This activity can offer different possibilities for pupils according to their capabilities. It can be presented with the idea of challenging pupils to find ways of solving the problem, but at a higher level, pupils could be challenged to visualise the whole problem without the use of resources.

At the "earlier level" you could start by showing just one view, from only two sides and the top:

Explain that there are six different colours altogether - blue, green, yellow, red, orange and purple - and discuss where the colours might go. Then present the challenge in full.

 

For the more advanced pupils then nothing more than what is written in the problem will be needed.

 

How do you know that colour goes there?

Tell me about the colours you've decided on.

Encourage the pupils to ask the question, "I wonder what would happen if ... ( I changed one of the things about this challenge)?"

You could provide pupils with blank small cubes and coloured stickers, and skeletal drawings of blank cubes, to help with possible recording methods: