Activity 1 – Cutlery Challenge.
Focus – I can add by combining groups of items together and counting them to find a total.
Resources – cutlery, pencil and paper
Work with an adult to count the number of pieces of cutlery you have at home. Write down the number of each type separately by drawing pictures or writing numbers, e.g. 12 spoons, 15 forks and 11 knives.
Activity 2 – Totals.
Focus – I can add by combining groups of items together and counting them to find a total.
Resources – pencil and paper
Give your child a total that is appropriate to their confidence with number, e.g. 6, 9, 17. Ask them to draw pictures to show ways of combining groups of objects to take that total e.g. 3 cats and 3 dogs.
Activity 3 – How Many?
Focus – I can subtract by taking items away from a group and counting what is left to find a total.
Play with a parent, carer or friend. On the count of Go!, both players show a number of fingers. The child subtracts the smaller number from the larger by folding them down, and counts how many fingers are left.
Activity 4 – Take 5.
Focus – I can subtract by taking items away from a group and counting what is left to find a total.
Resources – pencil and paper
Ask your child to write 10 different numbers larger than 5. For each number they ‘take 5’ from it and record the question and answer in an appropriate way, drawing pictures or in figures, e.g. 17 take 5 leaves 12. Encourage them to organise the questions and answers into an order, such as starting with the smallest or largest number.
Activity 5 – Who Wants to be a Billionaire?
Focus – I can create and complete number sequences by repeatedly adding or subtracting a number – Steps of 10 and 5.
Resources – pencil and paper
Work with your child to make up addition and subtraction questions for a quiz, giving four possible answers for each question (including the correct answer). Encourage them to create questions that can be solved by counting on or back from the first number.
Activity 6 – Make Snakes.
Focus – I can create and complete number sequences by repeatedly adding or subtracting a number – Steps of 1 and 2.
Resources – pencil and paper
Draw three snakes, split into many sections, and to write a sequence in each snake, e.g. by counting on or back in 1s or 2s. Use numbers that your child is confident working with e.g. within 10, within 20 or higher.
Activity 7 – Make More Snakes.
Focus – I can create and complete number sequences by repeatedly adding or subtracting a number – Steps of 10 and 5.
Resources – pencil and paper
Draw four snakes, split into many sections and to write a sequence in each snake, e.g. counting on and back in 5s or 10s.
Activity 8 – Money Running Totals.
Focus – I can create and complete number sequences by repeatedly adding or subtracting a number – Steps of 10 and 5.
Resources – pencil, paper, 5 and 10p coins.
Find as many 5p and 10p coins as you can at home. First count the 5p coins and record their counting as a sequence, e.g. 5, 10, 15, … etc. and then repeat for the 10p coins. Finally, collect the coins together and try counting them in any order to find the total. This may involve sometimes counting on 5 and sometimes 10.
Activity 9 – Money Running Totals.
Focus – I can create and complete number sequences by repeatedly adding or subtracting a number – Multiples of 10 and other helpful numbers.
Resources – pencil, paper, 5, 10, 20 and 50p coins.
Find as many 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins as you can at home. First count the coins of each type separately and record their counting as a sequence, e.g. 20, 40, 60, … etc. Then collect the coins together and try counting them in any order to find the total. This may involve sometimes counting on 5, sometimes 10, sometimes 20 and sometimes 50.
Activity 10 – Magic Cards.
Focus – I can use and explain the connection between addition and subtraction and can work out related facts.
Resources – small pieces of paper and pencil.
Decide on a ‘magic’ number. On a piece of paper write addition bonds to this number on opposite sides of the card, e.g. if the magic number is 10 you might write 6 on one side, 4 on the other. Tell a parents/carers that you are a mind reader because you can tell what’s on the back of any card that is chosen. Work together to make lots of cards that have addition bonds to the chosen ‘magic number’ and swop.
Activity 11 – Totals.
Focus – I can recall my addition and subtraction bonds quickly and accurately and I can use this to work out new facts.
Resources – pencil and paper.
Give your child a suitable total, appropriate to their confidence with number, e.g. 6, 9, 17 or 25, etc. Ask them to record all the different addition calculations involving two numbers with that total. Encourage them to work systematically and to use the commutative law e.g. 3 + 9 = 12 and 9 + 3 = 12
Activity 12 -Triangles.
Focus – I can use number facts and a variety of mental models to work out addition and subtraction calculations – More than two numbers.
Resources – pencil and paper
Give the letters in the word TRIANGLES values: if T is 1, R is 2, I is 3, A is 4, N is 5 and so on up to S is 9. Find and record the totals of as many different words as you can, using the letters, e.g., TEN, EAR, LINE, REST, SELL, TRAIN, ANGLE, etc.
Try this with other words.
Activity 13 – Un-magical Squares.
Focus – I can use number facts and a variety of mental models to work out addition and subtraction calculations – At least 2-digit numbers.
Resources – paper and pencil
Draw a 2 × 2 square containing four 2-digit numbers, e.g. 37, 49, 72 and 48. Find the total of each row, column and diagonal and record them around the square. Finally check that the total of the two row totals is the same as the total of the two column and the two diagonal totals. Swop your square with another family member and ask them to check the totals.
Activity 14 – The Answer is 60.
Focus – I can use number facts and a variety of mental models to work out addition and subtraction calculations – Multiples of 10, 100, 1000.
Resources – paper and pencil
Write down as many different subtraction questions as you can using multiples of 10, with the answer 60, e.g. 150 – 90, 220 – 160, 90 – 30, etc. A similar activity could use multiples of 100 and have the answer 600, or multiples of 1000 and have the answer 6000.
Activity 15 – Masses of Tins.
Focus – I can work out addition calculations using formal methods – 3- digit numbers add 2- or 3-digit numbers.
Resources – food tins, pencil and paper
Look in cupboards at home and record the masses of food tins, e.g. baked beans 445g, tuna 220g, custard 327g, etc. Having listed at least ten different masses, choose pairs of tins and find the total mass for each. The answers could be presented as puzzles for other children at school to solve.
Activity 16 – Phone Line.
Focus – I can work out subtraction calculations using formal methods – 3-digit numbers subtract 2- or 3-digit numbers.
Resources – pencil, paper and family phone numbers.
Write the last six digits of a family member’s phone number as two 3-digit numbers, e.g. 318 and 225. Then subtract the smaller number from the larger either mentally or using written method. Repeat for other phone numbers you may have.
