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  • Early Years Foundation Stage

Sorting Numbers

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level Yellow star
  • Problem
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Samantha from Kaleen Primary School wrote:

1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45, 47, 49
My group is all odd numbers from 1 to 50

Molly from Worfield Primary sent in some different sets:

Odd Numbers between 0 and 25 (half of 50):
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23 and 25.

And Even Numbers between 25 and 50:
26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48 and 50.

I wonder if "between" is the right word to use here? What do you think?

Alex from Sprowston Juniors and Yale from Randwick Public School offered similar sets. Here is Alex's:

Prime Numbers up to twenty: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19

And Yale's:

1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47 - they are all prime numbers between 1 and 50

Again, perhaps "between" isn't quite right?

Finally, Roxy from Burrowmore Primary found a different way of sorting the numbers. She says:


We think you should have 2 boxes.
1. Numbers with a curve in them: 0, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50
2. Numbers without a curve: 1, 4, 7, 11, 14, 17, 41, 44, 47

You could link this to venn diagrams and even have numbers with both curvy and straight lines!

What a good idea, Roxy!

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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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