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The National Numeracy Strategy

Activities for the mental/oral starter

These were the ideas generated during the Consultants' training in April 1999, West Midlands Region. If you're not sure what they are... ask Earl, Kerry or Sue!

• Loop Cards
• Bingo - Bonding Bingo
• Digit cards, Number cards/fans
• Washing Line - random ordering, reversed numbers, doubling/halving
• Number Chains
• Target number game using dice - find a total which is: eg 500, even, multiple of 5
• Countdown, mini countdown(using only 3 numbers)
• Trios
• Connect4
• Fizz buzz
• Domino Game
• Grid Games
• Counting - altogether, round, chant, using fingers, starting from different numbers, in different steps, directional change
• Counting stick, negative numbers, 1-digit and 2-digit patterns, fractions, decimals, percentages, blank counting stick for estimating
• "Count" (Shropshire Maths Suite)
• "Band-aid" - individual number lines with elastic band to 'show me...' (as with counting)
• Apple counting - apple on string, count at the limit of each swing
• 100 square activities (including ICT?) - properties of number
• Guardian of the number, or rule
• Flip Flaps
• Ordering numbers < or >
• "What's my number/shape?" - 20 questions
• Place Value Cards
• "Behind the wall" - number and shape recognition
• Number songs/rhymes
• "The answer is ...... What might the question be?"
• Use of shopping charts
• Carrots - estimation
• Biscuits - counting in 5s
• Decimal/fraction cards - ordering/rounding
• Number grid - "I can see... ( eg 2 numbers in a row which total 10, a row containing two odd numbers) Can You?"
• "Show me" activities - digit cards, number recognition, arrow cards, fans, place value cards
• Visualisation - teacher makes a shape from four or five multilink cubes away from the pupils' sight and hides it in a bag. Two pupils try and make the same shape under instruction from the class - the bag is passed from pupil to pupil and each has to give one instruction to help those at the front build the same.
• Missing number problems - eg _ + _ = 6. How many solutions in 2 - 3 minutes(Pairs). Compare results and strategies.
• Number ladder. Children have a ladder with 10 spaces. Teacher has a bag of numbers (integers, fractions or decimals). Teacher calls out one number at a time. Children write in number on ladder. Winner is the first to fill ladder with numbers in ascending order.
• Have OHP cards in different colours and different numbers. Ask questions eg - sum of red and blue ( where red is 3 and blue is 4)
• OHTs with random arrangement of dots as well as conventional arrangements for numbers one to 10. Show each for one second. Can the children recognise how many dots?
• Timed mental practice "Beat the clock"

  x	5	7	9
  3
  5
  2

• Number cards 1 to 10. Children in a circle, count round. Children in the middle put cards in order. Which number did the children in the circle get to - how long did it take for those in the middle to order the cards correctly?
• Roll Over - Throw 2 dice. +,-, x the two answers. Put the answers in a grid. Swap grids when finished, with partners. Repeat exercise, this time crossing off the answers.
• Against the clock - First child to finish shouts 'stop'. Clock with the numbers 1 to 12 round the outside but muddled up. In the centre, the number of the times table eg 90. Pupils must write answers in order round clock, not in order 1 to 12.

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