Mental Maths Activities KS2

Great for starters and early finishers, this Mental Maths / Arithmetic Upper Key Stage 2 Big Bundle contains 3 resource packs (Year 5 / 6) and 3 Lower KS2 resource packs (Year 4 / 3), great for differentiation in the same class. A total of 30 PowerPoint Speed Tests, 432 Self-Check Cards and 16 Cross Number Puzzles for regular practice throughout the year. The Lower Key Stage 2 resources were originally designed for Y4 (Primary 5 and other equivalents) but would also suit some Y3 (Primary 4) classes too once the concepts have been covered. They could also be used for lower ability students in Upper KS2. The Upper Key Stage 2 resources were originally designed for Y5 and Y6 (Primary 6 and 7 and other equivalents). They could be used as part of SATs preparation. They would also suit some early KS3 classes for consolidation and revision.

Concepts include: Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Doubling & Halving, Fractions, Percentages, Decimals, Negative Numbers, Place Value, Money, Measure, Time and Angles.

As the PowerPoints and Self-Check cards include money questions in UK currency, I have also included versions for countries that use dollars and cents.

Differentiation: I have called the Lower KS2 resources Set B, while the Upper is Set A, rather than using any other identifier to help facilitate the use of both sets within the same class without the children being aware of the age level of the questions.

All these Mental Numeracy resources are available individually or in smaller Lower KS2 and Upper KS2 bundles:
Mental Maths Bundle Year 5 Year 6
Mental Maths Bundle Year 4 / Year 3

The information below applies to both the Lower and Upper KS2 resources, so there’s double what it says:

POWERPOINT SPEED TESTS
15 informal tests split across 3 PowerPoints, designed to be shown on the whiteboard with children recording answers in jotters or on paper. One question to a slide will allow children to focus for a few seconds before the next one comes up. The question slides are plain and uncluttered so as to minimise distractions. Run the PowerPoint presentation on a timer or click it on yourself, perhaps allowing a little longer for more challenging questions. Each test features 20 questions involving a variety of mathematical skills and knowledge.

At the end of each test, the same 20 slides are repeated, this time with the answer added clearly. Children can then mark their own or a partner’s work to reduce your workload. If short of time, you can whizz through the answers but the idea of each answer appearing with its question like this is that it allows for important discussions about strategies.

SELF-CHECK CARDS
A flexible resource that can be incorporated into many mental maths games and activities within the classroom, especially oral starters. Laminate and use again and again as starter and early finisher tasks. There are twelve calculations on each A4 sheet. Leave them as 18 A4 sheets or cut each of the question cards separately to create 216 cards. There are versions both with and without the answers printed below the questions. The with-answers versions could be used by pupils questioning each other while the version without the answers could be used by individuals testing themselves. A separate answer card is included, which individuals could consult.

CROSSNUMBER PUZZLES
A fun resource for early finisher tasks, mental starters, homework etc. They could be completed by individuals or in pairs or small groups, where they will promote important discussions about different mental strategies. As in a crossword puzzle, children will find it easier to work out some of the more challenging questions once they have filled in the easier ones as some digits will already be there for them. ANSWER GRIDS for all 8 puzzles are included within the file and could be printed for pupils to self-check (or displayed later on the board), cutting down on your marking!

I hope these save you time and provide great practice to help boost your students’ mental maths agility. I would be grateful for a review if you get a spare moment. Many thanks.

What about this festive mental maths puzzle pack?Christmas Mental Maths Puzzles

For time-saving, engaging printables and presentations to help you plan Primary Literacy, Maths and French lessons, visit FullShelf Resources