How Many? – Class 1 Maths Chapter 5 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 1MathematicsChapter 5NCERT book: Joyful Mathematics - Class 1

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 5 of the NCERT Class 1 Mathematics book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

🎧 Listen to the content

Chapter 5: How Many?

Introduction

"How Many?" is the chapter where children meet addition (+) and subtraction (−) with numbers up to 10. It begins in a park with Grandfather, where more children keep joining the play. Children learn to say addition sentences aloud – "4 children and 2 children altogether make 6 children" – and connect the word make with + and altogether with =. Later, a poem about five children getting off a bus introduces taking away.

What's in this Chapter

  • Going out with Grandfather! Tell how many altogether: 4 children and 2 children make 6 (4 + 2 = 6); 3 tops and 1 top make 4; 3 ants and 2 ants make 5; 4 pencils and 3 pencils make 7.
  • Add and Draw: 6 balls and 2 balls make 8; 7 + 1 = 8.
  • Let us Count: How many fingers on both hands and feet? How many family members do you and your friend have altogether?
  • Addition with Dice: Roll two dice and find the total dots; Kishore and Nitya compare scores.
  • Beads and String: 3 + 4 = 7, 4 + 2 = 6, 5 + 4 = 9, 2 + 7 = 9, 7 + 3 = 10.
  • Hop and Find the Sum on a number strip, and Add in Your Own Way (Abdul and Rihana add 2 + 3, 5 + 1, 3 + 3 and 9 + 1 in two ways – across and down).
  • Number pairs: 7 + 1 and 1 + 7 both make 8; 5 + 3, 3 + 5 and 2 + 6 also make 8. A picture of the wheel of the Konark Sun Temple in Odisha, the world's oldest Sun Temple, appears here.
  • Addition Stories: Raghav has 4 shells and Sarita has 5 – 9 shells altogether; 3 marbles and 6 marbles – 9; 3 coconuts and 4 coconuts – 7.
  • Poem – "Five Little Children": "Five little children… One steps out, with a roar. Now, we are four!" …until "Now, there are none!"
  • How Many Left? 6 frogs, 2 jumped away, 4 left; 9 bananas, 6 taken away, 3 left; 7 ladoos, 4 eaten, 3 left; Manisha had 9 bananas and ate 3, so 6 are left; 8 butterflies, 5 flew away, 3 left.
  • Hidden dots on a ten-dot card, and hopping backwards: 3 steps back from 9 lands on 6 (9 − 3 = 6).

    • Key Ideas

  • Addition means putting groups together (aggregation) or adding more to a group (augmentation).
  • "+" is read as plus or and; "=" means altogether makes.
  • Changing the order does not change the sum: 7 + 1 = 1 + 7.
  • Subtraction means taking away and finding how many are left.
  • On a number strip, we hop forward to add and backwards to subtract.

    • Activities from the Book

  • Roll two dice and add the dots.
  • Colour beads on a string to show sums.
  • Make a ten-dot card, hide some dots and ask how many are hidden.
  • Solve 8 − 2 = 6, 7 − 3 = 4, 9 − 5 = 4, 6 − 3 = 3, 5 − 1 = 4, 4 − 2 = 2.
  • Project: arrange cards 0 to 9 so that the sum is 9 – there are many ways.

    • Words to Learn

  • add – put together (जोड़ना)
  • altogether / total / sum – how many in all (कुल / योग)
  • plus (+) – sign for adding (धन चिह्न)
  • equals (=) – is the same as (बराबर)
  • take away / subtract – remove some (घटाना)
  • minus (−) – sign for taking away (ऋण चिह्न)
  • left – what remains (बचे हुए)
  • dice – a cube with dots 1 to 6 (पासा)

    • Tips for Parents & Teachers

  • Always start with real objects – spoons, stones, toys – before writing sums.
  • Say full sentences: "3 apples and 2 apples altogether make 5 apples."
  • Let children make their own addition stories about their school bags.
  • Act out "Five Little Children" with five children leaving a pretend bus.
  • Talk about respecting and spending time with grandparents, as the book suggests.

    • Common Mistakes

  • Counting the first group again instead of counting on.
  • Mixing up + and − signs.
  • Thinking 4 + 0 is 0; adding zero keeps the number the same (4 + 0 = 4).

    • 💡 Key Learning Points

    • ✓Add two small numbers by putting groups together or adding more.
    • ✓Read and write addition sentences using + and =.
    • ✓Understand that the order of adding does not change the sum.
    • ✓Subtract by taking away and find how many are left.
    • ✓Use a number strip to hop forward for addition and backward for subtraction.

    👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

    • →Give plenty of concrete objects before moving to written sums, as the book stresses.
    • →Practise both aggregation (two groups together) and augmentation (adding more to a group).
    • →Link the word 'make' to + and 'altogether' to = when children say sums aloud.
    • →Play the two-dice game in pairs and let children record who scored more.
    • →Enact the 'Five Little Children' poem with a pretend bus.
    • →Use ten-dot cards for hidden-dot games to build number sense for 10.
    • →Encourage children to create their own addition and subtraction stories.

    📋 Assessment Questions

    1. Can the child find the total of two groups of objects up to 10?
    2. Can the child write an addition sentence like 4 + 3 = 7 for a picture?
    3. Can the child solve a simple take-away story such as 9 − 3?
    4. Can the child show addition and subtraction by hopping on a number strip?
    5. Can the child explain that 7 + 1 and 1 + 7 give the same answer?

    Ask the AI tutor about Class 1 Mathematics Chapter 5

    Get question answers, important questions, a quick MCQ quiz or a simple explanation of “How Many?”. Free — sign in with Google.

    How the AI tutor works →

    Keep learning

    All chapters in Joyful Mathematics - Class 1

    1. 1. Finding the Furry Cat!
    2. 2. What is Long? What is Round?
    3. 3. Mango Treat
    4. 4. Making 10
    5. 5. How Many?
    6. 6. Vegetable Farm
    7. 7. Lina's Family
    8. 8. Fun with Numbers
    9. 9. Utsav
    10. 10. How do I Spend my Day?
    11. 11. How Many Times?
    12. 12. How Much Can We Spend?
    13. 13. So Many Toys