New
New
Year 1

Use equality and inequality symbols to compare sets of objects

I can use the equality and inequality symbols to compare sets of objects.

New
New
Year 1

Use equality and inequality symbols to compare sets of objects

I can use the equality and inequality symbols to compare sets of objects.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Use the symbol < to represent is less than.
  2. Use the symbol > to represent is more than.
  3. Use the symbol = to represent is equal to.
  4. The symbols should only be used between numerals.

Common misconception

Children may confuse the symbols < and >

Use lots of practical examples with cubes or objects inside the symbols so children can see the larger end contains more objects.

Keywords

  • More than / greater than - has a greater amount / more items.

  • Fewer than / less than - has a lesser amount / fewer items.

  • Same as / equal to - exactly the same amount or value.

Ask children to make two towers of cubes and use rulers lined up with the top and bottom of each tower to create the < > and = symbols. You could make movable < > and = symbols from strips of card attached to a piece of card with paper fasteners.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
What does 'equal to' mean?
Correct answer: Two sets have the same amount.
One set has more than the other.
One set has fewer than the other.
Q2.
How many cubes are there here?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: 3
4
5
Q3.
How many cubes are there here?
An image in a quiz
3
4
Correct answer: 5
Q4.
Which set has more cubes?
An image in a quiz
Set A
Correct answer: Set B
They have the same amount of cubes.
Q5.
Which set has fewer cubes?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: Set A
Set B
They have the same amount of cubes.
Q6.
Sam thinks there are more cubes in Set A than Set B. Is Sam correct?
An image in a quiz
Yes
Correct answer: No

6 Questions

Q1.
What does the symbol = represent?
An image in a quiz
less than
greater than
Correct answer: equal to
Q2.
What does the symbol < represent?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: less than
greater than
equal to
Q3.
What does the symbol > represent?
An image in a quiz
less than
Correct answer: greater than
equal to
Q4.
Which symbol should go between these sets of cubes?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: <
>
=
Q5.
Which symbol should go between these sets of cubes?
An image in a quiz
<
Correct answer: >
=
Q6.
Izzy thinks that these cubes are showing that 5 > 4. Is Izzy correct?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: Yes
No

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