​Product and Sum Ring

Mathematical Foundations

Key Skills and Concepts

​

Topics Covered:

Finding the Product and Sum of numbers

Following instructions

Problem Solving

​

Equipment needed:

A copy of the circle and square ring in the image below (you can print or draw your own on paper or a mini white board)

Something to write with

​

Overview:

This is simple problem solving activity to introduce children into ways to explore a problem and ultimately make these methods as efficient as possible by thinking about the rules of multiplication and the size of different numbers

​

Instructions:

Give your child a copy of the grid (or even better a blank piece of paper/white board so they can think to draw their own). Ask them to read through the instructions and work out what to do themselves. The hardest thing about any sort of problem solving style question is often how to get started in the first place so as tempting as it is please do not tell them what to do. Use the prompts below if you have to.

​

Key Questions/Prompts:

Can you write anything down after reading the first instruction?

What does Product mean?

What does Sum mean?

How do you work out your score?

What can you do to try and get a higher score?

​

Extension:

Whilst there is lots of great problem solving experience in randomly altering the positions of the digits there are different methods to think about to make the process more efficient. Try and talk about these with your child.

Try and be more systematic in moving the digits about so you do not repeat a pattern. Even better than this think about which numbers should be next to each other to give the highest score. 6 is the ‘best’ number because it is the biggest so which other numbers should you put next to it. By using this process you can ensure you reach the highest score possible. Please don’t look at this straight away though. It is important your child gets to explore the problem naturally first.

​

#activityoftheweek

#keyskills