Reasoning and convincing at KS1 - Primary teachers

Reasoning and Convincing is part of our Developing Mathematical Thinking collection.

It's quite hard to pin down what 'reasoning' looks like. At KS1 we're looking for good 'because' statements. And if there are two or more which make a chain, that's progress.

problem

I like ...

Age

5 to 7

Challenge level

Mr Gilderdale is playing a game with his class. What rule might he have chosen? How would you test your idea?

problem

Poly plug rectangles

Age

5 to 11

Challenge level

The computer has made a rectangle and will tell you the number of spots it uses in total. Can you find out where the rectangle is?

problem

If the world were a village

Age

5 to 11

Challenge level

This activity is based on data in the book 'If the World Were a Village'. How will you represent your chosen data for maximum effect?

problem

Two numbers under the microscope

Age

5 to 7

Challenge level

This investigates one particular property of number by looking closely at an example of adding two odd numbers together.

problem

Wallpaper

Age

5 to 7

Challenge level

These pieces of wallpaper need to be ordered from smallest to largest. Can you find a way to do it?

problem

A bag of marbles

Age

5 to 7

Challenge level

Use the information to describe these marbles. What colours must be on marbles that sparkle when rolling but are dark inside?

problem

How odd

Age

5 to 7

Challenge level

This problem challenges you to find out how many odd numbers there are between pairs of numbers. Can you find a pair of numbers that has four odds between them?