Being Resourceful - Upper Primary Students

Being Resourceful - Upper Primary is part of our Being a Good Thinker - Upper Primary collection.

Good thinkers are resourceful and reflective. They think critically and can explain and justify the choices that they make. They become absorbed in what they are doing and show attention to detail. They look back on what they have done in order to learn from both successes and failures.

How can you become more resourceful?

These problems require careful consideration. Immerse yourself in them and appreciate that the journey is often as important as the destination!

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 resourceful - Upper Primary Number

Age

7 to 11

Number problems for upper primary that will get you thinking.

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Being resourceful - Upper Primary Measures

Age

7 to 11

Measure problems for upper primary that will get you thinking.

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Being resourceful - Upper Primary Geometry

Age

7 to 11

Geometry problems for upper primary that will get you thinking.

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Being resourceful - Upper Primary Statistics

Age

7 to 11

Statistics problems for upper primary that will get you thinking.

problem

Favourite

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?

problem

Favourite

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

Favourite

Dotty six

Age

5 to 11

Challenge level

Dotty Six is a simple dice game that you can adapt in many ways.

problem

Favourite

Biscuit decorations

Age

5 to 7

Challenge level

Andrew decorated 20 biscuits to take to a party. He lined them up and put icing on every second biscuit and different decorations on other biscuits. How many biscuits weren't decorated?

problem

Favourite

Make 37

Age

5 to 11

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?

problem

Favourite

Square corners

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

What is the greatest number of counters you can place on the grid below without four of them lying at the corners of a square?

problem

Favourite

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

Favourite

Shape times shape

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

These eleven shapes each stand for a different number. Can you use the number sentences to work out what they are?

problem

Favourite

First connect three

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

Add or subtract the two numbers on the spinners and try to complete a row of three. Are there some numbers that are good to aim for?

problem

Cows and sheep

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

Use your logical reasoning to work out how many cows and how many sheep there are in each field.

problem

Favourite

Magic Vs

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

Can you put the numbers 1-5 in the V shape so that both 'arms' have the same total?

problem

Favourite

Treasure hunt

Age

7 to 14

Challenge level

Can you find a reliable strategy for choosing coordinates that will locate the treasure in the minimum number of guesses?

problem

Favourite

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

Favourite

Play to 37

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

In this game for two players, the idea is to take it in turns to choose 1, 3, 5 or 7. The winner is the first to make the total 37.

problem

Favourite

Shape draw

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

Use the information on these cards to draw the shape that is being described.

game

Favourite

The remainders game

Play this game and see if you can figure out the computer's chosen number.

game

Favourite

Dicey operations

Who said that adding and subtracting couldn't be fun?

problem

Favourite

Cubes

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

How many faces can you see when you arrange these three cubes in different ways?

problem

Favourite

Shapes on the playground

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

Sally and Ben were drawing shapes in chalk on the school playground. Can you work out what shapes each of them drew using the clues?

problem

Favourite

Mystery matrix

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

Can you fill in this table square? The numbers 2 -12 were used to generate it with just one number used twice.

problem

Favourite

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.

problem

Favourite

Same or different?

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

Anna and Becky put one purple cube and two yellow cubes into a bag to play a game. Is the game fair? Explain your answer.

problem

Favourite

Sponge sections

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

You have been given three shapes made out of sponge: a sphere, a cylinder and a cone. Your challenge is to find out how to cut them to make different shapes for printing.

problem

Favourite

It's a tie

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

Kaia is sure that her father has worn a particular tie twice a week in at least five of the last ten weeks, but her father disagrees. Who do you think is right?

problem

Favourite

Four go

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

This challenge is a game for two players. Choose two of the numbers to multiply or divide, then mark your answer on the number line. Can you get four in a row?

problem

Favourite

Baravelle

Age

7 to 16

Challenge level

What can you see? What do you notice? What questions can you ask?

problem

Favourite

Through the window

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

My local DIY shop calculates the price of its windows according to the area of glass and the length of frame used. Can you work out how they arrived at these prices?