Year 1: Months of the year and dates
Part of the Year 1 time chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
Months of the year and dates
A year has 12 months. The months always come in the same order: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December.
A calendar shows the days of one month in rows. Each box has a date, such as the 9th. The top of each column shows the day of the week.
Key ideas
- A year has 12 months.
- January is the first month. December is the last.
- After December comes January.
- A date is the number of the day in the month, such as the 9th.
- Each column of a calendar is one day of the week.
Key words. A year has 12 months. January is the first month and December is the last.
Method. Start at March. Count 1 month after.
- Find March in the list of months. The months always go in the same order, from January to December.March
- Move 1 month after. Each step moves on to the next month, or back to the one before.March + 1 = April
- Write the answer. April
Check. Count 1 month back from April to check. ✓
Watch out. After December comes January. The months start again at the new year.
Method. Count the months from January.
- Start at January. January is the first month of the year.January = 1st month
- Count along to the 9th month. Each month is one more than the month before.9th month is September
- Write the answer. September
Check. Count the months back from September to January. ✓
Watch out. Count from January, not from the month you know best.
Method. Put the months in the order they come in the year, starting with January.
- Find each month in the list. January is first and December is last.July is month 7, February is month 2, May is month 5
- Put them in order, first to last. The month with the smaller number comes first.February, May, July
- Write the answer. February, May, July
Check. Each month in your list comes later than the one before it. ✓
Watch out. Do not use the alphabet. Use the order of the year.
Watch out
Watch out: the month after December is January. The months start again in a new year.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Say the months in order together. Use a family calendar: find birthdays and holidays, and ask: “What month comes after this one?” When you find a date, look up to the top of its column to find the day.
Exercise 13C Months and dates
Non-calculatorKey words. A year has 12 months. January is the first month and December is the last.
Method. Start at May. Count 1 month after.
- Find May in the list of months. The months always go in the same order, from January to December.May
- Move 1 month after. Each step moves on to the next month, or back to the one before.May + 1 = June
- Write the answer. June
Check. Count 1 month back from June to check. ✓
Watch out. After December comes January. The months start again at the new year.
Key words. A year has 12 months. January is the first month and December is the last.
Method. Start at October. Count 1 month before.
- Find October in the list of months. The months always go in the same order, from January to December.October
- Move 1 month before. Each step moves on to the next month, or back to the one before.October − 1 = September
- Write the answer. September
Check. Count 1 month forward from September to check. ✓
Watch out. After December comes January. The months start again at the new year.
Method. Count the months from January.
- Start at January. January is the first month of the year.January = 1st month
- Count along to the 1st month. Each month is one more than the month before.1st month is January
- Write the answer. January
Check. Count the months back from January to January. ✓
Watch out. Count from January, not from the month you know best.
Method. Count the months from January.
- Start at January. January is the first month of the year.January = 1st month
- Count along to the 12th month. Each month is one more than the month before.12th month is December
- Write the answer. December
Check. Count the months back from December to January. ✓
Watch out. Count from January, not from the month you know best.
Key words. A year has 12 months.
Method. Count the months, one at a time.
- Say each month. Touch each month once in your head.Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
- Count them. The last number you say is how many months there are.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
- Write the answer. 12 months
Check. There are 12 months in a year, from January to December. ✓
Watch out. A year has 12 months, and the months always go in the same order.
Key words. A year has 12 months. January is the first month and December is the last.
Method. Start at April. Count 1 month after.
- Find April in the list of months. The months always go in the same order, from January to December.April
- Move 1 month after. Each step moves on to the next month, or back to the one before.April + 1 = May
- Write the answer. May
Check. Count 1 month back from May to check. ✓
Watch out. After December comes January. The months start again at the new year.
Key words. A year has 12 months. January is the first month and December is the last.
Method. Start at August. Count 1 month after.
- Find August in the list of months. The months always go in the same order, from January to December.August
- Move 1 month after. Each step moves on to the next month, or back to the one before.August + 1 = September
- Write the answer. September
Check. Count 1 month back from September to check. ✓
Watch out. After December comes January. The months start again at the new year.
Key words. A year has 12 months. January is the first month and December is the last.
Method. Start at November. Count 1 month after.
- Find November in the list of months. The months always go in the same order, from January to December.November
- Move 1 month after. Each step moves on to the next month, or back to the one before.November + 1 = December
- Write the answer. December
Check. Count 1 month back from December to check. ✓
Watch out. After December comes January. The months start again at the new year.
Key words. A year has 12 months. January is the first month and December is the last.
Method. Start at January. Count 3 months after.
- Find January in the list of months. The months always go in the same order, from January to December.January
- Move 3 months after. Each step moves on to the next month, or back to the one before.January + 3 = April
- Write the answer. April
Check. Count 3 months back from April to check. ✓
Watch out. After December comes January. The months start again at the new year.
Method. Put the months in the order they come in the year, starting with January.
- Find each month in the list. January is first and December is last.October is month 10, January is month 1, June is month 6
- Put them in order, first to last. The month with the smaller number comes first.January, June, October
- Write the answer. January, June, October
Check. Each month in your list comes later than the one before it. ✓
Watch out. Do not use the alphabet. Use the order of the year.
Method. Find the 9th on the calendar. Then look at the top of its column.
- Find the 9th. Count along the rows, one box at a time.The 9th is in row 2
- Look at the top of its column. The top of each column shows the day of the week.Column top: Fri
- Write the answer. Friday
Check. The 1st is a Thursday. Count on from there to the 9th. ✓
Watch out. Look up to the top of the column. Do not read the day in the box below.
Method. Find the Sundays on the calendar. Then pick the first one after the 9th.
- Find the 9th. Start from that date.The 9th
- Count on to the next Sunday. The same day comes again 7 days later.9 + 2 = 11
- Write the answer. the 11th
Check. The Sunday before it was the 4th, which is not after the 9th. ✓
Watch out. Go on to the next day with that name. Do not stop on the date you started from.
Method. Find the 20th on the calendar. Then look at the top of its column.
- Find the 20th. Count along the rows, one box at a time.The 20th is in row 4
- Look at the top of its column. The top of each column shows the day of the week.Column top: Tue
- Write the answer. Tuesday
Check. The 1st is a Thursday. Count on from there to the 20th. ✓
Watch out. Look up to the top of the column. Do not read the day in the box below.
Method. Look down the column for Monday and count the boxes.
- Find the Monday column. It is the column with the day name at the top.Mon
- Count each box with that day. Touch each one once.5th, 12th, 19th, 26th
- Write the answer. 4 Mondays
Check. Each Monday is 7 days after the one before. ✓
Watch out. Do not count the box above the calendar, which has the day name only.
Method. Find the 10th on the calendar, then check the day.
- Find the 10th. Count along the rows.The 10th is in the picture
- Look at its column. The day of the week at the top of the column is the day of that date.It is a Saturday
- Write the answer. A different month can have the date on a different day.No. On this calendar the 10th is a Saturday.
Check. Each week has 7 days, so the same date moves on by one day in each new month. ✓
Watch out. The day of the week is different in each month. Check the calendar, do not guess.