and point at the leftover.
2. Say the book's sentence, then turn it round (5 min)
Students say the chart's sentence about Harriet while pointing at the leftover card, then say the same fact starting with Henry, changing the comparison word so that it stays true. Both sentences are said about the cards without moving any of them.
3. Reverse the other rows (7 min)
Students build Uncle Ray's row and Owen's row against Henry's and say each relation both ways. Owen's is the one where the word does not change on reversal; students say why after they have said both sentences.
4. Catch the wrong word (4 min)
A partner says a reversal on purpose with the comparison word left as the book had it. Students point at the cards that make it false and say the sentence correctly, then take a turn being the one who says the wrong one.
1. Build two rows and find the leftover (4 min)
Each pair lays Henry's four flower cards on the top strip and Harriet's three underneath, lined up from the same end, then slides the pairs together and leaves the unmatched card where it is. Count each row aloud and point at the leftover.
2. Say the book's sentence, then turn it round (5 min)
Students say the chart's sentence about Harriet while pointing at the leftover card, then say the same fact starting with Henry, changing the comparison word so that it stays true. Both sentences are said about the cards without moving any of them.
Comparative syntax is what does the damage here, and it is worth naming out loud. English marks the reversal in two places at once, swapping the two names around than and swapping fewer for more, and a language that marks comparison with a single particle or with word order alone gives a child no warning that both must move together. Rehearse both frames aloud as a matched pair before the second segment, never one without the other: ___ has one fewer ___ than ___. ___ has one more ___ than ___. Say them with the same cards in view every time, so the frames are learned against one arrangement rather than as separate sentences. Students may state the relation in their strongest language first and then give both English sentences, and pointing at the unmatched card while speaking is expected rather than a concession.
Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.
Standards are held back while this plan is edited. Every standard shown here was matched against the supplied wording of this lesson, quoting its steps, so a changed step is no longer the thing that was checked. Undo your changes to bring the standards back — your edits stay in this browser either way.
Phases are not grades. The Primary Years Programme is a developmental continuum and your school places each student in a phase, so this names the strand the lesson works in and the phases it could sit across. Confirm against your own school's placement.
Number · Phases 1–2
5 lessons on the reading and language the book carries - what a word means in its sentence, how a character is shown, how a text is built. No mathematics: these are matched against the English language arts curricula, which are a different and smaller set than the mathematics ones.
The book hands first graders one sentence that Henry says over and over: If she gets ___, I get ___. Students hear it three times in three different scenes, clap the word that repeats, and notice that the frame stays put while one word swaps. Then they say a line of their own inside Henry's frame. The work is entirely in the ear and the mouth: recognising a repeated pattern of words, holding it in memory across a story, and reusing it in speech. Nothing is counted or compared as a quantity here; the number words are the words that swap, and that is all students do with them.
1. Hear Henry's sentence come back (5 min)
Sit knee to knee and read Henry's waking-up words aloud with your partner, one of you reading Henry and one reading the narrator. Say Henry's own sentence a second time and clap once on "five" each time you say it. Tell your partner what Henry wants his mother to do.
Word preview: flew, covers
Henry's eyes flew open. If she gets five minutes, I get five minutes," he said. Henry wiggled down under the covers.
2. Catch the frame a second time (5 min)
Read the pancake passage aloud in your pair. Put your hand up the moment you hear Henry's sentence start the same way it did at bedtime. Say both of Henry's sentences back to back and tell your partner which words stayed the same and which word changed.
Word preview: asked, more
Isn't three enough for you?" asked Mrs. Hedges. If she gets four, I get four," said Henry. Mrs. Hedges gave him one more.
3. Say the frame a third time (5 min)
Read the clothing-store passage aloud. Say Henry's sentence in his own voice, the way a boy says it when he already knows the answer will be no. Then read his mother and father's answer aloud and say how Henry sounds in the last printed sentence.
Word preview: fair, parents
Harriet got three things," said Henry. If she gets three, I get three. Not today, said his parents. Hmm, said Henry, no fair.
4. Build your own line in Henry's frame (5 min)
Look at the three printed passages together and read Henry's three sentences in a row. Say one new sentence out loud that uses Henry's words "If she gets" and then "I get" and finish it about something in your own classroom. Your partner listens for both halves and gives you a thumbs up when both are there.
Word preview: said
Henry's eyes flew open. If she gets five minutes, I get five minutes," he said. Henry wiggled down under the covers.
Isn't three enough for you?" asked Mrs. Hedges. If she gets four, I get four," said Henry. Mrs. Hedges gave him one more.
Harriet got three things," said Henry. If she gets three, I get three. Not today, said his parents. Hmm, said Henry, no fair.
1. Hear Henry's sentence come back (5 min)
Read Henry's waking-up words aloud with a partner and clap once on "five" each time you say his sentence. Tell your partner what Henry is asking his mother for.
Word preview: flew, covers
Henry's eyes flew open. If she gets five minutes, I get five minutes," he said. Henry wiggled down under the covers.
2. Catch the frame a second time (4 min)
Read the pancake passage aloud and raise your hand the moment Henry's sentence starts the same way it did upstairs. Say the two sentences back to back and name the one word that changed.
Word preview: asked, more
Isn't three enough for you?" asked Mrs. Hedges. If she gets four, I get four," said Henry. Mrs. Hedges gave him one more.
The frame If she gets ___, I get ___ transfers well because the two halves are short and identical in shape, and the repetition gives a learner three rehearsals before any production is asked for. The contracted spoken English around it is the obstacle: "Isn't three enough for you?" and "you won't" carry contractions that many learners will hear as one word. Rehearse the frame chorally as two halves before step 4 and let students say it in their strongest language first, then in English. A rehearsable frame: "If she gets ___, I get ___."
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Henry is never described as jealous, grumpy or generous; the book leaves his feelings inside his own words, and first graders have to go and get them. Students lean on only in I only got three, read a grumble that is two words long, and finish at the sentence where Henry thinks about his sister and changes his answer. Each time they point at the word on the page that carried the feeling and say the feeling out loud. The work is inference from word choice and reading aloud with expression; students name feelings and evidence, and no quantity is computed or compared anywhere in the lesson.
1. Say what Henry notices first (5 min)
Read the pancake passage aloud with your partner in Henry's voice. Put your finger on the word "only" and say the sentence again leaning on it. Tell your partner how Henry feels in this moment and name the word on the page that told you.
Word preview: only, more
Mom said Henry, Harriet got four pancakes. I only got three. Harriet got more than I did.
2. Hear how far Henry pushes it (5 min)
Read the snack passage as a two-part script, one partner as Harriet and one as Henry, using exactly the printed words. Read it a second time and make Henry sound as if he is joking. Tell your partner why this is the funniest thing Henry asks for in the whole book.
Word preview: please, glass
A glass of milk and three cookies, please, said Harriet. A glass of milk and ten cookies, please, said Henry.
3. Read the grumble (4 min)
Read the printed passage where Henry's parents answer him. Say Henry's last two words the way a grumpy first grader says them, then the way a boy who is only pretending to be grumpy says them. Tell your partner which reading fits this book better and why.
Word preview: today
Not today, said his parents. Hmm, said Henry, no fair.
4. Say how Henry ends up (6 min)
Read the last printed passage aloud. Say what Henry decides to do, using the word "because" to join his decision to the thing he thought about. Then look back at the first printed passage in this step and tell your partner one way the Henry at the end is not the same as the Henry at the pancakes.
Word preview: thought, because
Mom said Henry, Harriet got four pancakes. I only got three. Harriet got more than I did.
Henry thought about Harriet and her cavity. Yes, he said she can, and Mrs. Hedges gave Harriet one more kiss.
1. Say what Henry notices first (4 min)
Read the pancake passage aloud in Henry's voice, put your finger on "only" and say the sentence again leaning on it. Name how Henry feels and the word that told you.
Word preview: only, more
Mom said Henry, Harriet got four pancakes. I only got three. Harriet got more than I did.
2. Say how Henry ends up (5 min)
Read the closing passage aloud. Say what Henry decides, joining it with "because" to the thing he thought about first. Then say one way this Henry is not the Henry from the pancake passage.
Word preview: thought, because
Mom said Henry, Harriet got four pancakes. I only got three. Harriet got more than I did.
Henry thought about Harriet and her cavity. Yes, he said she can, and Mrs. Hedges gave Harriet one more kiss.
Feeling words in a learner's strongest language usually map cleanly onto this book, so invite students to name Henry's feeling in that language first and then in English. Only is the exception: it sits in front of the amount in English and carries disappointment rather than smallness. Rehearse the whole sentence chorally rather than the word alone. A rehearsable frame: "Henry feels ___ because he says ___."
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This book runs one whole day, and it tells you where you are every time it moves: Five minutes later, After school, When they were finished. First graders read five printed passages, hunt the time phrase at the front of each, and use only those phrases to lay the day out in order. Then they retell it aloud to a partner with first, then, after that and last, while the partner watches the cards for a skipped part. The skill is sequencing and oral retelling from textual signals; students order scenes, never quantities, and nothing in the lesson is counted.
1. Find the words that tell you when (5 min)
Read the two printed morning passages aloud with your partner. Circle on your strip the words that tell you when each one happens, and read those words out loud on their own. Say which passage happens first and how the page told you.
Word preview: later, yawned
Harriet rolled over in bed and yawned. Five more minutes, Mom," she said.
Five minutes later, Harriet smelled something good. So did Henry. They hurried downstairs.
2. Put the afternoon in its place (5 min)
Read the chores passage and then the snack passage aloud. Point to the words at the front of each one that say when it happens. Tell your partner which of these two comes first and read aloud the exact words that prove it.
Word preview: after, finished
After school, Harriet fed the dog and Henry fed the cat. Harriet cleaned the bird cage, Henry took out the garbage. Harriet picked up all her toys. Henry put all his dirty socks in the hamper.
When they were finished, Mrs. Hedges asked them what they'd like for a snack.
3. Lay the day out in order (5 min)
Spread your five passage cards face up and read each printed passage aloud in your pair. Put them in the order the day happened, using only the time words to decide. Read your order aloud from first to last, saying the time words as you go.
Word preview: order, night
Harriet rolled over in bed and yawned. Five more minutes, Mom," she said.
Five minutes later, Harriet smelled something good. So did Henry. They hurried downstairs.
After school, Harriet fed the dog and Henry fed the cat. Harriet cleaned the bird cage, Henry took out the garbage. Harriet picked up all her toys. Henry put all his dirty socks in the hamper.
When they were finished, Mrs. Hedges asked them what they'd like for a snack.
Mrs. Hedges kissed her good night.
4. Retell the day to a partner (5 min)
With the five printed passages in front of you, retell Harriet and Henry's day from waking up to good night. Start each part with a time word, using "first", "then", "after that" and "last". Your partner follows along on the cards and stops you if you skip a part.
Word preview: first, last
Harriet rolled over in bed and yawned. Five more minutes, Mom," she said.
Five minutes later, Harriet smelled something good. So did Henry. They hurried downstairs.
After school, Harriet fed the dog and Henry fed the cat. Harriet cleaned the bird cage, Henry took out the garbage. Harriet picked up all her toys. Henry put all his dirty socks in the hamper.
When they were finished, Mrs. Hedges asked them what they'd like for a snack.
Mrs. Hedges kissed her good night.
1. Find the words that tell you when (4 min)
Read the two printed morning passages aloud. Circle the words that tell you when each happens and read them on their own. Say which one happens first.
Word preview: later, yawned
Harriet rolled over in bed and yawned. Five more minutes, Mom," she said.
Five minutes later, Harriet smelled something good. So did Henry. They hurried downstairs.
2. Retell the day to a partner (5 min)
With the five printed passages in front of you, retell the day from waking up to good night. Begin each part with "first", "then", "after that" or "last". Your partner stops you if a part is skipped.
Word preview: first, last
Harriet rolled over in bed and yawned. Five more minutes, Mom," she said.
Five minutes later, Harriet smelled something good. So did Henry. They hurried downstairs.
After school, Harriet fed the dog and Henry fed the cat. Harriet cleaned the bird cage, Henry took out the garbage. Harriet picked up all her toys. Henry put all his dirty socks in the hamper.
When they were finished, Mrs. Hedges asked them what they'd like for a snack.
Mrs. Hedges kissed her good night.
Time phrases at the front of a sentence are a strong transfer point, because most languages mark sequence somewhere and learners can say the order in their strongest language before English. English can also leave a scene unmarked and rely on the reader knowing that a good-night kiss ends a day, which is not something a learner will expect. Give students the retelling strip and rehearse the four connectives chorally before step 4. A rehearsable frame: "First ___, then ___, after that ___, last ___."
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This book is full of sentences that hold two people up against each other, and it uses a small set of words to do it: more than, one fewer than, as many as, one more than, the same as. First graders find the joining word than, collect the three comparing phrases from the printed chart lines, notice that the book says sameness two different ways, and then build a comparing sentence of their own about pencils or steps to the door. The whole lesson is vocabulary and sentence structure: which words compare, where they sit, and what follows them. Students say the phrases and reuse them; they do not count the flowers, work out any difference, or check whether a line is true.
1. Say the word that compares (5 min)
Read Henry's sentence aloud and point to the one word in it that puts Harriet next to Henry. Say the sentence again with your finger on that word. Tell your partner who the sentence is about and who it is comparing them to.
Word preview: than
Harriet got more than I did.
2. Collect the comparing words (6 min)
Read the printed chart lines aloud around the circle, one sentence each. Underline on your card the words that do the comparing: one fewer, as many as, one more. Say each of the three sentences again in your own voice and put the matching word card in the middle.
Word preview: fewer, many
Harriet has one fewer flower than Henry. Three flowers. Owen has as many flowers as Henry. Four flowers. Uncle Ray has one more flower than Henry. Five flowers.
3. Find the words that say the same (5 min)
Read the two printed passages aloud with your partner. Both of them say that two people end up alike, but they use different words to say it. Read those words out loud on their own and tell your partner which one sounds more like something you would say to a friend.
Word preview: same, calls
The same as Harriet.' "'Well, okay,' said Henry.'
I get to make as many calls as she does.
4. Say a comparing sentence about your own pair (4 min)
Look back at the printed chart lines and read one of them aloud. Then use the same words to say a sentence about you and your partner, about pencils or books or steps to the door. Your partner listens for the comparing word and says which one you used.
Word preview: about
Harriet has one fewer flower than Henry. Three flowers. Owen has as many flowers as Henry. Four flowers. Uncle Ray has one more flower than Henry. Five flowers.
1. Say the word that compares (4 min)
Read Henry's sentence aloud and point to the one word that puts Harriet next to Henry. Say the sentence again with your finger on that word and name who is being compared to whom.
Word preview: than
Harriet got more than I did.
2. Collect the comparing words (5 min)
Read the printed chart lines aloud, one sentence each around the circle. Underline the comparing words one fewer, as many as and one more, and put the matching word card in the middle as you say each sentence.
Word preview: fewer, many
Harriet has one fewer flower than Henry. Three flowers. Owen has as many flowers as Henry. Four flowers. Uncle Ray has one more flower than Henry. Five flowers.
Comparative structures exist in every language but the ordering differs sharply, and learners often produce more as many rather than as many as. Rehearse the three phrases as whole chunks with the word that follows them attached, one fewer than, as many as, one more than, rather than teaching more and fewer alone. Let students say the comparison in their strongest language first and name the two people before adding the phrase. A rehearsable frame: "___ has as many ___ as ___."
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Grown-ups in this book do most of their work by asking. First graders find the question mark at the end of a printed sentence, read those sentences with the voice going up, and pair each question with the sentence that answers it. They meet a question that is not really asking anything, Henry's You had a cavity?, and a closing question whose answer Henry repeats over and over. The lesson finishes with each child asking a partner a real question and getting a whole-sentence answer back. This is punctuation, intonation and conversational turn-taking; the numbers inside the quoted questions are read aloud as words and are never counted or compared.
1. Find the mark that asks (5 min)
Read the two printed passages aloud with your partner. Run your finger along each sentence until you reach a curly mark at the end, and stop there. Read those two sentences again with your voice going up at the end, the way a question goes.
Word preview: asked, enough
Who would you like to call?" asked Mrs. Hedges.
Isn't three enough for you?" asked Mrs. Hedges. If she gets four, I get four," said Henry.
2. Match the question to its answer (5 min)
Read the phone-call passages in order in your pair, one of you asking and one of you answering. Say which printed sentence is the question and which one answers it. Do the same with the pancake passage and tell your partner whether Henry actually answered what he was asked.
Word preview: grandma, idea
Who would you like to call?" asked Mrs. Hedges.
Then I'll call grandma," said Henry. That's a good idea," said Mrs. Hedges.
Isn't three enough for you?" asked Mrs. Hedges. If she gets four, I get four," said Henry.
3. Read a question that is really a gulp (4 min)
Read the dentist passage aloud, one partner as Henry and one as Harriet. Say Henry's question the way somebody says it when they already heard the answer and wish they had not. Tell your partner what Henry is really doing when he asks it.
Word preview: gulped, turn
Henry gulped. A cavity, he said. You had a cavity? Yes, said Harriet, your turn.
4. Ask and answer the last question (6 min)
Read the closing printed passage aloud in your pair, one asking and one answering. Say Henry's answer with all its words, letting your voice get firmer on each no. Then ask your partner one question of your own about Henry, ending your voice up like a question, and let them answer it in a whole sentence.
Word preview: just, no
Just like Harriet? No, said Henry. No, no, no.
1. Find the mark that asks (4 min)
Read the two printed passages aloud and run your finger to the curly mark that ends a sentence. Read those sentences again with your voice going up at the end.
Word preview: asked, enough
Who would you like to call?" asked Mrs. Hedges.
Isn't three enough for you?" asked Mrs. Hedges. If she gets four, I get four," said Henry.
2. Ask and answer the last question (5 min)
Read the closing printed passage in your pair, one asking and one answering, and say Henry's answer with all its words. Then ask your partner one question of your own about Henry and let them answer in a whole sentence.
Word preview: just, no
Just like Harriet? No, said Henry. No, no, no.
Rising intonation on questions is not universal, and learners whose home language marks questions with a particle or with word order may read a question mark flat. Model the rise with a hand going up and let them practise on the printed question before any content is asked of them. Yes-no answering also differs: a learner may answer the negatively-framed "Isn't three enough for you?" in the pattern of their own language. Accept the meaning and recast. A rehearsable frame: "Would you like ___?" answered with "Yes, I would like ___."
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Standards are held back while this plan is edited. Every standard shown here was matched against the supplied wording of this lesson, quoting its steps, so a changed step is no longer the thing that was checked. Undo your changes to bring the standards back — your edits stay in this browser either way.