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Resources tagged with Practical Activity similar to Child's Play:

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Broad Topics > Using, Applying and Reasoning about Mathematics > Practical Activity

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Cereal Packets

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

How can you put five cereal packets together to make different shapes if you must put them face-to-face?

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Escher Tessellations

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

This practical investigation invites you to make tessellating shapes in a similar way to the artist Escher.

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Map Folding

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Take a rectangle of paper and fold it in half, and half again, to make four smaller rectangles. How many different ways can you fold it up?

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Cutting Corners

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Can you make the most extraordinary, the most amazing, the most unusual patterns/designs from these triangles which are made in a special way?

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Little Boxes

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

How many different cuboids can you make when you use four CDs or DVDs? How about using five, then six?

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Two on Five

Stage: 1 and 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Take 5 cubes of one colour and 2 of another colour. How many different ways can you join them if the 5 must touch the table and the 2 must not touch the table?

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Square Tangram

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

This was a problem for our birthday website. Can you use four of these pieces to form a square? How about making a square with all five pieces?

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Let's Reflect

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Where can you put the mirror across the square so that you can still "see" the whole square? How many different positions are possible?

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Cuboid-in-a-box

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3

What is the smallest cuboid that you can put in this box so that you cannot fit another that's the same into it?

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Brush Loads

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

How can you arrange the 5 cubes so that you need the smallest number of Brush Loads of paint to cover them? Try with other numbers of cubes as well.

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Two by One

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

An activity making various patterns with 2 x 1 rectangular tiles.

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Square Corners

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

What is the greatest number of counters you can place on the grid below without four of them lying at the corners of a square?

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Advent Calendar 2006

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

NRICH December 2006 advent calendar - a new tangram for each day in the run-up to Christmas.

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Making Maths: Happy Families

Stage: 1 and 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Here is a version of the game 'Happy Families' for you to make and play.

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Making Cuboids

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Let's say you can only use two different lengths - 2 units and 4 units. Using just these 2 lengths as the edges how many different cuboids can you make?

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Making Maths: Triangular Ball

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Make a ball from triangles!

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Sticks and Triangles

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3

Using different numbers of sticks, how many different triangles are you able to make? Can you make any rules about the numbers of sticks that make the most triangles?

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Creating Cubes

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Arrange 9 red cubes, 9 blue cubes and 9 yellow cubes into a large 3 by 3 cube. No row or column of cubes must contain two cubes of the same colour.

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Putting Two and Two Together

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

In how many ways can you fit two of these yellow triangles together? Can you predict the number of ways two blue triangles can be fitted together?

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Two Squared

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

What happens to the area of a square if you double the length of the sides? Try the same thing with rectangles, diamonds and other shapes. How do the four smaller ones fit into the larger one?

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Tri.'s

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

How many triangles can you make on the 3 by 3 pegboard?

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How Tall?

Stage: 1 and 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

A group of children are discussing the height of a tall tree. How would you go about finding out its height?

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It's a Fence!

Stage: 1 and 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

In this challenge, you will work in a group to investigate circular fences enclosing trees that are planted in square or triangular arrangements.

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Double Your Popcorn, Double Your Pleasure

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

We went to the cinema and decided to buy some bags of popcorn so we asked about the prices. Investigate how much popcorn each bag holds so find out which we might have bought.

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Next Size Up

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

The challenge for you is to make a string of six (or more!) graded cubes.

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Four Layers

Stage: 1 and 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3

Can you create more models that follow these rules?

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Advent Calendar 2008

Stage: 1 and 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Our 2008 Advent Calendar has a 'Making Maths' activity for every day in the run-up to Christmas.

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Fit These Shapes

Stage: 1 and 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

What is the largest number of circles we can fit into the frame without them overlapping? How do you know? What will happen if you try the other shapes?

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Egyptian Rope

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

The ancient Egyptians were said to make right-angled triangles using a rope with twelve equal sections divided by knots. What other triangles could you make if you had a rope like this?

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World of Tan 29 - the Telephone

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of this telephone?

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Counting Counters

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Take a counter and surround it by a ring of other counters that MUST touch two others. How many are needed?

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Sports Equipment

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

If these balls are put on a line with each ball touching the one in front and the one behind, which arrangement makes the shortest line of balls?

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Order the Changes

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Can you order pictures of the development of a frog from frogspawn and of a bean seed growing into a plant?

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3 Sets of Cubes, 2 Surfaces

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3

How many models can you find which obey these rules?

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Making Maths: Indian Window Screen

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Can you recreate this Indian screen pattern? Can you make up similar patterns of your own?

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World of Tan 4 - Monday Morning

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Wai Ping, Wah Ming and Chi Wing?

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World of Tan 6 - Junk

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of this junk?

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World of Tan 28 - Concentrating on Coordinates

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Little Ming playing the board game?

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World of Tan 24 - Clocks

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outlines of these clocks?

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World of Tan 20 - Fractions

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outlines of the chairs?

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World of Tan 19 - Working Men

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of this shape. How would you describe it?

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World of Tan 18 - Soup

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outlines of Mai Ling and Chi Wing?

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World of Tan 16 - Time Flies

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outlines of the candle and sundial?

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World of Tan 21 - Almost There Now

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outlines of the lobster, yacht and cyclist?

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World of Tan 22 - an Appealing Stroll

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of the child walking home from school?

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World of Tan 26 - Old Chestnut

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of this brazier for roasting chestnuts?

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World of Tan 25 - Pentominoes

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outlines of these people?

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Sponge Sections

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

You have been given three shapes made out of sponge: a sphere, a cylinder and a cone. Your challenge is to find out how to cut them to make different shapes for printing.

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World of Tan 27 - Sharing

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Little Fung at the table?

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A Patchwork Piece

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Follow the diagrams to make this patchwork piece, based on an octagon in a square.


The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice. More information on many of our other activities can be found here.
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NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.