Maths Problem Solving Strategy Toolkit

10 essential problem solving strategies to help primary and secondary students approach worded, open-ended problems and challenging mathematical tasks.

Perfect for lesson introductions, guided practice, small group work, or independent problem-solving, these visuals help students develop the skills to approach challenging maths tasks. Whether used as a permanent wall display or an interactive visual aid, these tools reinforce essential strategies, empowering students to approach problems with confidence and flexibility. Suitable for primary and secondary classrooms, this resource is ideal for teachers looking to create a supportive and strategy-rich learning environment. Transform problem-solving into an achievable and structured process with these clear, student-friendly posters - an invaluable addition to any Maths teaching toolkit.

How to use these resources

These visuals are designed to be cut out and laminated. I recommend attaching some magnetic tape to the back of them so they become an interactive part of the maths classroom. You can move them around the whiteboard when introducing a lesson, and during discussions, students can use the visuals to guide and explain their thinking. I use these daily when introducing a maths activity - displaying some of the strategies that will be most useful when finding solutions to the task.

Free up your time to help all the students in your class

Far too often, teachers find themselves sitting with a group of students who are unsure how to start a maths task, whilst the majority of students work independently. These visual aids are designed to allow every student to begin a task independently by guiding them to a strategy they can use. This allows you to work with and support all of your students during a lesson. Students will surprise you with the variety of strategies they choose, so it is not uncommon to see a whole range of strategies being used in a single lesson (diagrams, number sentences, models etc).

Build Understanding, Reasoning and Problem Solving

During the share-reflection time at the end of the lesson, I use these problem solving tools to guide discussion - so that students listen to and learn how different strategy approaches can be used to solve a problem.