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NRICH at Every Stage

Whether you are pausing to reflect on children's learning so far, or thinking about planning an exciting mathematics activity to explore during some transition time, the article and tasks offer a plethora of ideas which could be slotted into different time frames.

So, if you only have a short amount of time, have a look at the problems we have selected. For longer periods of time, perhaps over a day or several days, the investigations are a perfect choice. However, you may choose to use a game, particularly if you are not sure if your audience will be super excited or a bit nervous!


NRICH at Every Stage 
Age 5 to 11

Whether you are reflecting on the mathematical developments children have made over the year, or thinking about activities for a transition day this article offers plenty of ideas and tasks to support you.

Count the Crayons 
Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level Yellow star

How could you estimate the number of pencils/pens in these pictures?

Heads and Feet 
Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star

On a farm there were some hens and sheep. Altogether there were 8 heads and 22 feet. How many hens were there?

Stone Age Counting 
Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level Yellow star

What could these drawings, found in a cave in Spain, represent?

Prompt Cards 
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

These two group activities use mathematical reasoning - one is numerical, one geometric.

Maze 100 
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star

Can you go through this maze so that the numbers you pass add to exactly 100?

Money Bags 
Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star

Ram divided 15 pennies among four small bags. He could then pay any sum of money from 1p to 15p without opening any bag. How many pennies did Ram put in each bag?

How Odd 
Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star

This problem challenges you to find out how many odd numbers there are between pairs of numbers. Can you find a pair of numbers that has four odds between them?

What Could It Be? 
Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level Yellow star

In this calculation, the box represents a missing digit. What could the digit be? What would the solution be in each case?

Highest and Lowest 
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

Put operations signs between the numbers 3 4 5 6 to make the highest possible number and lowest possible number.

Take Three Numbers 
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

What happens when you add three numbers together? Will your answer be odd or even? How do you know?

Pass the Peas, Please 
Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star

A game for 2 or more players. Practise your addition and subtraction with the aid of a game board and some dried peas!

Four Go 
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star

This challenge is a game for two players. Choose two of the numbers to multiply or divide, then mark your answer on the number line. Can you get four in a row?
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The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice.

NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.

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