16 colourful sets of loop cards

Loop Cards are back in fashion! The basic principle (an ingenious idea but by no means a new one) is to devise of a set of mental arithmetic questions and answers which can form an endless loop. These questions and answers are then printed onto cards which can be distributed among the pupils in a class. The loop begins when one pupil reads out the question printed on his card, after which somewhere in the class another pupil recognises that he has the answer on his card. This pupil may now read out the question on his card, which of course another pupil must recognise as the one on his card. Now this pupil takes the loop forward . . . Eventually someone asks a question which is answered by the very first pupil – and the loop is complete! Timing the whole procedure from start to finish adds to the drama. Without doubt, a good set of loop cards in the hands of a well-motivated class can produce a highly-charged and exciting start to any maths lesson. Sadly, the traditional format for these cards was not itself particularly colourful or appealing and so – we’ve reinvented loop cards to make them more attractive and engaging.

The zip file which you can download here contains pdf masters for 16 different sets of loop cards, together with instructions for use etc. As a guide, we’ve noted which loop cards have typically been used with which year-groups, although you may well choose to use them differently.