Once children reach KS2, they start to explore more formal methods of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. This often means lots of practise to ensure that the various calculation methods become firmly embedded. However, this doesn't have to mean subjecting your class to rows and rows of boring calculations!
Here are our top 8 ways to make Maths calculations fun for your KS2 children:
This is a fun way of adding a touch of investigation to their calculation practise! Let's say your class need to improve their formal multiplication skills. A fun way to do this is to ask:
"Multiplying a three-digit even number by a two-digit odd number produces an odd number. Is this sometimes true, always true or never true?"
Children will need to complete enough calculations to have the evidence they need to prove their answer.
There are countless ways you can use this for many different types of calculations. Other areas children could investigate include:
Provide your children with a dice each in pairs. Children to roll the dice the required number of times to generate the digits they need for their calculation (for example, for a two-digit by two-digit multiplication calculation they would need to roll the dice four times). You could also use digit cards to select the numbers instead of dice.
Give children a target number to reach, such as 100. Children to then rearrange the digits to create a calculation. The winner is the child whose answer gets closest to the target number.
This not only adds an element of competition but will also challenge their reasoning skills too!
Instead of just challenging children to find the answer to a calculation, ask them to fill in the missing numbers in a formal calculation. This is a great way to help children really think about and understand the method they are using. This can be done for any written method for addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. Try it in Year 3 with the grid method or in Year 5 or 6 with bus stop method division.
This fun activity challenges children to work their way through a maze, solving calculations as they go. There are a number of ways of doing this. For division, children could work through a maze with different division calculations. If the answer has a remainder, they can't pass through. Can they get to the exit?
For addition or subtraction mazes, you can have a grid with numbers that children have to work through to reach a particular sum or difference. Can they work their way through the grid adding or subtracting the correct numbers to reach the answer?
A tarsia puzzle consists of a collection of shapes (usually triangles, squares, or hexagons) that fit together to form a larger shape, like a rectangle or hexagon, when correctly assembled. Each small piece contains a question, an answer, or a term that must match with another piece to complete the puzzle.
These can be used to match questions and answers, giving children a chance to practise a variety of calculations in an engaging way.
This is another good activity to challenge their reasoning skills as well as their calculation skills! Provide children with the digits to a calculation, along with the answer. The challenge is to rearrange the digits within the calculation to make the answer correct.
Great for children who enjoy competition, this activity allocates points to the answers of a calculation. Provide children with sets of calculations in pairs and a table showing which points can be awarded for each answer. For example, for division calculations you could allocate one point to even answers with no remainders, two points to odd answers with no remainders, three points to even answers with no remainders and four points to odd answers with no remainders.
As children work through their calculations, they keep a tally of their points. At the end of the session, the child with the most points wins!
This activity involves arranging calculations into a crossword. You can use word problems or straight calculations (or a mixture of both) for the questions. Children then input the answers as digits within the crossword. This is great as they are learning how the method they are using works because they will soon see if they have made any mistakes!
This are just a very small selection of the fun methods PlanBee uses within its Primary Maths Curriculum. To find out more, explore our complete Maths collection or download our FREE Maths schemes of work.
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