Patterns in the hundreds chart
Down a column every number grows by ten; along a row, by one. Filling in missing numbers makes children use those patterns instead of counting from 1 every time.More counting
Try skip counting and number lines.In the New Zealand Curriculum
- First 6 monthsNumbers to 20, with words such as before, after and between.
- Year 1Reading, writing and comparing numbers to at least 100, and counting in 1s, 2s and 10s forwards and backwards.
- Year 2Numbers to 120, counting in 2s, 5s and 10s from any number, and place value such as 32 being 3 tens and 2 ones.
In the refreshed curriculum, numbers to 100 belong to Year 1 and numbers to 120 to Year 2, so the 1 to 100 chart suits Year 1 and the 1 to 120 chart covers Year 2. New entrants work within 20 for their first months, so start them on the first two rows only.
Year 2 also asks children to explain a number by its tens and ones. After a missing-numbers chart, point at a blank they filled and ask how many tens it has, and which number sits straight above it.
Summarised in our own words from the New Zealand Curriculum: Mathematics and Statistics, Years 0–8 (in effect from 2025), and the Ministry of Education’s year-by-year guide for parents and whānau.