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For younger learners

  • Early Years Foundation Stage

Thinking Strategically at KS2

To think strategically you need to have some sort of idea of where you're going and what you're trying to do. Helping children to reflect back on their work can support their forward planning next time.


Beads and Bags

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

How could you put these three beads into bags? How many different ways can you do it? How could you record what you've done?

Escape from the Castle

Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star

Skippy and Anna are locked in a room in a large castle. The key to that room, and all the other rooms, is a number. The numbers are locked away in a problem. Can you help them to get out?

Amy's Dominoes

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star

Amy has a box containing domino pieces but she does not think it is a complete set. Which of her domino pieces are missing?

This Pied Piper of Hamelin

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star

Investigate the different numbers of people and rats there could have been if you know how many legs there are altogether!

Tea Cups

Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star

Place the 16 different combinations of cup/saucer in this 4 by 4 arrangement so that no row or column contains more than one cup or saucer of the same colour.

Sticky Triangles

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star

Can you continue this pattern of triangles and begin to predict how many sticks are used for each new "layer"?

Some Secret Codes

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star

Can you follow the rule to decode the messages?

More Thinking Strategically for KS2

Age 7 to 11
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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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