This resource was prepared for a themed project at the end of a survival-themed learning journey. I wanted something different, maths but not the usual maths, that would continue to engage the children into that final week of term. Children imagine themselves shipwrecked on a desert island, and need to be able to read the shipping map and the timetable to know when a ship will come close enough to their island to be able to pick up their radio signal for help. This is quite different to a typical timetable reading lesson, and will need careful modelling for the pupils to experience success. ( The slides do this.) There is an alternative, more traditional timetable for LA pupils, but they may still need the help of an adult. Print the activities directly from the power point slides. (Slides 8 and 12) This lesson leads nicely to the second and third lessons of the project (create a look-out rota, and draw a map using coordinates in all 4 quadrants). https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/coordinates-in-four-quadrants-desert-island-map-11866571 If you do use this resource in class, I would be really interested to hear your feedback.

This is a printable activity with the option of printing with grid lines, without grid lines, in colour or in black and white. Developed initially for the Harry-Meghan royal wedding, but it is a standalone activity that is useful in its own right, not simply because of a royal wedding (although, that gives the perfect excuse to use it!) This uses a triangular shaped flag, that might be used for bunting - it could be displayed as bunting on a maths working wall once completed! Tip: N:rich has a nice activity on flag symmetry that could precede this or follow this lesson. https://nrich.maths.org/7749 (alternatively, download their ‘getting started’ advice, for questions that could be used to enrich this activity.) 50% of the author proceeds of this purchase will go to our partner school in Sierra Leone.

Mince Pie Mystery Christmas Fun. Someone has stolen the mince pies whilst everyone was in assembly - it is up to the class to turn detective and work out who it was! This is a structured activity suitable for Key Stage two - Years 3, 4 or 5 ideally, to be carried out close to the last few lessons of the term, when typical teaching has stopped and you need something engaging to hold them which has more value than a traditional quiz/Christmas activity. It would work well on Christmas Jumper day or Christmas Dinner day as a break from the usual routine, too. This is designed to take up the session which is typically the maths session, after play, but the skills needed to solve this are cross-curricular. Alternatively, it could end an afternoon session when something out of the ordinary has preceded it, such as a recorder concert/hymn rehearsal/church visit and the children need a highly structured activity to refocus them with the prospect of a treat at the end. Core skills being developed include: Maths- working within time periods and calculating time overlaps, English -reading and making deductions, Logic and Critical Thinking - Eliminating suspects based on cross-referencing given facts, Drama - acting or reading out in role (if you prefer). The lower abilities will simply need more support with the reading element and the deductions, but it would work well in mixed ability groups. The actual culprit is the most obvious one - but that was deliberate so that everyone feels good at the end - even if they couldn’t say with as much certainty why, most children will put their finger on the correct thief. There is an accompanying plan. Slides should ideally be printed and stapled as copies per table: a ‘Clue’ pack, an ‘Evidence’ Pack, Witness Statements, and an elimination sheet. The mystery itself is based on a story my son told me that actually happened at his school with the chocolates in an Advent calendar going missing during play, but I’ve gone for mince pies being stolen- all the better if you can buy a bulk lot of 30 cheaply, leaving tantalisingly on display all morning only to have them suddenly disappear at the start of the lesson - and then all munch on them as a reward once the activity has ended. I hope that the activity is as fun for you as it has been for me to envisage and create. As always, I would appreciated feedback once you have delivered it in class.

This resource set is suitable for Year 4 (or 3 or 5 depending on ability) It includes: Lesson Presentation written using ppt fully explaining how to use RUCSAC to solve time problems using a number line. 3 sets of questions and answers (easier, middle and harder versions) The answers are on the worksheets and on the slides, so children can mark, if you would prefer. Print saving worksheets - no colour - simple cut and stick questions one by one.

This is a resource prepared for key stage 2 to be used in the maths session either in the first few days of the September term, or as a structured maths activity as part of a transition. Children solve the calculations/problems to find a number that corresponds to a letter. The letters spell out a phrase. The secret phrase is ‘Maths is fun!’ or ‘Maths is awesome’ when completed. Children can then go on to create their own phrases/coded words. I have used this activity in Year 5, but because there are four different levels of challenge, this activity could easily be carried out in lower years, or even Year 6. The children enjoyed it - because the phrase is the same for all levels, children can race to solve it first (swear them to secrecy, by asking them to only whisper the phrase to you for a reward if they are correct). Works well if partners are working together - if the sheet is too hard, or one question on the sheet is too challenging, they can always look at the question on an easier sheet. I found this exercise to be helpful to get an overall sense of how the class were with number and their ability and confidence with a range of maths overall - probably as helpful as a test for a quick sense of where a new class is at, but without any of the threat. It gave me some good ideas about where to pitch my planning for the next couple of weeks, whilst I got to know them and their strengths/gaps better, so I would consider it of much more value than simply a ‘holding’ teacher-meet type exercise. Tip: Set the printer to double sided, so they can flip over to create their own code once they have found the answer. I hope you enjoy using this resource. I would be grateful if you could leave a review, once used in class.

Children solve the maths equations in order to determine what colour to colour the chameleon. There is an easy version, suitable for lower year groups or older pupils with additional maths needs. There is a harder version, suitable for year 4 upwards, due to the fact it contains squares, brackets and square roots, but the calculations themselves are not too tricky. There is also a blank version that children can use to create their own calculations. A slide show accompanies the printouts, that can be used to model what to do. It also includes a couple of facts about chameleons - and introduces ‘Charmander the maths chameleon’. The calculations can be modified directly on the ppt and printed directly from the ppt to suit the needs of your class. I imagine this resource to be suitable for a maths activity as part of a meet the teacher transition, as a light hearted end to a topic/learning journey that covers rain forests, or towards the end of term/a busy week e.g. if there have been tests, when pupils are tired, so they can still engage in maths but in a less formal/structured manner. Tip: if there are some calculations that are too tricky on the harder version, have a few spare easier versions printed, so pupils can cross reference. I hope you enjoy using this resource.

Third resource of a three-part survival-themed set of maths lessons. Children imagine themselves shipwrecked on a desert island. After reading a shipping map/timetable to know when they will be rescued, they have to create a look-out rota.This is a power point to introduce the idea and facilitate the initial discussion. It is based on 4 individuals wishing to have 24 hour a day look-out duty. Pupils can decide on the best way to do this. There are extension scenarios, for if one person is ill and only 3 people can carry out look at duty in a 24 hour period. The other accompanying resources can be found at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/i-can-reading-timetables-and-shipping-maps-desert-island-survival-theme-11904303 https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/coordinates-in-four-quadrants-desert-island-map-11866571

Use skateboarding as a novel way to teach acute, obtuse, reflex, right and straight angles. These are eye catching posters that can be printed at size, or enlarged, and are suitable for a classroom working wall. They support a skater-themed learning journey. These posters were developed to support resources: Skateboard Angles, and Skater Turns.

This is a slides how focusing specifically on degrees in turns. It uses the theme of skating to show that there are 360 degrees in a turn and encourages children to spot that each quarter turn is a multiple of 90 - it invites children to calculate the degrees needed for a turn and a half, and two turns. The guided activity asks children to stand and turn as per instruction e.g. 90 degrees right, (on imaginary skateboards). This activity would be ideal for a lesson starter, and outside of the maths lesson to keep up interest. It also works well inking to clips of snowboarders and BMXers doing spins - sometimes children can listen in the commentary for how big the turn was, and sometimes you can pause and count the turns as they take place.

Real-life examples of acute, obtuse, reflex, right and straight angles drawn from skating. Each angle type is clearly introduced Followed by an example of how this relates to skating Interactive task/printable. This resource works well with Skater Angles, which focuses an input on degrees in turns. These lessons complement a learning journey based on skating; further resources are available at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/narrative-writing-bubble-wrap-boy-11868862 If you like this resource, I would be grateful if you could leave a review.

This is a lesson (teaching presentation and activity) for teaching coordinates in all four quadrants. A knowledge of coordinates in the first quadrant is assumed alongside a basic knowledge of the principles of negative numbers. The resource is survival themed (as it was delivered as part of a survival learning journey) but it could be used in any maths lesson to teach coordinates in all 4 quadrants - the theme just makes it a little more engaging. It is equally easily adaptable as a pirate treasure map activity. Children imagine themselves on a desert island. They want to create a map for their fellow castaways (or pirates) indicating where the fresh water is, the firewood etc. they must create their own desert islands, plot co-ordinates for all the key features and then state what the coordinates are in a key. Children will love the creative element of this - the maps could be decorated and improved further in pm sessions - this is the type of challenge/activity that they do again at home for the fun of it. It has been deliberately left for the children to decide what their island looks like, and what is important to plot, so that they have full ownership of the ideas. There are teaching slides on how to read and plot co-ordinates in the 4 quadrants and the activity instructions are carefully scaffolded (Children will make mistakes if asked to draw their own axes in their maths books without a clear explanation about how to do so - we discovered the hard way!) There is also a printable grid for LA pupils, who will still be able to create their own island, and plot their own features. Tip: print a few extras, so if anyone does struggle to draw the axis in their books, and needs to re-start, this could be glued in over the top. I created this resource to be used as a survival themed project over a week in maths, at the end of term - there is an accompanying resource set on reading shipping maps and timetables, and creating a look-out rota/timetable. I hope you enjoy delivering this lesson. I would be grateful if you could leave a review with a comment, once you have used it in class.

An introduction to imperial measurements This resource gives a comprehensive overview of what imperial measurements are This is ideal to precede written work on converting between measures Includes printables for practical activities Children familarise themselves with concrete examples of imperial to metric conversions. The practical activities could be run as one lesson as a brief carousel, a whole afternoon set of activities, or a series of lessons in a unit on measure, focusing each day on a different measure (Length, weight/mass, volume). For the practical activity, teachers will need access to standard measuring equipment, however, this resource could be used for input alone - children would gain a secure understanding of what imperial means in relation to metric. Slides can also be printed directly from the ppt (full page slides) as posters for your working wall - there is a useful one on how prefixes can help you identify one metric measure in relation to another - milli- centi- deci- etc. If you like this resource, you may also like https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/metric-conversion-problems-weight-11881646 Metric conversions I would be grateful if you could leave a review for this resource, after you have used it in class.

This is a power point that walks children through how to solve missing number pyramids in very simple steps, but has calculations that are a little more difficult than the most basic. (It goes beyond facts within 20, for example, but keeps within 100.) The pyramids themselves are set out at an angle because I created them in Excel - a tip I picked up from another TES user - teaching the children to be familiar with them in this layout, means it can take you seconds to create your own alternative pyramids! I’ve uploaded the spreadsheet so you can do that, if you need more, follow the instructions below: Simply highlight and copy the selection (number) of pyramids you want, then paste them into a new sheet - it will randomly create more with different numbers. I then paste into a document (such as ppt or word) and quickly delete some of the numbers to create missing number pyramids (remembering of course to keep the original for the answers!) You can also change the parameters to make them harder or easier. Anyway, I hope this resource is of some use to you. Happy teaching. I would appreciate you leaving a review. :-)

Whole lesson (plan and resources) on using algebra to solve a given number problem. This resource has been developed to encourage children to think mathematically about a given problem, use existing number sense and understand how a formula can express a general rule. The learning is tied to a story the children are told about the mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, and how he ‘got the better of’ his teacher at the age of ten, having been set the task of adding up all the numbers from 1-100 so the teacher could have a rest. The children are taught how to solve the query by pattern-spotting, making generalisations and finally algebraic expression and then asked to investigate further. Everything is extremely structured/scaffolded. Although it has been labelled as suitable for ‘Upper Primary’ (Years 5 and 6), it is suitable to extend the mathematical thinking of younger children. It is especially ideal for an adult to deliver with a small group of higher-achievers, when something is being done in the classroom they do not need to go over at all. This resource would work best with a whole class if there are other adults available to scaffold the learning as described in the lesson plan. I would be very grateful if you would take the time to feed back, after you have used this resource. Tip: For work in books, print slide 27 at the end of the slideshow in ‘2 slides per page’ mode, and ask children to glue in books, next to their workings out. (Trim into strips to show differentiated tasks.)

Resource developed for teaching children to convert between g and kg in context based problems. This resource includes a teaching presentation with guided examples and differentiated activities with answers - the activities can be used with different ability groups or over the course of several lessons for progression. There are four sets of ‘what weighs more …’ comparison questions allowing for two days of activities moving to the next level up over the course of both days or for four-way differentiation. The tasks are presented as word problems. The answers are included as slides on the presentation so children can mark their own work. The presentation allows for: Re-visiting the metric units of measurement for weight (mass) grams and kilograms (and milligrams/tons in relation to these) Encouraging children to use knowledge of halves/doubles and patterns etc. to convert mentally between grams and kilograms using knowledge the 1000g = 1kg. Explaining how to use place value (grids) for more complex calculations by going forwards or backwards three places to convert between g and kg or kg and g. The problems are designed to include more complex use of number, as well as conversions as the level of challenge increases. Includes a print-friendly Word version of all activities. For neatness of presentation, ask children to cut and stick each box as they go, showing their workings out beneath. Ideal for use in Year 5 or year 6. I would be grateful if you could leave a review once you have used this resource in class. If you like this, you may also like: imperial to metric conversions https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/imperial-measurements-11869571 Updated: Nov 2019