This week we have a set of four addition worksheets with a difference. These are rather like wordsearches, but harder! Rather than letters of the alphabet there is a grid with 25 sums in it.

The task is to find a set of four sums in a row which all have the same answer. The row of 4 could be across, down or diagonally.

To make it even more challenging there are actually two rows of 4 to find. The two rows each rhave a different answer.

Addition: 4 in a row number search

It is important that children recognise that subtraction questions can be phrased in several different ways. These four worksheets use the following:

9 take away 4

take 4 from 9

9 subtract 4

subtract 4 from 9

what is 4 less than 9 ?

how many less is 4 than 9 ?

With these questions children sometimes become confused as to which number they are subtracting from and this can lead to problems later with written methods, so it is worthwhile spending time on these terms.

These worksheets can be found in the Superbrains section, under Subtraction.

Go to our Subtraction questions.

We all know adults who write numbers in weird and wonderful ways, which often makes the numbers difficult to read. It’s vital that your child learns the correct way to form his or her numbers, where to start, and in which direction to move the pencil.

There are only ten digits to learn to be able to write any whole number, so by the time they are up to 5 they are half way there. The number 5 starts at the top, moving from right to left before moving down and finally in a neat curve. Start by tracing over the grey number 5 with a finger, then use a thick crayon to draw over the number. Practise again and again using our other pages on writing the number 5.

There are also full sets of worksheets on each of the other numbers up to 9.

This is just one of a fantastic range of fun  maths activities which will quickly help your child become confident with number and enjoy their maths.

Go to our Resources on Writing Numbers as Digits

Circles, triangles, rectangles and hexagons can be bought in the shape shop. They are priced according to the number of sides. Circles cost 1p hexagons 6p etc.

What shapes can be bought for 20p?

A good challenge which uses knowledge of shape, counting money and logical thinking. There are a large number of possibilities with this and it is unlikely that all combinations that add up to 20p will be found. Nevertheless it is important to try and work in a logical way.

Shape and money challenge (2)

Plenty of pracice here on adding two 1-digit numbers. The grids are similar to times tables grids but adding the numbers rather than multiplying.

The numbers across the top are added to the numbers going down on the left hand side.

Could be used as a timed challenge, seeing how quickly a page can be correctly completed.

Year 1 Addition Number Grids

These four worksheets cover one of the most important concepts in our number system, that is, place value. The digit 7 has a different value, depending on its position within the number. In 765 it has a value of 700; in 675 it has a value of 70 and in 567 it has a value of 7.

The worksheets concentrate on just 2-digit numbers so the value of the digit is either in the tens or the units. The pages also look at two digit numbers as being the sum of the tens and units. For example, 45 = 40 + 5.

Because these concepts are so important later on, it is a really good idea to spend some time on them to make sure that they have been understood.

These worksheets on place value can be found in our Superbrains section, under Counting and number.

Go to our Know what each digit represents worksheets.

We have a growing number of excellent ideas for activities you can do at home to help your child. They are found in Further Resources, under the title, Practical Ideas.

The latest contribution is all about dominoes, which are a great resource to help young children with their maths. There are many potential opportunities and to give you some inspiration we have included two ideas: pairs that total 6 and odd and even numbers.

The whole set of dominoes is too many to deal with so just sort a selection depending on the task you want to carry out.

Dominoes

Today we are taking a closer look at our shape worksheets. This is a great set of four worksheets helping with recognising rectangles, triangles and circles. It’s a help to have some templates of these shapes handy to draw round and create fun pictures of your own. The robot on page 4 is a good example of what can be produced.

Talk about the shapes and the properties of them eg a triangle has three straight sides…a rectangle has 4 sides and 4 right angles. Find examples of these shapes around the house, draw them in sand etc.

Go to our Using 2D shape (2) worksheets

We are all familair with the game of ‘I Spy’ when played with the beginning letter of the object, but this game can be played really effectively to encourage looking at and learning the properties of shapes.

Try ‘I Spy!’ with either 2D or 3D shapes, with questions such as:

‘I spy with my little eye something that looks like a circle.’

‘I spy with my little eye something that has 3 sides.’

Practical ideas: I Spy

Here is a great little game to play which also helps with addition of numbers.

You need two dice, two sets of coloured counters (red and blue, or similar) or coloured cubes and a calculator to check answers in the case of a dispute!

Decide who is to go first (we usually let the younger person) and they roll the two dice and add up the total. Look at the playing board and lay a coloured (red) counter on the board over the number.

Then player two has their turn, placing a blue counter on the board.

The aim of the game is to get a run of three of your counters in a row, either across, down or diagonally.

If there is no number available for that shown on the total of the dice, play goes straight to the next player.

You may like to make extra rules up for yourself. For example, if the total is incorrectly added it could give a free go to the other person (hence the calculator to check).

Addition game: 3 in a row with dice