Hundred squares are a great resource for Maths. Why not have a go at one or more of these simple games? All that is needed are 100 squares (filled in/ blank), dice and counters.
- Cover-up
Cover up one or more squares using counters. The child has to guess which numbers are hidden under the counter/s. - Adding and subtracting 10
Add or subtract 10 from any number. What is happening to the number each time? (The units or ones number will stay the same and the 10s will increase or decrease by 10.) After some practise children will be able to go down the columns to add 10 and up the columns to subtract 10. They will need to find this out by counting along 10 at first. - Adding or subtracting game
Use the 100 square as a ‘snakes and ladders’ type board. Roll a dice, say the number, count the squares and move your counter. Or use two dice, add the numbers and move your counter. Either move from 1-100 by adding or from 100-1 by taking away. - Race to the target
Use a blank 100 square. Time how long it takes to fill in the numbers. Begin up to 20, 30 or 50. Repeat to see if they can improve on their time. - Missing numbers
Draw pieces of the 100 square on the blank side with only some of the numbers filled in. Children think about the numbers and the patterns to fill in the empty spaces. - Squares
Highlight a 2 by 2 square. What do you notice? Is it always the same? Add the numbers in opposite corners.
- Patterns
Cover the multiples of 2, 3, 5 and 10 etc (one multiple at a time).Use the patterns to predict which numbers will be in the sequence.
- Finding 100
Find pairs of numbers on the hundred square that total 100. How many different pairs can you find? Which two numbers do not have a partner?
- Digit sums
Use counters to cover numbers on the hundred square whose digits add up to 10. Explain the patterns that you notice. Use a different colour counter to cover numbers whose digits add up to 9, 8, 7 etc. Can you explain what is happening each time? - Counter collect
Cover the numbers on the square with counters. Throw two 0 – 9 dice and make a 2-digit number. Work out which counter the number is hidden under. If you are right, keep the counter. If you are wrong, put the counter back down. How many counters can you collect in 5 or 10 minutes? Play again and try to beat your record.