There are loads of fun maths activities that we can do with everyday things that you might have at home and a little imagination. Negative attitudes towards maths can seriously impair progress and these activities are a fun, pressure-free way of promoting a positive attitude- and keeping young people occupied! These activities are great for encouraging a growth mindset and developing problem solving skills.
We will be running new Target Boards every day. Target Boards are a great fun way for your class to practice arithmetic. They won’t even realise they are working! There are two levels:
- Junior up to 3rd Class / Primary 5 (8-9yrs)
- Senior from 4th Class / Primary 6 (9-10 yrs)
A set of 9 numbers is given and using any of these numbers (only once in each expression) and the four operators, find out how many expressions you can make that makes up the target number.
The idea is to come up with as many expressions using the numbers on the board and the operators. You can register as a class and use the same registration code or you can register as an individual (or family).
Everybody loves simultaneous equations, right? Especially when they are in emoji form 😊
Well we have lots of simultaneous equations for you here. Imagine that lots of people are doing simultaneous equations simultaneously!
Working with Maths Week, Lorna Wilson a secondary maths teacher came up with the superb idea: Simultaneous simultaneous equations. To make it more fun and engaging for students we have taken away the x’s and y’s and replaced them with emojis – What child/teenager doesn’t love emoji’s right? Even some adults do too!!?? Click on the link below to get resources for Key stage 1/1st class all the way up to A-levels/6th year.
Here at Maths Week we are obsessed with the game 24. Very much like target boards but we play it with arithmetic all around us, for example randomly pick 4 cards from a deck and using the same rule try to reach 24. (J=11, Q=12, K=13, A=1) You can simplify this game for younger players by leaving out the picture cards.
Another version of the game uses car registration plates! Plates in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have a sequence of digits that we can use:
Using the sequence of numbers on the right of the plate can you make up the number 24?
One solution to the first plate above is (2×4)x3+(9×0)=24. One solution to the second plate is (7×4)-(9-5)=24.
In most cases it is possible. In many cases there are several ways. In some cases there are none.
We’ll present a new set of plates each day for you to try here and you can see some advanced moves you can add.
The Maths Week Problem Solving Philosophy is very much underpinned by the concept of a ‘growth mindset’.
Having and developing a ‘growth mindset’ about maths is a key element in succeeding at maths. The terms ‘fixed mindset’ and ‘growth mindset’ were coined by Dr Carol Dweck to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence. Everyone has a mindset or a core belief about how they learn, and the type a person has, i.e. fixed or growth, impacts on the outcomes they can have in that particular area.