When children are curious about why something works, multiple ways of representing the same concept or idea can offer insights and deepen understanding. The problems below will give your learners opportunities to consider different representations, whether they are created by the children themselves or by someone else.
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problem
Triangle or no triangle?
Here is a selection of different shapes. Can you work out which ones are triangles, and why?
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problem
Birthday sharing
It's Sahila's birthday and she is having a party. How could you answer these questions using a picture, with things, with numbers or symbols?
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game
Favourite
The remainders game
Play this game and see if you can figure out the computer's chosen number.
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problem
Name that triangle!
Can you sketch triangles that fit in the cells in this grid? Which ones are impossible? How do you know?
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problem
Remainders
I'm thinking of a number. My number is both a multiple of 5 and a multiple of 6. What could my number be?
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list
Multiple representations
Using different representations helps students to think mathematically.