Number Square: Maths Tools Teachers’ Notes

This tool is a flexible version of the familiar number square. The user is able to increase and decrease the size of the square, and highlight and hide numbers.

Activities

1. Key Stage One
2. Lower Key Stage Two
3. Upper Key Stage Two

Key Stage One

Task 1

What to do:

• Tell the children that the activity will be carried out on a 100 square. Remind them how to use the highlight, hide and clear functions (click on the ‘Help’ button on the screen for instructions on how to use these functions).
• Play a game with the children called ‘Forwards and Backwards’. Give children, in turn, a highlighted number from the Number Square and ask them to start counting forwards or backwards. For example, you mark 31 and say forward and they reply 32, 33, 34, 35 etc., until you stop them. You mark 75 and say backwards and they say 74, 73, 72, 71 and so on.
• Extend the activity to include some examples that go beyond 100. For example, count on from 95 to 107 and count back from 110 to 99. Hide the numbers that the children have to find and later clear them to check answers.
• Ask children to fill in the missing numbers in a game of ‘All in a Line’. You give them the numbers on either side and they say the missing number(s) in between. For example: Hide 8 and then say 7 and 9; hide 24 and then say 25 and 23; hide 31 and 32 and then say 29 and 33; hide 64, 65, 66 and then say 63 and 67. Clear missing numbers to check when solutions have been found.
• Children can pick out the even and odd numbers in a typical line in the square. For example, 21 to 30. Ask them to pick out the odd and even numbers in lines chosen at random. For example, 11 to 20 and 41 to 50. Show even numbers with the highlight feature and leave odd numbers clear.