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Queue

Age 5 to 7
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Queue

There are 25 students queuing in a straight line.

Julia is the 19th from the front, Urvisha is the 14th from the back.

How many students are there between Julia and  Urvisha?


Why do this problem?

This problem provides an excellent opportunity to reinforce positional language.

Possible approach

Having introduced the problem, give pairs time to discuss how they could go about solving it.

Share some suggestions and then invite pupils to have a go, using whatever materials they would like.

You could use children in the class to act out the solution as a final check.


Key questions

Could you use some equipment to help you?  Or could you draw a picture?
How many students are in front of Urvisha?


Possible support

Offer children some sort of equipment to represent the children so that they can try out their ideas.

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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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