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.

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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.

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.

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.

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).

Lesson video

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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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