Year 4

We can count on and back in steps of a constant size

Year 4 Unit 4

What we are learning:

• Counting is steps of a constant size helps reinforce tables knowledge
• We’re now beginning to learn the 8 times table.
• A number sequence is a list of numbers which are in a special order.
• Using the correct maths vocabulary (counting on, counting back, step size) when practicing at home will support your child to feel more confident when discussing maths.
• The sequence 1, 5, 9, 13, 17 … is an example of counting on from 1 with a step size of 4.
• The sequence 100, 98, 96, 94, 92 …. is an example of counting back from 100 with a step size of 2.
  The step size must remain constant (the same throughout) within a sequence.

ACTIVITY 1: COUNTING IN REGULAR STEPS USING A TAPE MEASURE

ACTIVITY 2: FINDING THE REGULAR PATTERN

Activities you can do at home:

Cut up a piece of paper into long thin strips (a sheet of A4 cut into 4 strips lengthways is ideal). Sellotape these together and then draw a 0 to 100 number line. Mark all the whole numbers on the number line. Use your
number line to support counting on and back in steps of 8:
Start at 0 and count on in 8s. Ask Do you recognize the multiples of 8 from the 8 times-table?
Start at 2 and count on in steps of 8. Ask Do you need to use the number line all of the time to help you? Are some parts of the sequence harder to work out than others? It is generally harder to count on when crossing the
multiples of 10 (20, 30, 40 etc)
Start at 80 and count back in 8s. Ask Do you recognize the multiples of 8 from the 8 times-table?
Start at 100 and count back in steps of 8. Ask Do you need to use the number line all of the time to help you? Are some parts of the sequence harder to work out than others? It is generally harder to count back when crossing the multiples of 10 (20, 30, 40 etc)

Look together at the following sequences. Try and work out whether the sequence is counting/ counting back, what the step size is and what will the next 3 numbers in the sequence be?:
3, 13, 23, 33, 43…
95, 90, 85, 80, 75 …
11, 23, 35, 47…
15, 30, 45, 60 …
99, 88, 77, 66 ….
91, 89, 87, 85, 83…

Good questions to ask:

Can we count up/back in eights from….?
What number is 8 more / less than 64?
Is this sequence going up or down?
What is the step size in this sequence?

If your child:

Gets confused about counting up or down in particular step sizes
Stay with the step size but make the numbers simpler, e.g. start with fewer than 10 and focus on the changes to the numbers. Try writing the sequence down so that you can point to the numbers and ask ‘What happens to change
this number into this next number?’