Maths
Maths projects for class 1 to 5: 31 ideas.
Each project below opens to its own page with what it shows, the science behind it, the materials, safety, step-by-step instructions, what you should see and viva questions. Many can be made from things at home; where a kit helps, the page links one.
Other subjects for class 1 to 5: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Earth and space, Electronics and robotics, Environment, Computing and coding.
Fraction wall
Strips cut into halves, thirds, quarters and smaller parts show which fractions are equal (2/4 is the same as 1/2) and which fraction is bigger.
Bottle-cap abacus that shows ones, tens, hundreds and thousands
Each rod of the abacus stands for a place: ones, tens, hundreds and thousands. Ten caps on one rod are worth exactly one cap on the next rod to the left, so the number 2,346 is 2 caps, 3 caps, 4 caps and 6 caps from left to right.
Base-ten blocks from matchsticks, matchboxes and a carton
A single matchstick is one, a bundle of ten is a ten, a flat of ten bundles is a hundred and a box of ten flats is a thousand. Seeing the sizes side by side shows why 1,000 is so much more than 100.
Hundred chart with coloured windows for skip counting patterns
On a 10 by 10 chart of 1 to 100, counting in twos, fives and tens makes straight columns, counting in nines makes a diagonal and counting in threes makes slanting stripes. Patterns appear because the chart has ten numbers in each row.
Clothes-peg number line with a jumping frog for adding
Adding is jumping forwards along the number line and subtracting is jumping backwards. The frog shows that 7 + 5 and 5 + 7 land on the same number, and that 12 take away 5 brings you back to 7.
Fraction pizza circles with a spinner that matches equal parts
Circles cut into 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12 equal slices show that 1/2 is the same amount as 2/4, 3/6, 4/8 and 6/12, and that two slices of 1/3 plus one of 1/6 make 5/6, which is less than one whole pizza.
Sliding decimal point board for tenths and hundredths
The digits of a number stay in order while the decimal point slides. Moving the point one place to the right multiplies by 10 (3.45 becomes 34.5) and one place to the left divides by 10 (3.45 becomes 0.345).
Times-table string art on a ten-point circle
Join the last digits of a multiplication table in order on a circle marked 0 to 9: the two times table draws a pentagon, the three times table a ten-pointed star, the five times table a single line, and the nine times table traces the one times table backwards.
Paper plate angle maker with a sliding arm and degree scale
Two plates joined at the centre open like a fan to show any angle from 0 to 360 degrees. The scale shows that a right angle is 90 degrees, a straight angle 180 degrees and a full turn 360 degrees, and the arm names each angle as acute, right, obtuse or reflex.
Nail and rubber-band geoboard for shapes, perimeter and area
Rubber bands stretched round nails on a square grid make triangles, rectangles and other polygons in seconds. Counting the unit squares inside a shape gives its area, and a rectangle 3 by 4 always has area 12 and perimeter 14 wherever it is placed.
Tangram set with a fraction and area table for each piece
The seven tangram pieces are cut from one square. The two large triangles are each one quarter of the square, the medium triangle, the square and the parallelogram are each one eighth, and the two small triangles are each one sixteenth, so the fractions add up to one whole.
Hinged mirror pair that shows symmetry and how many images appear
A single mirror stood on a shape shows its line of symmetry: half a butterfly becomes a whole one. Two mirrors hinged together show more and more copies as the angle closes: at 90 degrees you see 4 copies in all, at 60 degrees 6 copies and at 45 degrees 8 copies, always 360 divided by the angle.
Bottle-cap pie chart built from a class survey of favourite games
A survey of 30 classmates is shown as coloured bottle caps on a circle. If 12 chose cricket, cricket gets 12 out of 30 of the circle, which is 144 degrees, and the slices of the pie add up to the full 360 degrees of the class.
Multiplication snakes and ladders board from a cereal box
Landing on a square means answering a multiplication fact. Repeated practice helps children learn tables and see the patterns in them.
Cardboard teaching clock with hands that move together
The minute hand goes round 12 times for every one round of the hour hand. Learners can set times and see how hours, minutes and angles connect.
Ice-cream stick fraction wall for halves, quarters and eighths
Equal parts of the same whole can be compared by length. The wall shows that one half equals two quarters and four eighths.
How much does rice swell? Water ratio and volume maths
Rice soaks up water and swells, and the amount of cooked rice depends on the ratio of rice to water. By measuring in cups you practise ratio and volume and see how much bigger the rice becomes.
Scaling a recipe: ratios, fractions and measuring cups
A recipe is a set of ratios, so halving or doubling it means multiplying every amount by the same number. You rewrite a simple recipe for 2, 4 and 10 people and practise fractions and unit conversion.
Button sorting game: colour, size and number of holes
The same set of things can be sorted in many ways, and each rule makes different groups. Sorting is the first step of handling data and of seeing patterns.
Feely bag: guess the shape by touch alone
We can know shapes by their edges and corners, not only by looking. Feeling flat and solid shapes trains children to count sides, corners and curves.
Measuring with my hand span and my foot
Measuring means comparing with a unit. Hand spans and feet are handy units, but they differ from person to person, which is why we need a standard unit like the centimetre.
Shape detective: find circles, squares and triangles at home
Shapes are everywhere around us. Looking for them helps children name shapes and count their sides and corners.
Bead string patterns: AB, AAB and ABC necklaces
A pattern is something that repeats in a set order. Making and continuing patterns builds the skill of predicting what comes next.
Dot rangoli: patterns with lines and symmetry on dots
Joining dots makes patterns that have symmetry. Both halves of the drawing look the same, like a rangoli.
Paper tiles that fit together: which shapes leave no gaps?
Some shapes, like squares, triangles and hexagons, can cover a floor without gaps. Others, like circles, leave gaps. This is why floors are tiled with certain shapes.
Cardboard clock with hands that move: hours and half hours
A clock face has twelve numbers, and the short hand shows hours while the long hand shows minutes. Moving the hands helps us read time.
My day on a clock chart: wake, school, play and sleep
Time passes in hours, and we can show our day as parts on a clock. This helps us plan our time and see how long each task takes.
Number hopscotch: hop to add and subtract
Adding is moving forward on a number line and subtracting is moving back. Hopping makes the idea physical and fun.
Paper money class shop: buy, sell and give change
Money is used to buy things, and shopkeepers give back change. Playing shop teaches adding prices, counting notes and finding change.
Rupee coins and notes matching cards
Money has different values, and we can make the same amount in many ways. Matching games help children count in ones, twos, fives and tens.
Weekly pocket money chart: save, spend and share
Money can be saved, spent or shared. Writing it in a chart shows where it goes and helps children plan.