Year 1
Mathematics
ASMATY1
Year 1 Mathematics Achievement Standard
10 statements aligned to content descriptors and elaborations
Achievement standard (as ACARA publishes it)
Achievement standard
Click any sentence to jump to its statement and linked content descriptors.
By the end of Year 1, students connect number names, numerals and quantities, and order numbers to at least 120. They demonstrate how one- and two-digit numbers can be partitioned in different ways and that two-digit numbers can be partitioned into tens and ones. Students partition collections into equal groups and skip count in twos, fives or tens to quantify collections to at least 120. They solve problems involving addition and subtraction of numbers to 20 and use mathematical modelling to solve practical problems involving addition, subtraction, equal sharing and grouping, using calculation strategies. Students use numbers, symbols and objects to create skip counting and repeating patterns, identifying the repeating unit.
They compare and order objects and events based on the attributes of length, mass, capacity and duration, communicating reasoning. Students measure the length of shapes and objects using uniform informal units. They make, compare and classify shapes and objects using obvious features. Students give and follow directions to move people and objects within a space.
The 10 achievement standard statements
Open a statement to see the content descriptors ACARA links to it, then open a descriptor's elaborations.
By the end of Year 1, students connect number names, numerals and quantities, and order numbers to at least 120.
Content descriptorAC9M1N01 Number
recognise, represent and order numbers to at least 120 using physical and virtual materials, numerals, number lines and charts
Elaborations (4)
- Elaboration reading, writing and naming numerals and ordering two-digit numbers from zero to at least 120, using patterns within the natural number system, including numbers that look and sound similar; for example, 16, 60, 61 and 66
- Elaboration using number tracks or positioning a set of numbered cards in the correct order and relative location by pegging on an empty number line
- Elaboration using hundreds charts to build understanding and fluency with numbers; for example, collaboratively building a hundreds chart using cards numbered from zero to 99; colour code the count of tens in a hundreds chart using one colour to represent the number of tens and another to represent the number of ones
- Elaboration recognising that numbers are used in all languages and cultures but may be represented differently in words and symbols; for example, through kanji numbers in Japanese and characters in Chinese, and that there are alternate numeration systems; for example, using special characters for 10 and 100 and other multiples of 10 in Japanese and Chinese numeration
They demonstrate how one- and two-digit numbers can be partitioned in different ways and that two-digit numbers can be partitioned into tens and ones.
Content descriptorAC9M1N02 Number
partition one- and two-digit numbers in different ways using physical and virtual materials, including partitioning two-digit numbers into tens and ones
Elaborations (3)
- Elaboration building knowledge and understanding of the part-part-whole facts to 10, using physical and virtual materials; for example, using virtual ten-frames through a digital app or website to identify pairs of numbers that combine to make 10
- Elaboration using physical and virtual materials to partition numbers into counts of tens and ones; for example, recognise 35 as 3 tens and 5 ones or as 2 tens and 15 ones
- Elaboration using part-part-whole reasoning and physical or virtual materials to represent 24, then partitioning 24 in different ways and recording the partitions using numbers; for example, 10, 10 and 4 combine to make 24 or 10 and 14 combine to make 24
Content descriptorAC9M1N04 Number
add and subtract numbers within 20, using physical and virtual materials, part-part-whole knowledge to 10 and a variety of calculation strategies
Elaborations (5)
- Elaboration using drawings, physical and virtual materials and number combinations within 10 to add and subtract collections to 20
- Elaboration adding and subtracting numbers within 20, using a variety of representations and strategies such as counting on, counting back, partitioning and part-part-whole knowledge of numbers to 10; for example, using partitioning and combining 7+5=7+3+2=10+2=12
- Elaboration developing and using strategies for one-digit addition and subtraction based on part-part-whole relationships for each of the numbers to 10 and subitising with physical and virtual materials; for example, 8 and 6 is the same as 8 and 2 and 4
- Elaboration representing story problems involving addition and subtraction of numbers within 20 using a Think Board, recognising and using + and – symbols and the equal sign to represent the operations of addition and subtraction; showing and explaining the connections between any materials used using the language of plus and minus, and the numbers within the story problem
- Elaboration creating and performing addition and subtraction stories told through First Nations Australians’ dances
Students partition collections into equal groups and skip count in twos, fives or tens to quantify collections to at least 120.
Content descriptorAC9M1N03 Number
quantify sets of objects, to at least 120, by partitioning collections into equal groups using number knowledge and skip counting
Elaborations (3)
- Elaboration counting a large collection of items using groups of fives or tens and skip counting to work out how many there are; recording the amount and connecting the digits in the number to the grouped materials when using groups of 10
- Elaboration counting collections of objects such as pencils or images of birds in a tree, by grouping them in tens to enable efficient counting and connecting the digits in the number to the groups of tens and ones
- Elaboration counting a large collection of Australian \$1 coins by stacking them into piles of 10, skip counting in tens and including any leftover coins to determine the total value
They solve problems involving addition and subtraction of numbers to 20 and use mathematical modelling to solve practical problems involving addition, subtraction, equal sharing and grouping, using calculation strategies.
Content descriptorAC9M1N04 Number
add and subtract numbers within 20, using physical and virtual materials, part-part-whole knowledge to 10 and a variety of calculation strategies
Elaborations (5)
- Elaboration using drawings, physical and virtual materials and number combinations within 10 to add and subtract collections to 20
- Elaboration adding and subtracting numbers within 20, using a variety of representations and strategies such as counting on, counting back, partitioning and part-part-whole knowledge of numbers to 10; for example, using partitioning and combining 7+5=7+3+2=10+2=12
- Elaboration developing and using strategies for one-digit addition and subtraction based on part-part-whole relationships for each of the numbers to 10 and subitising with physical and virtual materials; for example, 8 and 6 is the same as 8 and 2 and 4
- Elaboration representing story problems involving addition and subtraction of numbers within 20 using a Think Board, recognising and using + and – symbols and the equal sign to represent the operations of addition and subtraction; showing and explaining the connections between any materials used using the language of plus and minus, and the numbers within the story problem
- Elaboration creating and performing addition and subtraction stories told through First Nations Australians’ dances
Content descriptorAC9M1N05 Number
use mathematical modelling to solve practical problems involving additive situations including simple money transactions; represent the situations with diagrams, physical and virtual materials, and use calculation strategies to solve the problem
Elaborations (3)
- Elaboration modelling problems involving addition and subtraction presented in stories, using a Think Board to represent the problem, solving the problem using physical materials and explaining the connections between any materials used, the Think Board diagram and the numbers within the story
- Elaboration modelling simple money problems involving addition and subtraction using whole dollar amounts; for example, setting up a shop and role-playing practical problems of buying and selling of goods, using addition and subtraction with play money and prices in whole dollar amounts; solving the problem “I had \$14 and was given \$15 for my birthday” using addition to answer the problem
- Elaboration modelling a variety of different additive situations to solve practical problems; for example, keeping track of the number of people on a bus as it stops to pick up and drop off passengers or the number of people entering a lift
Content descriptorAC9M1N06 Number
use mathematical modelling to solve practical problems involving equal sharing and grouping; represent the situations with diagrams, physical and virtual materials, and use calculation strategies to solve the problem
Elaborations (3)
- Elaboration modelling problems involving repeated equal group situations, such as, “How many wheels are needed for 3 cars?”, using materials and drawing a picture to show what they did, and recording the results with a number
- Elaboration modelling practical problems involving equal sharing situations; for example, sharing a set of dominoes between the 2 players in a game, and then counting or subitising to ensure they both have the same number of tiles
- Elaboration modelling money problems involving equal sharing; for example, sorting coins from a money box according to their denominations, sharing the coins equally between 4 people, and using counting or subitising to ensure they have equal amounts of each denomination
Students use numbers, symbols and objects to create skip counting and repeating patterns, identifying the repeating unit.
Content descriptorAC9M1A01 Algebra
recognise, continue and create pattern sequences, with numbers, symbols, shapes and objects, formed by skip counting, initially by twos, fives and tens
Elaborations (6)
- Elaboration using number charts, songs, rhymes and stories to establish skip counting sequences of twos, fives and tens
- Elaboration using shapes and objects to represent a growing pattern formed by skip counting; for example, using blocks or beads to represent the growing patterns 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 … and 5, 10, 15, 20 …
- Elaboration recognising the patterns in sequences formed by skip counting; for example, that skip counting in fives starting from zero always results in either a 5 or zero as the final digit
- Elaboration counting by twos, fives, or tens to determine how much money is in a collection of coins or notes of the same denomination; for example, 5 cent, 10 cent and \$2 coins, or \$5 and \$10 notes
- Elaboration role-playing being an industrial robot on an assembly line that packs various items into boxes or packets in groups of five or ten, keeping count of the total number of items produced
- Elaboration using different variations of the popular Korean counting game Sam-yuk-gu for generating skip counting pattern sequences
Content descriptorAC9M1A02 Algebra
recognise, continue and create repeating patterns with numbers, symbols, shapes and objects, identifying the repeating unit
Elaborations (6)
- Elaboration interpreting a repeating pattern sequence created by someone else, noticing and describing the repeating part of the pattern and explaining how they know what comes next in the sequence
- Elaboration generalising a repeating pattern by identifying the unit of repeat and representing the elements using numbers, letters or symbols; for example, representing the repeating pattern of stamp, stamp, clap, stamp clap, stamp, stamp, clap, stamp, clap as SSCSC SSCSC SSCSC... recognising the elements that are repeating, describing the unit of repeat as SSCSC and continuing the pattern
- Elaboration recognising within the sequencing of natural numbers that 0 – 9 digits are repeated both in and between the decades and using this pattern to continue the sequence and name two-digit numbers beyond 20
- Elaboration collaboratively creating a repeating geometric pattern using dynamic geometric software or a generative artificial intelligence tool, discussing as a class what instructions they would need to input to produce a repeating pattern
- Elaboration identifying the repeating patterns in First Nations Australians’ systems of counting, exploring different ways of representing numbers including oral and gestural language
- Elaboration considering how the making of shell or seed necklaces by First Nations Australians’ includes practices such as sorting shells and beads based on colour, size and shape, and creating a repeating pattern sequence
They compare and order objects and events based on the attributes of length, mass, capacity and duration, communicating reasoning.
Content descriptorAC9M1M01 Measurement
compare directly and indirectly and order objects and events using attributes of length, mass, capacity and duration, communicating reasoning
Elaborations (5)
- Elaboration using a piece of string to indirectly compare the length of several objects, deciding which will fit within a space; using comparative language to describe the order: shortest, short, longer, longest
- Elaboration ordering the mass of 3 or more objects such as rocks, using hefting and balance scales; using comparative language to explain the order: lightest, light, heavier, heaviest, and how they decided on the order
- Elaboration pouring sand/rice/water from one container to another to compare and order the capacity of 3 or more containers; describing the order of the results in terms of which holds the most/least, and those in between
- Elaboration creating sand timers from everyday items or recycled material and comparing them to order the duration of time required for the sand to run through
- Elaboration investigating situations where First Nations Australians estimate, compare and communicate measurements; for example, the duration of seasons; understanding animal behaviour using the length of animal tracks; investigating capacity through water management techniques of First Nations Australians, such as traditional water carrying vessels and rock holes
Content descriptorAC9M1M03 Measurement
describe the duration and sequence of events using years, months, weeks, days and hours
Elaborations (5)
- Elaboration naming, listing and using familiar units of time, such as hours, days, weeks, years
- Elaboration comparing the number of days in the months of the year and explaining how the months cycle from one year to the next
- Elaboration sequencing familiar events including the representation of time with pictorial timelines
- Elaboration discussing events and activities and deciding whether they would take closer to an hour, a day, a week, a month or a year; for example, it takes a day for the sun to rise and fall and rise again, but it takes less than an hour for me to walk to school
- Elaboration investigating durations of time represented in First Nations Australians’ seasonal calendars
Students measure the length of shapes and objects using uniform informal units.
Content descriptorAC9M1M02 Measurement
measure the length of shapes and objects using informal units, recognising that units need to be uniform and used end-to-end
Elaborations (4)
- Elaboration using 2 different units; for example, pop sticks and pencils, to measure the length of an object such as a desk, and explaining why the number of units used may be different
- Elaboration comparing the length of 2 objects such as a desk and a bookshelf by laying multiple copies of a unit and counting to say which is longer and how much longer; explaining why they shouldn’t have gaps or overlaps between the units as this will change the length of the unit
- Elaboration measuring the distance between 2 locations using footsteps, comparing the results and explaining why there may be different results; for example, referring to the different length of footsteps as using different units
- Elaboration measuring and comparing the length of objects using blocks; for example, comparing the height of 2 toys by stacking blocks one on top of the other and counting how many it takes to reach the height of each object to decide which is taller
They make, compare and classify shapes and objects using obvious features.
Content descriptorAC9M1SP01 Space
make, compare and classify familiar shapes; recognise familiar shapes and objects in the environment, identifying the similarities and differences between them
Elaborations (4)
- Elaboration classifying a collection of shapes, including different circles, ovals, regular and irregular shapes, triangles and quadrilaterals, saying what is the same about the shapes in a group and what is different between the groups
- Elaboration selecting a shape from a small collection of shapes inside a bag and describing the shape by feel, so that others can name the shape and give reasons for their choice
- Elaboration comparing the different objects that can be built out of the same number of blocks or centi-cubes and discussing the differences between them
- Elaboration exploring string games used in story telling by First Nations Australians; for example, Karda from the Yandruwandha Peoples of north-east South Australia, recognising, comparing, describing and classifying the shapes made by the string and their relationship to shapes and objects on Country/Place
Students give and follow directions to move people and objects within a space.
Content descriptorAC9M1SP02 Space
give and follow directions to move people and objects to different locations within a space
Elaborations (4)
- Elaboration interpreting and following directions around familiar locations, and understanding the meaning and importance of the words when giving directions; for example, using words like “forwards” and “backwards”, “straight ahead”, “left or right” to describe movement and giving instructions like “Keep going straight until you reach the end of this passage and then turn to your right”
- Elaboration creating and following an algorithm consisting of a set of instructions to move an object to a different location; for example, role-playing being a robot and following step-by-step instructions given by another classmate to move from one place to another, only moving as instructed
- Elaboration following directions to move people into different positions within a line using both ordinal and positional language to describe their position; for example, directly comparing heights and following directions using ordinal and positional language to line up in height order
- Elaboration describing a familiar journey across Country/Place using directional language
They collect and record categorical data, create one-to-one displays, and compare and discuss the data using frequencies.
Content descriptorAC9M1N01 Number
recognise, represent and order numbers to at least 120 using physical and virtual materials, numerals, number lines and charts
Elaborations (4)
- Elaboration reading, writing and naming numerals and ordering two-digit numbers from zero to at least 120, using patterns within the natural number system, including numbers that look and sound similar; for example, 16, 60, 61 and 66
- Elaboration using number tracks or positioning a set of numbered cards in the correct order and relative location by pegging on an empty number line
- Elaboration using hundreds charts to build understanding and fluency with numbers; for example, collaboratively building a hundreds chart using cards numbered from zero to 99; colour code the count of tens in a hundreds chart using one colour to represent the number of tens and another to represent the number of ones
- Elaboration recognising that numbers are used in all languages and cultures but may be represented differently in words and symbols; for example, through kanji numbers in Japanese and characters in Chinese, and that there are alternate numeration systems; for example, using special characters for 10 and 100 and other multiples of 10 in Japanese and Chinese numeration
Content descriptorAC9M1ST01 Statistics
acquire and record data for categorical variables in various ways including using digital tools, objects, images, drawings, lists, tally marks and symbols
Elaborations (6)
- Elaboration discussing methods of collecting data to answer a question, such as “What types of rubbish are found in the playground?”, sharing ideas and trying out some of the suggested methods; reviewing the data collected and explaining how they might change the way they collect data next time
- Elaboration collecting and recording information on a topic of interest using lists; for example, “how many people follow a particular football team” or “what colour eyes each person has”; examining the data, to generate some questions that it could answer, then rearranging the data or collecting different data to answer the question
- Elaboration creating a tally to record data while observing events such as the year level of students using the bike shed; deciding on the possible categories before the observations are taken, then reviewing the data afterwards to notice whether the tally was effective
- Elaboration using star charts with stickers or emojis to represent class data; for example, using emojis on a personal feeling chart to represent how they are feeling each day or using emojis to represent activities on the class calendar
- Elaboration role-playing being a chatbot asking simple yes/no questions and collecting data, and representing the data using virtual manipulatives, stickers or emojis
- Elaboration exploring ways of representing, sharing and communicating data through stories and symbols used by First Nations Australians
Content descriptorAC9M1ST02 Statistics
represent collected data for a categorical variable using one-to-one displays and digital tools where appropriate; compare the data using frequencies and discuss the findings
Elaborations (6)
- Elaboration creating a pictograph with objects or drawings; discussing the possible categories for the pictograph, arranging the objects or drawings into the categories, then reflecting on the chosen categories and deciding whether they were helpful
- Elaboration translating data from a list or pictorial display into a tally chart to make counting easier; describing what the tally chart is showing, by referring to the categories; using skip counting by fives to compare the numbers within each category and explaining how the tally chart answers the question
- Elaboration recognising that when there is no data for a particular category you may choose whether or not to include it in your data display, and use a zero or blank for that category depending on the purpose of the data collection or presentation; for example, creating a birthday calendar for the class and discussing that there are no students born in May and therefore there are no names listed
- Elaboration representing data with objects and drawings where one object or drawing represents one data value; describing the displays and explaining patterns that have been created using counting strategies to determine the frequency of responses
- Elaboration discussing what data frequency means in terms of the total count for a particular category and relating the highest frequency to being the most popular category in the collected data
- Elaboration exploring First Nations Australian children’s instructive games; for example, Kolap from Mer Island in the Torres Strait region, recording the outcomes, representing and discussing the results
This achievement standard describes the expected learning for Year 1 Mathematics. Use it to plan teaching and assessment with the Australian Curriculum v9.
At a Glance
| Strand | Substrand | CDs | Elaborations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algebra | — | 2 | 12 |
| Measurement | — | 3 | 14 |
| Number | — | 6 | 21 |
| Space | — | 2 | 8 |
| Statistics | — | 2 | 12 |
| Total | 15 | 67 | |
Frequently Asked Questions
What should students know by the end of Year 1 Mathematics?
By the end of Year 1, students connect number names, numerals and quantities, and order numbers to at least 120. They demonstrate how one- and two-digit numbers can be partitioned in different ways and that two-digit numbers can be partitioned into tens and ones. Read the full standard
How many Content Descriptors support this standard?
15 Content Descriptors support this Achievement Standard (Algebra: 2, Measurement: 3, Number: 6, Space: 2, Statistics: 2).
How does this compare to Foundation?
The Foundation Mathematics standard (ASMATFY) covers the preceding curriculum level. Standards build progressively, with Year 1 expectations extending what was introduced in Foundation.
Is this from the latest Australian Curriculum?
Yes, this Achievement Standard is from the Australian Curriculum version 9.0 (AC v9), the most current version published by ACARA.