www.mathsticks.com - Making Maths Stick

Mental Mondays #16

johdu — Sat, 19 May 2012 20:43:08 +0000

Here’s another versatile calculation-based Mental and Oral starter.

We are looking at number problems with multiple operations. For example, you display the following number sentence, or equation (since it is a mixed calculation there is no logical way we can call it a "sum").

Dinosaur Doubles - Flash Cards

johdu — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:47:18 +0000

We have taken one of our most popular bonds to 10 flash card set and reinvented them as a doubling and halving resource.

Here we have 12 double-sided flash cards featuring a friendly triceratops. On his back he is displaying a number, turn him around to show that he is chewing his way through double that number.

4 Olympic Maths Activities

johdu — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:18:44 +0000

Here are 4 Olympic Games-themed mathematics activities.

The resource consists of four problem solving activities. The problems are presented as A4 'cards' and can be used as-is with specific children, or easily adapted to suit other groups or even the whole class. The material is designed to appeal to Key Stage 2 children.

The four activities are:

Mental Mondays #15

johdu — Fri, 04 May 2012 07:47:31 +0000

This Mental & Oral starter is based on an idea from John Taylor’s book JumpStart! Numeracy.

The focus is on using shortcuts to quickly add and subtract 9 and 8 mentally. For our version you will need a set of coloured cards. Scraps of paper or even post it notes will do. We used blue and yellow paper squares. You need enough so that half of the class (or group) can have one colour and the other half the remaining colour.

31 Days in May

johdu — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:02:25 +0000

Throughout May we are running a very special competition.

If you have ever used one (or more) of our maths resources or games you can enter this competition.

All we are looking for is a short description of how you used the resource and a photo... Send these to us and you can be in with the chance to win £31 in Amazon vouchers.

Mental Mondays #14

johdu — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 13:35:29 +0000

This starter idea focusses on 2D Shape. In particular the properties of shape and the correct use of shape related vocabulary. Like most of our mental and oral starter ideas it can be used as a group or individual activity too.

It is related to the "Target Board" activity we explored in Mental Mondays #13

Here's how this one works. You show a grid of 30 numbered shapes:

Dice Game - Cover the Windows

johdu — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:55:05 +0000

This is a simple, fun dice game for two players. The focus is on reinforcing calculation skills and looking for combinations of numbers that create specific totals.

The game uses a windows board which is based on a photograph of a real building, the resource could be used as part of a topic on buildings or homes. Or the idea can be transferred to large-scale use in the playground using chalk or card numbers.

Fish for 5 - an Early Years Maths Game

johdu — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:50:18 +0000

We've been thinking about Number bonds again. This teaching game is designed for the Early Years and focuses on giving children plenty of practice working with number bonds to 5.

Mental Mondays #13

johdu — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 10:03:51 +0000

In our previous mental and oral suggestion (Mental Monday #12) we focussed on calculation. That activity involved displaying a grid of numbers and challenging the children to choose numbers to solve specific problems.

Flower Counting

johdu — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:58:15 +0000

This resource is in response to a member's request. They liked our Spider Counting resource but wanted something a little more 'girl friendly'. We thought of flowers - sorry, you see we can be predictable when we try!