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Mental Maths Starter

Ten questions on the board, a timer running, then the answers. Five levels from number bonds to 11+, and a brand new set every time you press the button.

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    Using it in class

    Two ways to run it

    All at once with one timer is the classic do-now: books open, go. One at a time puts a single question on the board with its own countdown bar and moves on by itself — the format of the old mental maths tests, without the CD.

    A different set every time

    Press New set and you get twenty fresh questions, with no repeats inside a set. Use the same level all week without the class seeing the same question twice, and print it with an answer sheet when you want it on paper.

    Five levels that mean something

    Each level is a named band of objectives rather than a vague "hard" — so Level 4 is SATs arithmetic and Level 5 is ratio, percentage change and sequences. The line under the level buttons always says what is in the one you have picked.