Updated June 2014
NRICH: Upper Primary – Be A Mathematician
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NRICH: Upper Primary – Be A Mathematician

Challenging puzzles get kids to focus on mathematical processes

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Grades
2–5
Subjects & Skills
Math, Critical Thinking
Price:  Free
Platforms:  Website
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Activities are organized by process skills.
Each section focuses on a particular process skill, such as working systematically.
Some activities provide a level of challenge intended for gifted kids.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

NRICH's: Upper Primary – Be A Mathematician activities are designed to encourage kids to think critically and build problem-solving skills. Areas of focus include working systematically, using observation skills, planning and conducting investigations, working collaboratively, communicating, and practicing skills to build fluency. These activities work well for grades 2-5. However, because they're not organized by content skills, this module may work work best as an enrichment resource.

Choose an area of focus and then have kids work in pairs or small groups to complete an activity. With older kids, you could use a think-pair-share strategy. Assign an activity that can be completed independently, then have kids share their results with their partner or group, and then with the entire class. As with other NRICH modules, most activities include solutions, so be sure kids don't access those solutions before discussing their results.   

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Standards:

Key Standards Supported

Number And Operations In Base Ten

  • 2.NBT.5

    Fluently add and subtract within 100 using strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction.

Operations And Algebraic Thinking

  • 2.OA.2

    Fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies.2 By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers.

  • 3.OA.7

    Fluently multiply and divide within 100, using strategies such as the relationship between multiplication and division (e.g., knowing that 8 × 5 = 40, one knows 40 ÷ 5 = 8) or properties of operations. By the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers.

  • 4.OA.5

    Generate a number or shape pattern that follows a given rule. Identify apparent features of the pattern that were not explicit in the rule itself. For example, given the rule “Add 3” and the starting number 1, generate terms in the resulting sequence and observe that the terms appear to alternate between odd and even numbers. Explain informally why the numbers will continue to alternate in this way.

  • 5.OA.3

    Generate two numerical patterns using two given rules. Identify apparent relationships between corresponding terms. Form ordered pairs consisting of corresponding terms from the two patterns, and graph the ordered pairs on a coordinate plane. For example, given the rule “Add 3” and the starting number 0, and given the rule “Add 6” and the starting number 0, generate terms in the resulting sequences, and observe that the terms in one sequence are twice the corresponding terms in the other sequence. Explain informally why this is so.

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