Year 1 Counting, recognising and comparing numbers 0 - 10 worksheet

“Counting forwards and backwards” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 1 maths unit “Counting, recognising and comparing numbers 0 - 10”, for children aged 5 to 6, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 1 to 3 of the year, 15 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Counting forwards and backwards

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 1 · Maths · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can count forwards and backwards within 10, starting from any number.

A Look back3 min

1.
How many dots?
2.
What number comes after 8?
3.
Take 1 dot away. How many are left?

B Watch me, then you4 min

Watch me

Start at 2 and count forwards.

Each number is one more: 2, 3, 4, 5.

We said the numbers in order.

Now you

1.
Count forwards from 5: 5, 6,

C Your turn5 min

A rocket countdown goes backwards, but some rows count forwards. Fill in the missing numbers.

A small rocket standing on a launch pad under a night sky

1.
Count forwards from 1: 1, 2, 3, , 5
2.
Count forwards from 4: 4, 5, , 7
3.
Count backwards from 6: 6, 5, , 3
4.
Count backwards from 9: 9, 8, 7, , 5

Say it out loud: When you count backwards, which way do the numbers go? What changes in each row?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Kit says: “When I count backwards from 7, the next number is 8.”

1.
Count backwards from 7. What number comes next?

E Think deeper4 min

1.
Count backwards from 8 to 3. Write the numbers you say in between, in order.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Counting forwards and backwards · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. 7

2. 9

3. 4

B

1. 7

C

1. 4 If your child skips a number, point along the line and say each number again.

2. 6

3. 4 If your child writes 7, they counted forwards. Backwards goes down: 6, 5, then 4.

4. 6 If your child misses a number, count back again slowly with a finger on the line.

D

1. 6 If your child says 8, they counted forwards. Backwards means the numbers get smaller.

E

1. 7, 6, 5, 4 If your child misses one out, count back slowly from 8 and touch each number on the line.

Words to use

Say“Start the count from a different number and say it in order.”

Instead of“Count them all again from one every time.”

After the sheet

Line up 10 socks or spoons in a row. Say the numbers up to 10, then say them back down while touching each one.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

14 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Counting Things in Lines(with a plan)
Counting on in groups(with a plan)
Counters for Counting Songs(with a plan)
Counting Claps and Nods(with a plan)
Seeing small amounts(with a plan)
Does the amount change?(with a plan)
Matching numerals to dots(with a plan)
Meet the number zero(with a plan)
Who is first in line?(with a plan)
Putting numbers in order(with a plan)
More or fewer?(with a plan)
One More Than(with a plan)
One less than(with a plan)
Find the missing number(with a plan)

Every Year 1 maths worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

The full StudyDen plan adds the lessons themselves, marked as your child works, with the worksheets included. It is 7 days free, then £29.99 a month.

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