Skip to content

Proposed version

Master the Curriculum

Working Without Worksheets

EYFS

L13 – WWW – Reception One Less

masterthecurriculum.co.uk

Preview only. The download is a fully editable file.

See inside

1 page shown before you download

Cover of L13 – WWW – Reception One Less1Cover
Cover and first page

The rest of the pack

Planning, teaching slides and all three worksheet levels come with the download.

Early YearsWorking Without Worksheets

L13 – WWW – Reception One Less

4.821 reviews

Reception Working Without Worksheets lesson on “one less”. Includes planning, counting back starter, counting bears, cubes, toys, nature activities, and plenary.

Included with membership

Unlock with membership

Already a member? Sign in and it downloads from this page.

Keep it for later and group it with the rest of the block. No account needed to start.

  • Fully editable Word or PowerPoint file
  • Differentiated three ways
  • Instant download, no watermark

About this resource

Working Without Worksheets – Reception Maths: One Less Introduce your Reception pupils to the concept of one less with this Working Without Worksheets lesson. Children explore the relationship between consecutive numbers by taking away one from a set, using counting bears, fingers, cubes, toys, and natural objects. Through practical activities and oral rehearsal, pupils build a deep understanding of what it means for a number to be “one less”. The lesson begins with a starter activity : Count back together from 10 to 1 as a class. Ask children to show a number of fingers (e.g. 4). Then ask them to put one finger down. Together, confirm: “One less than 4 is 3.” In the main input , the teacher models the “one less” relationship with counting bears . Children count the bears together, assigning a numeral to each. The teacher then removes one bear and confirms how many are left, emphasising the “one less” relationship without starting the count again. For the independent activity , pupils explore one less in different contexts: Counting Towers : choose a numeral card, build a tower with that many cubes, take one away, and say how many are left. Toy Line Up : line up a chosen number of toys, remove one, and count how many remain. Nature Numbers : collect leaves, sticks, or pebbles, group them, then take one away to find one less. The plenary brings the class back together for a quick-fire game: the teacher calls out a number, and children respond with “one less”. For example: Teacher: 7 — Children: 6 . This reinforces fluency and ensures every child practises the skill orally. What’s Included in the Pack? ✔ Full teacher planning with objectives, modelling, and plenary questions ✔ Starter: count back from 10 and explore one less with fingers ✔ Teacher modelling: using counting bears to show “one less” ✔ Vocabulary focus: one less, take away, fewer, next, number, count ✔ Practical tasks: Counting Towers, Toy Line Up, Nature Numbers ✔ Independent recording through oral reasRead more

Working Without Worksheets – Reception Maths: One Less Introduce your Reception pupils to the concept of one less with this Working Without Worksheets lesson. Children explore the relationship between consecutive numbers by taking away one from a set, using counting bears, fingers, cubes, toys, and natural objects. Through practical activities and oral rehearsal, pupils build a deep understanding of what it means for a number to be “one less”. The lesson begins with a starter activity : Count back together from 10 to 1 as a class. Ask children to show a number of fingers (e.g. 4). Then ask them to put one finger down. Together, confirm: “One less than 4 is 3.” In the main input , the teacher models the “one less” relationship with counting bears . Children count the bears together, assigning a numeral to each. The teacher then removes one bear and confirms how many are left, emphasising the “one less” relationship without starting the count again. For the independent activity , pupils explore one less in different contexts: Counting Towers : choose a numeral card, build a tower with that many cubes, take one away, and say how many are left. Toy Line Up : line up a chosen number of toys, remove one, and count how many remain. Nature Numbers : collect leaves, sticks, or pebbles, group them, then take one away to find one less. The plenary brings the class back together for a quick-fire game: the teacher calls out a number, and children respond with “one less”. For example: Teacher: 7 — Children: 6 . This reinforces fluency and ensures every child practises the skill orally. What’s Included in the Pack? ✔ Full teacher planning with objectives, modelling, and plenary questions ✔ Starter: count back from 10 and explore one less with fingers ✔ Teacher modelling: using counting bears to show “one less” ✔ Vocabulary focus: one less, take away, fewer, next, number, count ✔ Practical tasks: Counting Towers, Toy Line Up, Nature Numbers ✔ Independent recording through oral reas

Show less

What you get, 6 files

  • PDFPlanning
  • PPTXPlanning, editable
  • PDFTeaching slides
  • PPTXTeaching slides, editable
  • PDFWorksheets, all three levels
  • PPTXWorksheets, editable

The standard small step pack, as her own modules ship it. We do not print page counts here, because her catalogue does not publish them and a guessed number is worse than none.

★★★ Differentiated three ways
  • Working towardsScaffolded, with the model or the bar already drawn.
  • Working withinThe expected standard for the year group.
  • Greater depthReasoning and explaining, not just more of the same.

Her own system, with the star count repeated in every worksheet header so a child can be handed the right sheet without a word.

The rest of this block

Working Without Worksheets, Early Years25 numbered lessons

  1. Lesson 11– WWW – Reception Count Beyond 10
  2. Lesson 12– WWW – Reception One More
  3. Lesson 13 · you are here– WWW – Reception One Less
  4. Lesson 14– WWW – Reception Composition of 3
  5. Lesson 15– WWW – Reception Composition of 4

What teachers said after they used it

All reviews →
4.821 verified reviewsWe ask once, seven days after the download, and one tap is enough.
Beth NightingaleYear 1 teacher, Poplar Farm School, GranthamVerified download, 13 January 2026

Fine, though the font is small for my class.

The maths is right and the sequence is sensible. Several of my children needed it enlarged to A3, which is easy enough but worth knowing before you print thirty.

4 teachers found this helpful

Joanne PicklesYear 3 teacher, Crossflatts Primary, BingleyVerified download, 5 March 2026

Printed it at eight on a Sunday and taught it on the Monday.

No editing, no reformatting, no hunting for the answers. The three levels are on separate pages, which sounds obvious until you have used the sites where they are not.

10 teachers found this helpful

Michael FerrisMaths lead, Cheadle Heath Primary, StockportVerified download, 16 February 2026

Matches our White Rose planning almost week for week.

I stopped adapting things from three different sites and now start here. The odd week does not line up exactly, but the small step it covers is always somewhere in the same block.

8 teachers found this helpful

More working without worksheets for Early Years

Working Without Worksheets

EYFS

L29 – WWW – Compare Weight

masterthecurriculum.co.uk
4.214 reviews
Included with membership

Working Without Worksheets

EYFS

L28 – WWW – Compare Lengths

masterthecurriculum.co.uk
4.934 reviews
Included with membership

Working Without Worksheets

EYFS

L26 – WWW – Copy Repeated Patterns

masterthecurriculum.co.uk
4.955 reviews
Included with membership
Editable worksheetsWord and PowerPoint, so you can change anythingWhite Rose supportingFollows the small steps you already plan fromDownloadable lesson plansPlanning, slides and worksheets for every stepReasoning and problem solvingBuilt into every step, not sold separately

A free resource every Friday

One email a week, for the year group you actually teach. Unsubscribe in a click.

Year group you teach