AC9M1A01 • Year 1 Maths
Skip counting creates number patterns. Patterns by 2s, 5s and 10s have predictable changes.
Skip counting creates number patterns. Patterns by 2s, 5s and 10s have predictable changes.
Learning routine: Find start → Find skip → Continue → Create → Explain
The rule tells what changes from one term to the next.
Growing patterns can use numbers, symbols, shapes or objects. Show the same increase between each stage.
Explain your thinking: Say what each part of the model represents, then explain why the answer or conclusion follows.
Recognise, continue and create sequences formed by adding equal groups.
Each new stage adds one pair of blocks. The first three stages contain 2, 4 and 6 blocks. What comes next?
| Stage | Pairs of blocks | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ●● | 2 |
| 2 | ●● ●● | 4 |
| 3 | ●● ●● ●● | 6 |
| 4 | ●● ●● ●● ●● | 8 |
Watch for this mistake: A picture of the same pair repeated three times is not three growing stages. Separate the stages and show the total increasing in each one.
Each row of a table is a new stage. Complete the totals: 5, 10, __, 20. Describe the change.
Compare neighbouring totals and keep that change.
15. Each stage adds five.
A child writes 10, 20, 30, 35 when counting in tens. Correct the last number and explain.
Compare the last jump with the earlier jumps.
40. The last jump should add ten, not five.
These curriculum examples extend the central model into varied contexts. They are learning contexts, not extra definitions to memorise.
using number charts, songs, rhymes and stories to establish skip counting sequences of twos, fives and tens
Try and explain: Continue the count 10, 20, 30, __, __. What is added each time?
40, 50. Add ten each time; saying only the next number does not explain the rule.
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 …
Try and explain: Build separate stages containing 5, 10 and 15 blocks. How many blocks should stage four contain?
20 blocks. Each new stage contains five more blocks than the previous stage; keep the stages visibly separate.
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
Try and explain: In the count 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, which ones digits repeat? Will 23 occur in this count?
The ones digits alternate between 0 and 5. 23 will not occur because its ones digit is 3.
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
Try and explain: Count the value of six 5-cent play coins by fives.
5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 cents. The count gives value in cents, not the number of coins.
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
Try and explain: A packing robot fills boxes with ten crayons each. It fills four boxes. How many crayons has it packed?
40 crayons: 10, 20, 30, 40. Each completed box increases the total by ten.
using different variations of the popular Korean counting game Sam-yuk-gu for generating skip counting pattern sequences
Try and explain: In a classroom counting game, players call the next multiple of five: 5, 10, 15. Give the next two calls and the rule.
20 and 25. Add five after every call.
Identify the skip rule in a number sequence.
Model: 10, 20, 30
Continue a pattern by 2s, 5s or 10s.
Model: 5, 10, 15, __
Create your own skip-counting pattern with shapes or numbers.
Model: Stage 1: ●●; Stage 2: ●● ●●; Stage 3: ●● ●● ●●
Key idea: Skip counting creates number patterns. Patterns by 2s, 5s and 10s have predictable changes.
Return to the concept model if an answer is uncertain. Use the model to explain, not just to guess.
AC9M1A01: recognise, continue and create pattern sequences, with numbers, symbols, shapes and objects, formed by skip counting, initially by twos, fives and tens
Use the Practice Sheet for written or hands-on work, Practice for supported feedback, and Test when the student is ready to demonstrate independent mastery.
The SkillrHub lesson remains the primary learning resource. This optional video reinforces the explanation; you can complete the lesson and practice without watching.
Before you watch:
Scratch Garden — Practise a number sequence that increases by 2 each time.
As you watch: What stays the same about the jump from one number to the next?
Load video player Loads YouTube in this lesson. See the video notice below.
Try it: Draw five equal groups of 2 counters. Write the counting sequence underneath and add one more group.
Video unavailable, inaccurate or unsuitable for this year? Report a video problem to SkillrHub by email. You can continue with the written lesson and practice resources.
Scratch Garden — Practise a number sequence that increases by 5 each time.
As you watch: What stays the same about the jump from one number to the next?
Load video player Loads YouTube in this lesson. See the video notice below.
Try it: Draw five equal groups of 5 counters. Write the counting sequence underneath and add one more group.
Video unavailable, inaccurate or unsuitable for this year? Report a video problem to SkillrHub by email. You can continue with the written lesson and practice resources.
Scratch Garden — Practise a number sequence that increases by 10 each time.
As you watch: What stays the same about the jump from one number to the next?
Load video player Loads YouTube in this lesson. See the video notice below.
Try it: Draw five equal groups of 10 counters. Write the counting sequence underneath and add one more group.
Video unavailable, inaccurate or unsuitable for this year? Report a video problem to SkillrHub by email. You can continue with the written lesson and practice resources.
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Mapped skill: recognise, continue and create pattern sequences, with numbers, symbols, shapes and objects, formed by skip counting, initially by twos, fives and tens
These references identify matching or closely related learning. Curriculum sequence, terminology and depth vary, so teachers should use the mapped skill and lesson difficulty to confirm suitability.
| Region | Curriculum framework | Closest level or code |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Australian Curriculum v9.0 | AC9M1A01 · Year 1 |
| Victoria | Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0 — Mathematics | VC2M1A01 · Level 1 |
| New South Wales | NSW Mathematics K–10 Syllabus (2022) | MA1-RWN-01 + MA1-FG-01 · Stage 1 |
| United States (USA) | Common Core State Standards for Mathematics | Grade 1 |
| Canada (Ontario) | Ontario Curriculum — Mathematics | Grade 1 |
| United Kingdom (England) | National Curriculum in England — Mathematics | Year 2, Key Stage 1 |
| India | NCERT / CBSE — Mathematics | Class 1 |
Australian Curriculum v9.0 is the canonical source for this SkillrHub lesson. Victoria and NSW entries name the closest published state codes or outcomes; international entries are planning references rather than claims of identical curricula.
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Topic reference: AC9M1A01 — Skip Counting Pattern Sequences
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