Being Curious is part of our Developing Mathematical Mindsets - Primary Teachers collection.
In Nurturing Students' Curiosity, we offer you support and advice on how to encourage your learners to be curious mathematicians.
All humans are naturally curious, and good mathematicians get excited by new ideas and are keen to explore and investigate them. As teachers, we want to nurture our learners' mathematical curiosity so they grow into creative, flexible problem-solvers. One way to nurture this curiosity is by providing the right hook to draw learners in.
We hope that the problems below will exploit learners' natural curiosity and provoke them to ask good mathematical questions.
You can browse through the Number, Measures, Geometry or Statistics collections, or scroll down to see the full set of problems below.
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Being Curious - Primary Number
Age
5 to 11
Challenge level
Number problems for inquiring primary learners.
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Being Curious - Primary Measures
Age
5 to 11
Challenge level
Measure problems for inquiring primary learners.
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Being Curious - Primary Geometry
Age
5 to 11
Challenge level
Geometry problems for inquiring primary learners.
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Being Curious - Primary Statistics
Age
5 to 11
Challenge level
Statistics problems for inquiring primary learners.
problem
Shaping It
Age
5 to 11
Challenge level
These pictures were made by starting with a square, finding the half-way point on each side and joining those points up. You could investigate your own starting shape.
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
Five Steps to 50
Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
Use five steps to count forwards or backwards in 1s or 10s to get to 50. What strategies did you use?
problem
Next-door Numbers
Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
Florence, Ethan and Alma have each added together two 'next-door' numbers. What is the same about their answers?
problem
Eightness of Eight
Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
What do you see as you watch this video? Can you create a similar video for the number 12?
problem
Digit Addition
Age
5 to 11
Challenge level
Try out this number trick. What happens with different starting numbers? What do you notice?
problem
Light the Lights
Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
Investigate which numbers make these lights come on. What is the smallest number you can find that lights up all the lights?
problem
Colouring Triangles
Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
Explore ways of colouring this set of triangles. Can you make symmetrical patterns?
problem
Chain of Changes
Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
Arrange the shapes in a line so that you change either colour or shape in the next piece along. Can you find several ways to start with a blue triangle and end with a red circle?
problem
Ring a Ring of Numbers
Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
Choose four of the numbers from 1 to 9 to put in the squares so that the differences between joined squares are odd.
problem
Little Man
Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
The Man is much smaller than us. Can you use the picture of him next to a mug to estimate his height and how much tea he drinks?
problem
More Numbers in the Ring
Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
If there are 3 squares in the ring, can you place three different numbers in them so that their differences are odd? Try with different numbers of squares around the ring. What do you notice?
problem
Nice or Nasty
Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
There are nasty versions of this dice game but we'll start with the nice ones...
problem
Subtraction Surprise
Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
Try out some calculations. Are you surprised by the results?
problem
Statement Snap
Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
You'll need to know your number properties to win a game of Statement Snap...
problem
Tumbling Down
Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
Watch this animation. What do you see? Can you explain why this happens?
problem
Triangle transformation
Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
Start with a triangle. Can you cut it up to make a rectangle?
problem
Fruity Totals
Age
7 to 16
Challenge level
In this interactivity each fruit has a hidden value. Can you deduce what each one is worth?
problem
The Number Jumbler
Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
The Number Jumbler can always work out your chosen symbol. Can you work out how?
problem
Consecutive Numbers
Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
An investigation involving adding and subtracting sets of consecutive numbers. Lots to find out, lots to explore.
problem
Your number is...
Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
Think of a number and follow the machine's instructions... I know what your number is! Can you explain how I know?
problem
Number Differences
Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
Place the numbers from 1 to 9 in the squares below so that the difference between joined squares is odd. How many different ways can you do this?
problem
Brush Loads
Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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.
problem
Three neighbours
Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
Take three consecutive numbers and add them together. What do you notice?
problem
Two Clocks
Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
These clocks have only one hand, but can you work out what time they are showing from the information?
problem
Curious number
Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
Can you order the digits from 1-3 to make a number which is divisible by 3 so when the last digit is removed it becomes a 2-figure number divisible by 2, and so on?