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An online adventure with matching workbooks
Each adventure includes an online Thinking Adventure and matching printable workbooks.
They follow the same maths topics and are designed to be used together.
Explore the examples and questions with Max on screen, then use the workbook to draw
models, record calculations and explain your thinking. Move between the adventure and
workbook as you learn, practise and revise.
A route through the year’s maths, one stop at a time.
1
The route
Each adventure has a route through the maths for that grade. The route is organised
into four term games.
2
One stop, one maths idea
Each place on the game map is called a stop. It focuses on one maths idea.
3
Five levels
Each stop has five activities, called levels. Begin with Level 1 and work
through them in order.
1Number string
2Knowledge
3Application
4Reasoning
5Problem of the day
How the five levels work
Each stop has five activities, called levels. Begin with Level 1 and work through them in order.
1
🔗Number string
Find the connections
Your turn
Work through the linked calculations in order. Look back at each answer: can it help you
work out the next one? Explain the connection aloud or on paper.
Why it helps
Using known facts to work out new answers builds flexible calculation strategies. Learners
develop a way to tackle numbers they cannot recall straight away.
2
🧠Knowledge
Understand the idea
Your turn
Follow How it works one step at a time. Match each step to the picture and
calculation. Use Watch again if needed, then press Start to try the questions.
Why it helps
The pictures and worked examples show what the numbers mean and why the steps work,
preparing learners to use the method themselves.
3
🧭Application
Use the maths
Your turn
Read the story problem. Work out what you need to find, choose a method and show your
working. Check that your answer fits the story, including any units.
Why it helps
Learners practise recognising when to use the maths and choosing a method that fits a
situation. They connect the calculation to what the answer means.
4
💬Reasoning
Explain how you know
Your turn
Read the answer, claim or method you are asked to check. Use a calculation, picture or
example to explain your decision. If there is a mistake, show how to correct it.
Why it helps
Explaining a decision helps learners make sense of their thinking. It also reveals
misunderstandings that a correct answer alone may hide.
5
🧩Problem of the day
Choose, test and rethink
Your turn
Read the puzzle and its rules. Choose an idea to try, keep track of your moves or working,
and check what happened. Change your approach if needed and explain what you found.
Why it helps
The challenge asks learners to make decisions and test ideas. Discussing their attempts
helps them learn from what worked, what changed and another person’s approach.
As you work: follow each question’s instructions to type an answer or select a choice.
Use Check where it is shown and read the feedback. Choose Hint when you need
help with a step.
When you reach Finish the level, use it to complete the activity, then continue to the
next level. The matching worksheet gives you space to draw, calculate and explain. One stop
may take more than one session.
Start with your grade
Each grade has its own journey and four term games. Choose the game that matches the
maths you need; you can begin at any time of year.
Four stops, four different ideas. Press one and you are in it: its story,
its five levels and its worksheet. It runs in the browser, on a phone or a laptop.
Revisit an idea your child finds difficult. Work through the explanations together,
then use the activities and worksheet to strengthen their understanding and
calculation skills.
Use the topic list to choose work your child needs to revise. Try the questions and
worksheet, discuss mistakes and return to an example when a step needs another look.
The completed programme is intended to cover the year’s CAPS maths content through
four term games. Check each grade for the games and topics currently available.
In the classroom or at home. Open the guide that fits you.
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In the classroomTeachers: turn a stop into a lesson
Begin together with the number string, develop and practise the concept, then finish with a group thinking task.
1Begin together🔗Level 1Number stringFind the connections
2Build understanding🧠Level 2KnowledgeUnderstand the idea🧭Level 3ApplicationUse the maths💬Level 4ReasoningExplain how you know
3Think together🧩Level 5Problem of the dayChoose, test and rethink
Before teaching, preview the stop and its worksheet. Have paper and any objects you need ready. A stop can extend over several lessons.
1
Begin together
Lead the number string
Number string · Pam Harris
Show one calculation at a time. Give everyone thinking time, then ask, “How did you work it out?” Record their methods and keep earlier working visible. With the next question, ask, “Which earlier calculation can help us? Why?”
For example
10 × 8 = 80 → 5 × 8 = 40 → 15 × 8 = 120.
Five groups are half of ten groups. Fifteen groups combine ten groups and five groups. Make those connections explicit as learners explain.
Why it matters: a carefully chosen string helps learners build a calculation strategy from facts they already know. The discussion shows you whether they can use the relationship between questions.
Knowledge → Application → Reasoning · Bruner and guided practice
Use the Knowledge activity to teach the idea. Connect objects learners can handle, pictures they can draw, and the numbers and symbols they write. This is the concrete–pictorial–abstract (CPA) approach, drawing on Bruner’s work on representing ideas through actions, images and symbols.
For example: three quarters of 12
Objects: share 12 counters into four equal groups. Select three groups.
Picture: draw the same four groups and circle three of them.
Symbols: write 12 ÷ 4 = 3, then 3 × 3 = 9. Connect this to 34 × 12 = 9.
Ask learners to show where each number appears in the objects and drawing.
Why it matters: connecting these representations gives meaning to the calculation. Add real objects to the game’s pictures, and return to them when a step is unclear.
Model an example, complete a similar question together, then let learners practise in the game or on the worksheet. In Application, ask what the word problem requires and why the chosen method fits. In Reasoning, ask learners to explain or check a method. Use their working and explanations to decide what needs teaching again.
Use Problem of the day for learners to decide how to approach a problem together. Explain the challenge and check that the wording is understood.
Set up groups: use a visible random method, such as drawing cards, to make groups of three. Give each group a shared erasable surface, ideally an upright whiteboard.
Let learners begin: ask them to choose an approach and show their thinking. Leave the solution method for them to work out.
Help them move forward: listen first. Ask, “What have you tried?” or “Could you test a simpler case?” Give a small hint when needed; explain missing knowledge if it prevents a start.
Bring the learning together: select group work to discuss, starting with an accessible approach. Connect the methods and ask learners why they work. Finish with a short individual question to check each learner’s understanding.
Why it matters: learners make decisions, test ideas and revise them. The shared working lets them compare and build on one another’s reasoning.
This teaching sequence brings together approaches that support different aspects of mathematical learning. Pam Harris’s connected calculations use a carefully chosen sequence of related problems to help learners notice patterns and use known facts to work out unfamiliar calculations. For example, knowing that 10 × 6 = 60 can help learners reason that 9 × 6 = 54 by subtracting one group of six. Harris’s approach
Bruner’s representations help learners connect actions, images and symbols. Learners can explore an idea using objects, represent it through drawings or diagrams, and connect these representations to written numbers and equations. Linking these forms helps learners understand what the mathematical symbols mean. Bruner’s account
Guided instruction supports new learning through clear explanations, modelled examples and supported practice. Teachers explain their reasoning, check learners’ understanding and provide feedback, gradually reducing support as learners become ready to work independently. Principles of instruction
Jo Boaler’s work on number sense informs the emphasis on flexible thinking about numbers. Learners are given time to consider a calculation, explain their methods and compare strategies, helping them recognise relationships and choose approaches that make sense for the numbers involved. Number sense
Peter Liljedahl’s collaborative thinking practices inform the final challenge at each stop. Learners can work in small, randomly formed groups at shared upright whiteboards, where they discuss ideas, make their reasoning visible and revise their solutions together. Although his wider model also uses thinking tasks to introduce new learning, this sequence draws on these practices to help learners apply and extend their understanding. Building Thinking Classrooms
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At homeParents: how to begin together
You do not need to remember how you were taught. The most useful thing you can do is ask
your child to show you what they did — on paper, with counters, or by drawing it.
Three questions that work on almost anything: How did you work that out?Is there another way?How do you know it is right?
If an answer is wrong, resist correcting it straight away. Ask them to check it against
something they already know — that is the habit that makes maths stick.
Find the right maths. Choose your child’s grade and a term game that includes the
topic they are learning or need to revisit. You do not have to begin with Term 1.
Set a stop, or follow the route. On a term game’s route,
press Set on a stop and your child finds it at the top of their own page. Or let
them follow the route in order.
Open a stop together. Use its map or topic list. Read
the five-level guide above to see what your child will do and why
each activity matters.
Keep paper or the matching worksheet ready. Your child can use it to record
calculations, draw models and explain their thinking. You can open the worksheet from
the stop.
Give help with the difficult step. Let your child explain what they tried. Look at
the example or hint together, use objects or a drawing to explain the step, then ask them
to try again.
Finish by talking about the learning. Ask, “What helped you today?” or “Can you
show me why that works?” Use their answer to decide what needs another look next time.
Keep sessions manageable. A stop can take several sessions, with time for
discussion and practice.
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For childrenChildren: how to begin
Log in. Use the username your teacher or parent made for you. Your own page opens
on your grade’s adventure, and any work you have been set is at the top.
Open a term game. Ask your teacher or parent to help you choose the one for the
maths you need. Choose a place on the map or find a maths topic in the list below it.
That place is your stop.
Begin with Level 1: Number string. Work through the five levels in order. Use
the guide above to see what to do in each one.
Follow the question. Type your answer or tap a choice as instructed. Use
Check when it is shown, read the feedback and use Hint if you need help.
Have paper ready to show your working.
Complete the level. Press Finish the level when it appears, then continue
to the next level. Ask an adult for help when an example or hint is still unclear.
Two subscription options
One for schools and one for families. Both begin with a free week.
🏫 For Schools
Teachers make a class, learners join with a code, and you see exactly who is flying
and who is stuck — without collecting a single child's email address.
At MathsConnected, we believe every child can grow into a confident and capable mathematician.
Through visual models, number strings, rich thinking tasks and a concrete–pictorial–abstract approach,
learners are encouraged to notice patterns, make connections, explain their ideas and develop flexible
strategies. The focus is not just on getting the answer, but on understanding why the maths works.
