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Being Resourceful - Primary Teachers

Being Resourceful is part of our Developing Mathematical Mindsets - Primary Teachers 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 do we help our learners to become more resourceful?

These problems require careful consideration. If you allow your learners time to immerse themselves in the problems, they may learn to 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.

Poly Plug Rectangles
problem
Favourite

Poly Plug Rectangles

Age
5 to 11
Challenge level
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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?
The animals' sports day
problem
Favourite

The animals' sports day

Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
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One day five small animals in my garden were going to have a sports day. They decided to have a swimming race, a running race, a high jump and a long jump.

Seeing Squares
problem
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Seeing Squares

Age
5 to 11
Challenge level
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Players take it in turns to choose a dot on the grid. The winner is the first to have four dots that can be joined to form a square.

Ladybird Count
problem
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Ladybird Count

Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
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Some children were playing a game. Make a graph or picture to show how many ladybirds each child had.

Turning Man
problem
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Turning Man

Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
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Use the interactivity to find out how many quarter turns the man must rotate through to look like each of the pictures.
Repeating Patterns
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Repeating Patterns

Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
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Try continuing these patterns made from triangles. Can you create your own repeating pattern?
Dotty Six
problem
Favourite

Dotty Six

Age
5 to 11
Challenge level
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Dotty Six is a simple dice game that you can adapt in many ways.

Heads and Feet
problem
Favourite

Heads and Feet

Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
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On a farm there were some hens and sheep. Altogether there were 8 heads and 22 feet. How many hens were there?
Eggs in Baskets
problem
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Eggs in Baskets

Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
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There are three baskets, a brown one, a red one and a pink one, holding a total of 10 eggs. How many eggs are in each basket?
Wallpaper
problem
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Wallpaper

Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
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These pieces of wallpaper need to be ordered from smallest to largest. Can you find a way to do it?

4 Dom
problem
Favourite

4 Dom

Age
5 to 11
Challenge level
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Use these four dominoes to make a square that has the same number of dots on each side.
The Tall Tower
problem
Favourite

The Tall Tower

Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
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As you come down the ladders of the Tall Tower you collect useful spells. Which way should you go to collect the most spells?
missing multipliers
problem
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Missing Multipliers

Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
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What is the smallest number of answers you need to reveal in order to work out the missing headers?
The Remainders Game
game
Favourite

The Remainders Game

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

Play to 37
problem
Favourite

Play to 37

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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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.
Dozens
problem
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Dozens

Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
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Can you select the missing digit(s) to find the largest multiple?
Satisfying Four Statements
problem
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Satisfying Four Statements

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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Can you find any two-digit numbers that satisfy all of these statements?
Xavi's T-shirt
problem
Favourite

Xavi's T-shirt

Age
7 to 16
Challenge level
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How much can you read into a T-shirt?

A Puzzling Cube
problem
Favourite

A Puzzling Cube

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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Here are the six faces of a cube - in no particular order. Here are three views of the cube. Can you deduce where the faces are in relation to each other and record them on the net of this cube?

Square Corners
problem
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Square Corners

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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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?

Torn Shapes
problem
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Torn Shapes

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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These rectangles have been torn. How many squares did each one have inside it before it was ripped?
Shape Times Shape
problem
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Shape Times Shape

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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These eleven shapes each stand for a different number. Can you use the number sentences to work out what they are?
First Connect Three
problem
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First Connect Three

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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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?
Cows and Sheep
problem

Cows and Sheep

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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Use your logical reasoning to work out how many cows and how many sheep there are in each field.
Magic Vs
problem
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Magic Vs

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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Can you put the numbers 1-5 in the V shape so that both 'arms' have the same total?

Treasure Hunt
problem
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Treasure Hunt

Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
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Can you find a reliable strategy for choosing coordinates that will locate the treasure in the minimum number of guesses?
Coded hundred square
problem
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Coded hundred square

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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This 100 square jigsaw is written in code. It starts with 1 and ends with 100. Can you build it up?
Nice or Nasty
problem
Favourite

Nice or Nasty

Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
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There are nasty versions of this dice game but we'll start with the nice ones...
Through the Window
problem
Favourite

Through the Window

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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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?

Twenty Divided into Six
problem
Favourite

Twenty Divided into Six

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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Katie had a pack of 20 cards numbered from 1 to 20. She arranged the cards into 6 unequal piles where each pile added to the same total. What was the total and how could this be done?
Number Lines in Disguise
problem
Favourite

Number Lines in Disguise

Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
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Some of the numbers have fallen off Becky's number line. Can you figure out what they were?
Mystery Matrix
problem
Favourite

Mystery Matrix

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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Can you fill in this table square? The numbers 2 -12 were used to generate it with just one number used twice.
Sealed Solution
problem
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Sealed Solution

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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Ten cards are put into five envelopes so that there are two cards in each envelope. The sum of the numbers inside it is written on each envelope. What numbers could be inside the envelopes?
Sponge Sections
problem
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Sponge Sections

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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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.

Cut Nets
problem
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Cut Nets

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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Each of the nets of nine solid shapes has been cut into two pieces. Can you see which pieces go together?

Four Go
problem
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Four Go

Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
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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?
Eight hidden squares
problem
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Eight hidden squares

Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
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On the graph there are 28 marked points. These points all mark the vertices (corners) of eight hidden squares. Can you find the eight hidden squares?
Baravelle
problem
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Baravelle

Age
7 to 16
Challenge level
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What can you see? What do you notice? What questions can you ask?

Two and Two
problem
Favourite

Two and Two

Age
7 to 16
Challenge level
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How many solutions can you find to this sum? Each of the different letters stands for a different number.