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Looking for a new idea for times tables? Try these printable supermarket vouchers and catalogue pages to practice with a real life context. There are many opportunities for open ended times table practice with these resources, here are a few example ideas to get you started.
To complete this activity you will need:
• Cut out printed vouchers for younger children
• A Super Saver Busy Schools Catalogue Page Yr 2 (or similar adapted for the appropriate level).
YEAR 1
• Sort out a pile of vouchers into different denominations.
• Using the ‘1’ vouchers, lay out arrays to show simple multiplication facts. Give the children 3 ‘2’ vouchers and 4 ‘1’ vouchers (for example). Which is worth more? Why?
YEAR 2
• Use the ‘2’, ‘5’ and ‘10’ vouchers. Give the children a prepared page of the catalogue and ask them to work out how many of each voucher they will need to “buy” the items. Are there any different ways to make up the amount?
YEAR 3
• Use the ‘2’, ‘4’, ‘5’, ‘8’ and ‘10’ vouchers. Give the children a prepared page of the catalogue and ask them to work out how many of each voucher they will need to “buy” the items. How many different ways can you make up the amount?
YEAR 4
• Give the children a limited “budget” made up of different denominations of voucher (up to 12). Give them a page from the catalogue and ask them to choose which items to “buy” using the budget they have available.
• Explain to the children that to earn “1” voucher you have to spend £10. Give the children a page from the catalogue and ask them to work out how much money was spent to earn enough vouchers for each item.
Extension Ideas
• Ask the children to design their own catalogue page thinking carefully about the number of vouchers needed to “buy” a particular item.
• Challenge children to work out the smallest number of vouchers needed to buy a particular item.
• Limit the denominations available to make the task more challenging and encourage the children to explain their reasoning. What if you only have ‘4’ and ‘6’ vouchers (for example)?
Key misconceptions
• Children can find it difficult to understand that an item can look the same but have a different face value (i.e. that a ‘2’ voucher is worth twice as much as a ‘1’ voucher). Help them by counting out the correct number of ‘1’ vouchers to equal the same value as a ‘5’ voucher, for example.
• Where children are working on the repeated addition aspect of multiplication, show them how to count out the vouchers (For example, 4, 8, 12,16,20…)
Learning Outcomes
National Curriculum 2014 Maths
Year 1 -Pupils should be taught to solve one-step problems involving multiplication and division, by calculating the answer using concrete objects, pictorial representations and arrays with the support of the teacher.
Year 2- Pupils should be taught to recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 2, 5 and 10 multiplication tables, including recognising odd and even numbers
Year 3 -Pupils should be taught to recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4 and 8 multiplication tables
Year 4 Pupils should be taught to recall multiplication and division facts for multiplication tables up to 12 × 12
This post was written by Sam Collins
Sam teaches in Devon, and has over 20 years experience in primary education teaching Early Years, KS1 and KS2.
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