Planning a maths week

The First Steps

Decide on the format of your week. Will all classes be involved? Key Stage 1
only? Year 6 only? The Maths week may run over a series of individual
Maths Days spread over a term, a year or it could be a true Maths week.
You may decide to have a theme to provide a clear focus and will need to take
into account your colleagues strengths and interests. E.g. of themes history,
art, the environment.
Draw up a list of possible activities by discussing the idea with your staff.
A very good publication if you are considering a Maths Week at your school
is Maths All Week June Loewenstein
ISBN1 874099979
Published by BEAM Tel 02076843323
www.beam.co.uk
Aims
The aims of your maths week may include
To develop the pupils knowledge and enjoyment of mathematics
For the children to enjoy maths together
To develop the childrens awareness of links between maths and other subject
areas
To have a chance to try new things
To develop thinking skills
To raise standards
Ideas for a maths week activities
Assembly
Begin the week with a whole school assembly and set a task for the children e.g.
KS1 Think up a maths logo or a character to represent maths in your school
KS2 Think up a slogan to introduce a special maths assembly at the end of the
week.
Competition
Hold a competition for children, teachers and parents to get involved in, just for fun.
Maths Trails
This is a great way to involve the children in their learning, and the adults in school,
or visiting school, will enjoy it too.
A good maths trail needs some questions that can be answered immediately and some
that involve collecting materials to take back to the class for follow up work.
Questions can cover time, number, calculating, shape, data etc and obviously must
link to your school building and grounds.
The maths trails will need timetabling and will need extra adults to be available.
Here are some ideas of trails for different age groups but obviously, these will need
amending to suit your school.

Early Years Unit Maths Outside

Number
How many
Windows in our school building?
Trees on our school fields?
Doors into our school?
Outdoor games:
Number track/square E.g. roll the dice, move that no. of squares / pick a number card,
stand on that number.
Shape and Space:
E.g., find a leaf each, which is the biggest/smallest, put them in size order / find a
square, rectangle, triangle, and circle in/on the buildings/cars

Year One Maths Trail

Number
How many
Windows in our school building?
Trees on our school fields?
Doors into our school?
Outdoor games:
Number track/square E.g. Pick a number card, stand on that number / Pick a number
card, add two and stand on the answer / Roll the dice, move that no. of squares
Using PE:
Count how long it takes to run a distance in seconds /Measure how far can you jump

Shape and Space:

E.g. Find a leaf each, put them in size order / How many different shapes can you see
in/on the playground/buildings/cars?
Data Handling:
E.g. Find a leaf each, sort them into groups. Explain your reasons.

Year Two Maths Trail

1. How many bars are there on the gate from the playground to the car park?
2. How many trees are there on our school fields?
3. How many creatures are there on the mural?
4. What else can you count on the mural? Make up a question for another group.
5. What can you count on the small yard? Make up a question for another group.
6. If there was five times the number of benches on the playgrounds, how many
would there be?
7. If the school was double the size, how many doors leading outside would there
be?
8. If we multiplied the number of trees on our fields by two, how many would
there be?
9. If three people could sit on every bench on the small playground, how many
people could sit down on them altogether?
10. What is the difference between the number of doors and the number of panes
of glass in the outside of our school building?
11. Find a blade of grass each, from the hedge, put them in size order. Stick them
in the box.
12. Where can you see rectangles on the school buildings?

Year Three Maths Trail

1. How many benches are there on the playgrounds?
2. How many windows are there on the outside of our school building? How will
you count them e.g. as whole windows or as panes of glass?
3. How many bars are there on the gates leading out of the school playgrounds?
4. How many creatures are there on our mural?
5. What else can you count on the mural? Make up a question for another group.
6. How many rows of bricks high is our school building?
7. Estimate how many concrete slabs there are on the small playground.
8. How many wheels are there in the car park? How can you work it out without
counting them all?
9. If there were five times the number of benches on the playgrounds, how many
would there be?
10. If we multiplied the number of trees on our fields by three, how many would
there be?
11. If five people could sit on every bench on the playgrounds, how many people
could sit down on them altogether?
12. What is the difference between the number of single doors and the number of
double doors leading out of our school building?
13. If the mural were two times bigger, how many creatures would be on it?
14. How many different shapes can you see in/on the school buildings? Draw
them in the box.
15. Find a leaf each and sort them into groups. Explain why you grouped them in
that way. Stick them in the box.

Year Four Maths Trail

1. How many benches are there on the playgrounds?
2. How many windows are there on the outside of our school building? How will
you count them e.g. as whole windows or as panes of glass?
3. How many bars are there on the gates leading out of the school playgrounds
and fields?
4. How many sea creatures on our mural have got blue on them?
5. What else can you count on the sea mural? Make up a question for another
group.
6. Approximately how many bricks do the blackboard on the wall outside ----classroom cover up?
7. On the number track or number square outside, find all the multiples of three.
Now find all the multiples of four. Are there any that are in both lists?
8. How many wheels are there in the car park? How could you work it out
without counting?
9. If there were five times the number of benches on the playgrounds, how many
would there be?
10. If we multiplied the number of trees on our fields by four, how many would
there be?
11. If six people could sit on every bench on the playgrounds, how many people
could sit down on them altogether?
12. Find something you could measure in metres, centimetres, millimetres and
litres.
13. If the mural was four times bigger, what would be the total number of
creatures on it?
14. Find a blade of grass each, from the hedge. Put them in order you are not
allowed to put them in length order. Explain how you ordered them. Stick
them in the box.
15. Which shapes with more than four straights sides can you see in/on the
playground/buildings? Sketch them in the box. Can you name them?

Year Five Maths Trail

1. How many windows are there in our school? How did you count them e.g.
whole windows or panes of glass?
2. How many pieces of metal are there on the gates leading out of the school
playgrounds or fields?
3. How many sea creatures on our mural have got yellow on them?
4. What else can you count on the mural? Make up a question for another group.
5. Approximately how many bricks are covered up by the ramp on the wall
outside the Year 3 corridor?
6. On the number track or number square outside, find all the multiples of three.
Now find all the multiples of six. Are there any that are in both lists?
7. How many wheels are there in the car park? How did you work it out?
8. If there were five times the number of benches on the playgrounds, how many
would there be?
9. If the school was three times the size, how many doors leading outside would
there be altogether?
10. If we multiplied the number of trees on our fields by seven, how many would
there be?
11. If eight people could sit on every bench on the playgrounds and six people
could stand between them at the same time, what is the total number of people
who could be on the benches?
12. What is the difference between the number of doors and the number of panes
of glass on the outside walls of our school building?
13. If the mural was four times bigger, how many sea creatures would be on it?
14. Where can you see parallel lines on the Year Four/Five outside wall?
15. Where can you see perpendicular lines on the Year Four/Five outside wall?
16. Find a blade of grass each, from the hedge. Put them in order you are not
allowed to put them in length order. Explain how you ordered them. Stick
them in the box.
17. How many right angles can you see on the large netball court?

Year Six Maths Trail

1. How many windows are there in our school? How did you count them e.g.
whole windows or panes of glass?
2. How many pieces of metal on the gates leading out of the school playgrounds
or fields?
3. How many creatures are there on our mural?
4. What else can you count on the mural? Make up a question for another group.
5. Approximately how many bricks are covered up by the ramp on the wall
outside the Year 3 corridor?
6. Approximately what percentage of the large playground is used for the large
netball court?
7. If there were thirteen times the number of benches on the playgrounds, how
many would there be?
8. If the school was nine times the size, how many doors leading outside would
there be?
9. If we multiplied the number of trees on our fields by twenty-four, what would
the total number of trees be?
10. If seven people could sit on every bench on the playgrounds and we decided to
double the number of benches we had, how many people could sit down on
them?
11. What is the difference between the number of doors and the number of panes
of glass on the outside of our school building?
12. If the mural was four times bigger, how many sea creatures would be on it?
13. If 0.5 of the car park gets flooded, how many spaces are left?
14. If the car park was enlarged by 50%, how many cars would it hold?
15. Find a blade of grass each, from the hedge. Put them in order you are not
allowed to put them in length order. Explain how you ordered them.
16. How many acute angles can you see on the large playground?
17. How many obtuse angles can you see on the large playground?

Cross-curricular ideas for maths week

Year One Activities
Literacy
Reading fiction books with a maths theme
ICT
Maths games on Websites
Geography
Maths Trail; go round as whole class, answer in groups then discuss the answers?
Art
Draw a picture based on circles/square/triangles; using stencils as a basis
Music
Sing number based songs and rhymes
DT
Types of food study; sandwiches in the classroom, count how many sandwiches,
packets of crisps, apples, yoghurts etc.
PE
Games based on the playground markings
Measure how far you can jump.
Mini competitions; count how many jumps/hops/skips you can do and how many
seconds it takes you to run the length of the track.
PSHE
Play Maths games with Year Fours;
Year Six read number stories they have written
Tangram puzzles with Year 5
Year Two Activities
Literacy
Reading fiction books with a maths theme
ICT
Maths games on Websites
Geography
Maths Trail; go round as whole class, answer in groups then discuss the answers, or
go round in groups?
Art
Identify shapes in works of art
Music
Sing number based songs and rhymes
DT
Types of food study; sandwiches in the classroom, count how many sandwiches,
packets of crisps, apples, yoghurts etc.
PE
Games based on the playground markings
Mini competitions; count how many jumps/hops/skips you can do, how far you can
jump and how many seconds it takes you to run the length of the track.
PSHE
Play Maths games with Year 5;

Year Four read number stories they have written

Tangram puzzles with year Six
Year Three Activities
Literacy
Newspaper study; what is the most common number of words in a row of print? What
is the most common number of words in a headline? How many times is a number
written in your newspaper?
Read and write number poetry
ICT
Maths games on Websites
Geography
Maths Trail; go round in groups then discuss the answers as whole class?
Maps and simple coordinates.
Art
Create designs using Curve Stitching
PE
Mini competitions; estimate then count how many jumps/skips you can do, how far
you can jump and how many seconds it takes you to run the length of the track.
PSHE
Play Maths games with Year 6
Year Five read number stories they have written
Tangram puzzles with Year 4
Work out Maths Code breakers with parallel class
Year Four Activities
Literacy
Write illustrated number storybooks for Year Two children
Read and write number poetry
ICT
Maths games on Websites
History
Watch Maths through History Romans video
Timelines
Geography
Maths Trail; go round in groups then discuss the answers as whole class?
Mapping skills /Coordinates
Art
Create a design using tessellation
Music
Make up a number song/rhyme e.g. numbers in order/times tables
DT
Make Maths Games for Year Ones; to practice addition and subtraction bonds to 20
PE
Measure.
Mini competitions; estimate then count how many jumps/hops/skips you can do, how
far you can jump and how many seconds it takes you to run the length of the track.
PSHE
Play Maths games with Year 1
Read number stories to Year Two

Tangram puzzles with Year 3

Work out Maths Code breakers with parallel class
Year Five Activities
Literacy
Write illustrated number storybooks for Year Three children
Science
Make a scale model of the solar system
ICT
Maths games on Websites
History
Watch Maths through History Greeks video
Timelines
Geography
Maths Trail; go round in groups then discuss the answers as whole class?
Mapping skills/coordinates
Art
Create a border/tile design using translation
Music
Make up a maths rap about counting on/back in tens/hundreds
DT
Make Maths game to practice addition and subtraction up to 30 for Year 2 children
Make 3D shapes; by joining 2D shapes, use stencils for accuracy and Clixi for ideas
PE
Mini competitions; estimate then count how many jumps/hops/skips you can do, how
far you can jump and how many seconds it takes you to run the length of the track.
PSHE
Play Maths games with Year Two;
Read number stories to Year Three
Tangram puzzles with Year 1
Work out Maths Code breakers with parallel class
Year Six Activities
Literacy
Write illustrated maths storybooks for Year One children
ICT
Maths games on Websites
History
Research famous mathematicians; using encyclopedias/ICT research, link with drama
e.g. hot seating
Geography
Maths Trail; go round in groups then discuss the answers as whole class?
Mapping skills/Coordinates
Art
Mathematical study of a work of art, e.g. shapes used, proportion of colour used,
describe position/size of objects. One partnership describes the work of art to another
who cant see it, for them to draw.
Enlarging pictures by using a scale grid
Music
Make up a maths rap about the a times table

DT
Make maths game to practice the 2, 3, and 4,5,10 times tables for Year 3 children
Make 3D shapes; by joining 2D shapes, use stencils for accuracy and Clixi for ideas
PE
Mini competitions; estimate then count how many jumps/hops/skips you can do, how
far you can jump and how many seconds it takes you to run the length of the track.
PSHE
Play Maths games with Year 3
Read number stories to Year One
Tangram puzzles with Year 2
Work out Maths Code breakers with parallel class
Visits and visitors
Visitors will introduce fresh thinking and ideas to the children and can reinforce links
between school and community.
You could invite ordinary people into school to talk about how they use numeracy
in their jobs. E.g. the librarian, the school cook, a shop owner etc
On the Count on website, there is a sample of individuals in different jobs giving a
brief account of the importance of maths in their careers.www.counton.org
Alternatively, you may wish to bring a maths performer into school. Again the count
on website provides a comprehensive list of Maths Performers and their contact
details.
You may wish to organize an outing to take place during the week.
Here are some ideas

Eureka! The museum for children

Tel 01422 330012 Contact Michelle Wilshaw or www.eureka.org.uk

Educational visits can be arranged with a curriculum focus. There is a shop
and a bank where maths can be used in a contextual setting. They cater for
EY, KS1 and KS2.

Bolton museum and Art Gallery

Often the exhibitions and activities have a curriculum focus and they are
happy to discuss how a visit can support learning for children.
Tel 01204 332245

www.boltonmuseums.org

A visit to an art gallery to study shape, space and pattern will enhance any
maths week and its free!

Quantum Theatre for Science

www.quantumtheatre.co.uk
The theatre company tours theatres in the UK and they do have a musical
comedy The calculating Mr. One, exploring the importance of maths and
problem solving in everyday life.

Museum of science and Industry

www.msim.org.uk/education
This is always worth a visit and the website is excellent and contains very
detailed gallery guides.

Writing Number Storybooks

The children will write a story for a young reader, based on maths. Then make it into
an appealing product for them, by making it into a small book and/or illustrating it.
The children can then share the books with the relevant class.
Themes for the stories could be:
For Year One pupils
For Year Two pupils
For Year Three pupils

Counting up to 20/Adding up to 10
Subtracting up to 10/Comparing size
Counting up to 100/Adding up to 20
Subtracting up to 20/Basic 2D shapes
Counting up to 100/Adding up to 50
Subtracting up to 50/Direction, left and
right

There will be many other activities that you will be able to think of and it would
be nice to keep a record of the week by taking photographs and creating
displays.
Evaluating the week
It would be useful to look back at the aims of your week and identify the
strengths and any problem areas. It will also be important to celebrate the
successes and hard work.
If you do decide to hold a Maths week or have already held one it would be
really helpful if you could Email any activities you have used successfully.

miksherlock@aol.com