Being Resilient - Primary Teachers

Being Resilient - Primary is part of our Developing Mathematical Habits of Mind Primary collection.  You can see the full collection by scrolling down to the bottom of the Primary Curriculum page.

In Developing Students' Resilience, we offer you support and advice on how to encourage your learners to become resilient mathematicians.

We know that good thinkers are resilient, they don't give up easily, and are motivated to work hard and keep going when faced with challenges. Here are some problems that may require similar determination from your learners. You could warn your learners that the solutions may not be immediately obvious, and they may need to persevere. We hope that they will have the opportunity to appreciate that success can be sweeter after a struggle.

Additionally you may find that these tasks support the development of other problem-solving skills and mathematical habits of mind, which you could choose to highlight as and when they arise.

You can browse through the Number, Measures, Geometry or Statistics collections, or scroll down to see the full set of problems below.

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level

Being Resilient - Primary Number

Number problems at primary level that may require resilience.

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level

Being Resilient - Primary Measures

Measure problems at primary level that may require resilience.

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level

Being Resilient - Primary Geometry

Geometry problems at primary level that may require resilience.

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level

Being Resilient - Primary Statistics

Statistics problems at primary level that may require resilience.

Robot Monsters

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level

Use these head, body and leg pieces to make Robot Monsters which are different heights.

Inside Triangles

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level

How many different triangles can you draw on the dotty grid which each have one dot in the middle?

Find the Difference

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level

Place the numbers 1 to 6 in the circles so that each number is the difference between the two numbers just below it.

Mixed-up Socks

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level

Start with three pairs of socks. Now mix them up so that no mismatched pair is the same as another mismatched pair. Is there more than one way to do it?

Four Triangles Puzzle

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level

Cut four triangles from a square as shown in the picture. How many different shapes can you make by fitting the four triangles back together?

Rolling That Cube

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level

My dice has inky marks on each face. Can you find the route it has taken? What does each face look like?

Developing Students' Resilience

Age 5 to 18

Resources to accompany the Being Resilience collections.

Which Scripts?

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

There are six numbers written in five different scripts. Can you sort out which is which?

Nine-pin Triangles

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

How many different triangles can you make on a circular pegboard that has nine pegs?

How Many Times?

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

On a digital 24 hour clock, at certain times, all the digits are consecutive. How many times like this are there between midnight and 7 a.m.?

Dicey Perimeter, Dicey Area

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

In this game for two players, you throw two dice and find the product. How many shapes can you draw on the grid which have that area or perimeter?

Reach 100

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

Choose four different digits from 1-9 and put one in each box so that the resulting four two-digit numbers add to a total of 100.

Maze 100

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

Can you go through this maze so that the numbers you pass add to exactly 100?

Factor Lines

Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level

Arrange the four number cards on the grid, according to the rules, to make a diagonal, vertical or horizontal line.

Got It

Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level

A game for two people, or play online. Given a target number, say 23, and a range of numbers to choose from, say 1-4, players take it in turns to add to the running total to hit their target.

Make 37

Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level

Four bags contain a large number of 1s, 3s, 5s and 7s. Can you pick any ten numbers from the bags so that their total is 37?

Factors and Multiples Game

Age 7 to 16
Challenge Level

A game in which players take it in turns to choose a number. Can you block your opponent?