Invite a child to be the King or Queen and sit in front of the class, wearing the crown.

Write a number on a Post-it Note and stick it on the crown. The children in the class use number fans or the whiteboard to give the child the clue to what the number is. For example, put number 7 on the crown. The children calculate what must be added to the number to make 10 and show this on their number fans. The King or Queen look at their numbers and can then work out the number on the crown.

The class is learning, the child is under pressure and learning, and the teacher can differentiate easily during a maths mental starter, which is often not easy. It can be used for almost all the mathematical concepts you are teaching. I have used it for fractions and percentages in Year 6, describing shapes (using whiteboards), times tables, subtractions and additions. The children love it

Clare Higgins is a Year 2 teacher at St Mary’s C of E Primary, High Crompton, Oldham