Autumn number hunt

Make the most of the fallen leaves and conkers outside with this Autumn inspired mathematics task. Head outside with your class to collect the leaves and conkers before adding numbers to both and creating a number hunt and match for your class.

Learning outcomes

You will be able to:

• Identify and match a range of numbers

You will need (per group)

• 1 x Shallow Gratnells (F1) tray with lid
• 1 x Marker pen
• Fallen leaves
• Fallen conkers

Preparation:

• Head outside with your class to collect fallen leaves and conkers in a Shallow Gratnells (F1) tray.
• Collect enough leaves and conkers to fill multiple trays, dependent on whether this will be an individual or group task.
• Either back in the classroom or outside, write the same number on both a conker and a leaf before placing them back in the tray. Repeat this with multiple numbers until you have plenty covered with letters, but still some plain.

What to do:

• Using hands or tweezers, pick out leaves first attempting to find the first with a number on it.
• Set the numbered leaf aside and hunt through the tray for the matching number on a conker.
• Once a matching pair is found, set them both aside and move on to hunt for the remaining numbers.

Other things to try…

For an older age group, this can easily be made into tougher mathematics activities

• Addition trays – students should pull out a numbered leaf and a numbered conker and add the values together.
• Subtraction trays – students should pull out a numbered leaf and a numbered conker and subtract the second value from the first.
• Multiplication/division trays for older age groups.
• Share photographs of your number activities on social media using #WhatsInMyTray.

Health & Safety

As with all Gratnells Learning Rooms What’s In My Tray Activities, you should carry out your own risk assessment prior to undertaking any of the activities or demonstrations.