This was a PowerPoint presentation and handout that I put together for a staff meeting in my role as subject-leader. It introduces ideas from the Mathematics Specialist Teacher programme and aims to develop mathematical reasoning. It discusses the importance of reasoning, outlines the mathematical skills required to develop reasoning and provides ideas for activities to develop reasoning. The activities can be adapted to suit any age group and any mathematical concept. Many of the activities could also be adapted across the curriculum. They are self-differentiating, with a low entry point and high ceiling and are very quick and easy to set up. The activities are a great option for lesson starters, mental maths activities or time-fillers. The notes under each slide provide an explanation of the activity and some ideas on how it could be adapted. The handout is provided in both PDF and Microsoft Word format.

This resource is really useful for a fun end of term or Christmas maths or Enterprise activity related to planning a party. This is also great for honing team work skills as the pupils may have a strong difference of opinion and need to compromise. Simply choose a budget and send groups off to plan the best whole class party for their money. Pupils have to figure out whether the special offers are really that special and if the branded products are really worth the extra money. There are many ways that you could assess this activity, but I went round and talked to the children, asking them to justify why they had made certain choices. Maths Coverage Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals, Ratio Measures Money Problem Solving Reasoning Using a calculator (if desired) I followed this up with a discussion on healthy eating: what foods do we normal eat at parties? Are there healthier alternatives? This proved to be a really interesting and extremely worthwhile activity and resulted in a healthy end of term party. As well as PDF, the resource is provided in Word format to give you the opportunity to edit.

I first used this resource with more able Year 6 pupils, who were working towards the then Level 6 SATs test. The maths curriculum has changed since then, but this resource is still very relevant to the statutory requirements of the Year 6 and Year 7 programmes of study. The resource includes nine multi-part questions and a pupil self-assessment table at the bottom. It is great way of analysing pupils’ strengths and weaknesses at the start of a topic and I like to repeat the activity at the end of the topic to see progress and set the next steps. Alternatively, it can just be used as a worksheet or one off activity to consolidate learning. Resource is provided as both a PDF and a Word document if you would like to adapt it at all.

A simple PowerPoint with addition and subtraction calculation questions that provide pupils with the opportunity to practise their written methods. For the first activity the 10 questions get progressively harder and I used this as an assessment to identify gaps and group pupils accordingly for teaching input. I repeated these questions at the end of the unit to assess progress and next steps. The second activity includes 13 questions that are grouped in three categories of difficulty. There are two further reasoning activities to consolidate the learning.

Supports the CPA approach to teaching mathematics (concrete, pictorial, abstract). Ready to go classroom display aimed at helping pupils to articulate what they have ‘done in their heads’ when adding and subtracting mentally. Encourages pupils to try different strategies and choose the most appropriate strategy for the calculation they are presented with. The resource includes nine thought bubbles with pictorial representations of the strategies and nine text boxes with the strategies in writing, as well as the title. PDF version is included and also fully editable Microsoft Word version (font is Sassoon Primary but can easily be changed). Suitable for use in both KS1 and KS2. This resource can also be bought as part of a package of mental addition and subtraction activities.

Ideal for starter activities, stolen moments, morning task , finisher’s activities or mental maths lessons. These are all ready to go activities that have a low entry point and high ceiling, making them self-differentiating and accessible to pupils across KS2. Each activity is designed to develop pupil’s reasoning skills and make rich connections across mathematical ideas. The activities range from 5 minute fillers to investigations that can be extended to span a whole lesson. There are 37 activities, but these can be very quickly and easily adapted to provide hundreds of activities. These are all activities that I have done with my pupils throughout the year; I have simply collated them onto one Powerpoint. Each slide includes explanation beneath and ideas to support/extend learning. Thank you for looking.

This resource comprises two worksheets of questions based on shape - one with questions at Level 5 and one with questions at Level 6. Each sheet has a self-assessment grid at the bottom for pupils to fill in so that they are aware of their strengths and areas for development at the beginning of the topic. When I first used these I was preparing more able Year 6 pupils for SATs exams - hence the Level 5 and Level 6; I have kept these levels on as I know it helps some teachers to still think in these terms. I used the results to organise groups and inform planning for the unit and then gave it to the pupils again at the end of the unit to assess progress and next steps. Aside from an assessment activity, these would make a good homework task, individual activity or on-going morning/early finishing task. The questions cover: Level 5 I can visualise a 3D shape after a rotation. I understand the terms parallel and perpendicular. Give the coordinates of three vertices of a parallelogram, I can find the fourth. I can calculate angles on a straight line. I can visualise where patterns drawn on a 3D shape will occur on its net. Visualise patterns on its net. I know the angle sum of a triangle. I can measure angles accurate to 2˚. I can find the perimeter of simple shapes. I can find the area of simple shapes, given some edge lengths. Level 6 I can recognise and use common 2-D representations of 3-D objects I can solve problems using angle properties of intersecting and parallel lines. I can solve problems using angle properties of polygons. I can use appropriate formulae for finding circumferences and areas of circles. I can calculate the volumes of cuboids. I can calculate lengths, areas and volumes in plane shapes. I can enlarge shapes by a given scale factor. The resource is provided in Word format as well as PDF so that you can edit to suit.

This is a sheet of questions about fractions, decimals, ratios and percentages. This is perfect for the beginning of a topic to ascertain individual and collective gaps and strengths. The activity could even be given as a homework. The questions get progressively more difficult and span from Level 3 - Level 6. The sheet can be easily edited in Word format so that the levels aren’t visible to pupils. There is also a record sheet for teachers with the objectives at the top of the sheet. Teachers can use a system of ticks and crosses to fill in the boxes, but I use a highlighter to indicate the objectives achieved. I then use this to inform my planning and guided groups. At the end of the topic I give the pupils the questions again and record on the same sheet using a different highlighter so that progress is clearly visible. As well as PDF, resource is provided in Word format for easy editing.

A ready to go set of ten multi-step worded questions (some like mini investigations) that require pupils to use their knowledge of inverse operations. This activity took a whole lesson with a Year 6 class for me. Differentiated questions: yellow cards are Level 4 questions, blue cards are Level 5 questions and green cards are Level 6 questions. Ideas for use: Print on card, cut up and distribute around the class for pupils to solve in groups. Place the card on a large sheet of sugar paper and jot workings around the outside. Share strategies as a class. Whisper Maths activity: pupils have some time to consider the question individually first and then snowball out into pairs and then groups. Set up as a competition, with tables coming to the front for the next card once they have provided the correct solution. Early finishers activity. Print cards on paper, cut up and stick one (at the appropriate level) in each child’s book for them to jot around and solve individually. Guided intervention activity. The resource is provided in PDF as well as an editable Word document and the answers are included. Many thanks for looking.

A sheet of questions to give to pupils when they enter Year 6 or Year 5 in September (or at the end of the previous year) to assess strengths and weakness and to inform planning. Comes with answer sheet and assessment tracker. Mathematics Covered: Read, write and order numbers to 3dp. Order mixed set of numbers to 3dp. Use tables to work with decimals. Use multiplication facts to devise square numbers to 12 x 12. Explain place value to 3dp. Add and subtract decimals to 3dp. Multiply and divide decimals by 10/100 and integers to 1000. Compare fraction by cancelling common factors. Work out simple % of whole numbers.

Ready-to-go ideas for developing pupils’ ability to add and subtract mentally and to reason about number. These activities link strongly with the CPA (concrete, pictorial, abstract) approach to teaching maths. I created these activities for a research project I was conducting in school as part of my Maths Specialist Teacher qualification. They are all aimed at improving children’s mental addition and subtraction by developing a broad range of strategies and encouraging them to reason about number. We had found that children were entering KS2 with only a handful of (often cumbersome) mental strategies, e.g. partitioning into tens and units, using number bonds to ten only or counting on/back in ones, and weren’t always applying them appropriately. We used the activities with Y3 and Y4 children, but it can be used from Y2 upwards as it links very strongly with the Y2 curriculum. The resource includes differentiated activities with written descriptions and accompanying interactive whiteboard slides and paper resources where applicable. Slides were originally in SMARTboard format and this is perhaps the best software to use if you have it as the slides can be interacted with this way; however, I have also copied the slides over to a PowerPoint presentation for those without SMARTboard software. Also included is a wall display, which shows visual representations of different strategies for mental addition and subtraction. The activities can be adapted for all year groups and abilities and you will find a lot more mileage in this resource once you get started and the impact on the classes studied in terms of both their confidence and ability in mental maths was phenomenal. National Curriculum Links Pupils should partition numbers in different ways (for example, 23 = 20 + 3 and 23 = 10 + 13) to support subtraction. Recall and use addition and subtraction facts to 20 fluently, and derive and use related facts up to 100 Add and subtract numbers using concrete objects, pictorial representations, and mentally, including: a two-digit number and ones; a two-digit number and tens; two two-digit numbers; adding three one-digit numbers. Show that addition of two numbers can be done in any order (commutative) and subtraction of one number from another cannot Recognise and use the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction and use this to check calculations and solve missing number problems. Pupils practise addition and subtraction to 20 to become increasingly fluent in deriving facts such as using 3 + 7 = 10; 10 – 7 = 3 and 7 = 10 – 3 to calculate 30 + 70 = 100; 100 – 70 = 30 and 70 = 100 – 30. They check their calculations, including by adding to check subtraction and adding numbers in a different order to check addition (for example, 5 + 2 + 1 = 1 + 5 + 2 = 1 + 2 + 5). This establishes commutativity and associativity of addition.

This is a great investigation that builds so many rich mathematics connections. It is easily differentiated as the entry point is simple but more able pupils can extend right into algebra. I did this lesson with my Year 6 class, but it could be accessed by pupils across Key Stage 2. It supports the CPA approach to teaching maths as pupils realise that physically moving the ‘people’ (or rubbers, pencil sharpeners or whatever!) across the river (concrete) or using marks on paper (pictorial) really helps with this investigation. Whereas the higher ability pupils can move into the more abstract realm of writing a formula to predict how many trips are needed for x amount of people. Includes lesson plan, a PowerPoint or SMART notebook file so that question can be displayed on the interactive whiteboard and a pupil sheet also with the question on. The lesson also has a starter activity, which is unrelated to the investigation but a nice starter nonetheless!

Using the context of a dodgy car dealer, children must practise finding fractions of quantities to make sure that they get the best deal. Originally I used this with Year 4, but I think it could also work with Year 5 and less able Year 6 pupils. Resource is provided in PDF and editable Word format.

This resource includes two sets of worksheets providing pupils with the opportunity to practise solving worded division problems and written methods for division. The first set has a Fairground theme and includes three worksheets at different levels. The second has a space theme (created to fit in with our IPC ‘Mission to Mars’ topic) and also includes three worksheets at different levels. In each set the first sheet is aimed at middle ability pupils, the second at less able pupils and the third sheet is for higher ability pupils. Answers for all six worksheets are included. All worksheets require pupils to round their answers up and down, answer multi-step problems and to use written methods of division with decimal numbers. I originally did this with my Year 6 pupils, but it would also be suitable for Year 5 and Year 7 pupils. Resource provided in PDF format and also Word format for editing.

A lesson originally designed for Y6 class. Resource includes: Powerpoint presentation with activities on place value of decimals and ordering decimals. Fun task cards where children have to use the knowledge they have gained in the context of a supermarket. Printable ‘Star Employee’ stars! (I laminated these and added a safety pin to make it into a badge). For a really wow lesson, you could use the cards as a starting point, but set up the activities using real-life objects (good for an observation!).

A mixture of geometry starter and revision activities that I have used with my Y6 pupils over the years. Ideal for easy starter activities, mental maths lessons, morning task, early finishers’ task, or even homework. I have also used some of the activities for focus groups, baseline assessments and quick revision to keep this area of maths fresh in pupils’ minds. There are 26 activities that cover the following mathematical ideas: - Properties of 2D shapes: symmetry, angles, vertices etc. - Area of compound shapes. - Surface area of 3D shapes. - Perimeter. - Finding missing angles. - Co-ordinates. There is a mixture of closed-questions, as open-ended investigations and mysteries to develop pupils’ ability to reason and make rich links between different areas of mathematics. There are also several ‘Always, sometimes, never?’ investigations, which can also be found on my ‘Always, sometimes, never?’ PowerPoint.

This resource has seven multi-step problems to solve. Some of the problems have two examples, so you can work through the first example as a class to develop strategies and then the pupils can have a go independently. Alternatively, let them have a go first and then demonstrate more efficient strategies. There is also a quick starter activity based on measures as this was a focus for my class at the time and some of the questions involve converting measures. The questions are provided in SMART Notebook and PowerPoint format for display on the interactive whiteboard, and in PDF and Word format as a paper resource. These were originally used in Year 4 as an end of term activity and are based on the NNS Puzzles and Problems for Years 3 & 4; however, they could be used across KS2 with different levels of support. Ideas for use: Time filler for stolen moments at the end of term. Developing problem / investigation solving. Stick the question onto a large piece of paper and solve as a group. Adult-led guided group activity/assessment opportunity. Part of a Travel Agent role play corner. Early finishers work Homework activity School work for pupils going on a long holiday during term time (if you dare!) More able or Upper KS2 pupils could devise their own problems in the same format to truly demonstrate their understanding.

Simple ready to go worksheet with accompanying PowerPoint- originally used in Year 6. Provides pupils with the opportunity to practise calculating the area of compound shapes. The PowerPoint is really simple with just the same questions as the sheet, but it allows you to display on the interactive whiteboard for the purpose of whole class marking, supporting groups and modelling and discussing strategies.

I created these ‘Odd One Out’ activities as part of a maths corridor display. It was designed for use by the whole school (Foundation to Y6) and the aim was the develop reasoning and raise the profile of maths in the school. This could also be used alongside my Developing Reasoning Powerpoint as an activity for staff to try during the session. As well as PDF, resource is provided in Word format for easy editing.