Parents and kindergarten teachers often use interesting math assignments. For preschoolers, this is considered the norm, while school textbooks offer long series of uniform examples and complex tasks. That is why most students consider mathematics a boring subject. To maintain motivation, teachers are encouraged to include elements of entertainment in familiar lessons. This allows you to interest children, encourage them to work actively in class and reduce fatigue.
Game lessons
In school textbooks, entertaining material is not enough. However, an experienced teacher can make familiar math assignments interesting. In the 1st grade, this is especially important, since children respond better to the game form of training. They are bored of solving examples, but everything changes if the teacher brings the ball to the lesson and asks for the correct answer from the one who caught it.
To increase the activity of children allows the game plot that is present at the lesson. There may be many options. For example, for each completed task, the children receive a piece of the puzzle, and at the end of the lesson a picture is collected from them. Or the class sets off to rescue a hero in distress. On the way, they meet various villains and defeat them, solving puzzles and examples. Children really like the competition, when the class is divided into teams and each collects tokens for work. Winners can be awarded with paper medals. Thus, it is not always necessary to look for entertaining material. Sometimes it’s enough to change the form of filing.
Game tricks
It is not necessary to come up with a fairy tale plot for each lesson. Pupils must get used to serious work. However, during the lesson, tension inevitably builds up. Various game tricks, which do not take a lot of time, are called to help reset it. Here are examples of such interesting math assignments:
- "Blind account." Ask first graders to close their eyes and raise their hands up. The teacher dictates examples (the score is kept within the first ten). Children show the answer on their fingers. Older children can be called to the board and asked to blindfolded to perform any action with two double-digit numbers in a column.
- Accurate arrows. Examples are written on the board, and to the right of them are the correct answers in random order. Children copy this in a notebook. Then the arrows connect the examples with the correct answers.
- "Relay race". On the board in three columns are written examples. Children sitting in one row are built in a column. Standing first runs to the board and solves the first example, then returns to the team and passes the chalk to the next player. When determining the winner, the correctness of the answers and the time spent are taken into account.
Funny tasks
The tasks discussed above are considered entertaining in their form. In addition to them, there are exercises that are interesting in their content. A vivid example can be the tasks of G. Oster, which differ from others in a humorous presentation of the material. Here are some interesting math assignments for grade 1 from his book:
- Mom bought some cacti. Three-year-old Masha shaved half of them with her father’s razor. Prickly remained 12 cacti. How many shaved plants does mom have? (12)
- Ryaba's hen laid the egg, but the mouse broke it. Then the good Ryaba laid three more eggs, but the mouse broke them. The chicken pulled herself up and gave five eggs. An unscrupulous mouse shattered them all. Of how many eggs could a grandfather and a woman prepare eggs for themselves if they had not spoiled a mouse? (nine).
- Seryozha had 12 large poofs and 7 small ones. When they explained what it was, he threw everything away and jumped away. How many bastards did Seryozha throw? (19).
Logic tasks
It is very useful to give children non-standard tasks that teach them to reason, and not to answer thoughtlessly. Solving such problems, students develop mindfulness, ingenuity and flexibility of thinking. Here are some interesting math exercises that can be used in elementary grades:

- There were 40 ravens on the tree. The hunter shot a gun and killed 6 birds. How many ravens are left to sit on a tree? (None, the surviving birds flew away).
- How many ends do 32 and a half sticks have? (66).
- The shepherd led the geese. One goose walked in front of three, another drove three birds and two geese ran in the middle. How many geese were there? (4).
- A team of three horses ran 60 km. What distance did each horse run? (60 km.)
- What is heavier - a kilogram of fluff or a kilogram of lead? (They weigh the same).
- It takes 1 hour 20 minutes to fly from point A to point B. It takes 80 minutes to get back. How can it be? (This is the same time as 60 min. + 20 min. = 80 min.)
- Dad is sawing firewood. He can cut a log in half in 1 min. How long does it take him to cut a log into 8 parts? (7 minutes, because it will take 7 cuts).
- Mom bought a box of chocolates to her daughters: Katya and Lena. Each box contained 15 candies. For the day Katya ate a few pieces, and left the rest for tomorrow. Lena ate as many sweets as her sister had left, and set aside the others. How many sweets did Mom count in the evening in both boxes? (Katya has 15-a = b sweets left. So, Lena ate b sweets. Since in this equation a + b = 15, and there were 30 sweets in total, her mother counted 15 sweets in two boxes).
Jobs with fairytale characters
First graders are yesterday’s preschoolers. They love when some kind of magical hero is introduced in class. For example, Dunno, who made mistakes in the solved examples. Problems with fabulous content are also pertinent in grade 1. Interesting tasks in mathematics can be compiled independently, focusing on the examples below:
- For his birthday, the gray wolf dined with seven kids, three pigs and one Little Red Riding Hood. How many animals are in his stomach? (ten).
- Little Red Riding Hood’s basket contains pies with jam, cabbage and meat. Most pies with jam, and less with cabbage than with meat. How many pies in a basket, if there are exactly three pieces with jam? (6).
- Baba Yaga had 17 animals living in the hut, 2 of them talking cats, and the rest were mouse mice. Grandma gave Koshchei the Immortal 8 mice. How many rodents are left in the hut? (7).
- Carlson ate 19 chocolates, and there were 4 less candied nuts. How many candied nuts did Carlson eat? (fifteen).
Tasks in verses
The attention of the children is attracted by everything unusual. They solve rhymed tasks with great pleasure, perceiving such an activity as a fun game. Below is an example of an interesting math assignment for grade 2, with which you can recall the multiplication table. The words enclosed in brackets should be agreed upon by the guys themselves:
Once (one).
He lived with his father's beloved son.
Twice four (eight)
When autumn came
Three times two (six)
Someone in the garden began to eat apples.
Four times three (twelve).
The son went to meet the thief.
Five five (twenty five).
Suddenly a firebird flew into the garden.
Nine five (forty five).
The bird became pecking apples.
Four times eight (thirty two).
I could not stand the fellow stealing.
A family of seven (forty nine).
How grabbing the firebird in anger!
A family of nine (sixty three).
The bird prays: "Let me go."
Six four (twenty four).
"You will be happier than everyone in this world."
A family of four (twenty eight).
Well done bird tossed into the sky.
Three times ten (thirty).
And she suddenly became a girl.
A family of five (thirty-five).
Beauty - no tale to say!
Three times nine (twenty seven).
This wedding was remembered by everyone.
Five one (five).
And their daughter knew how to fly.
Cognitive tasks
The older the children, the more serious the material selected. Students of 3-4 grades are able not only to solve puzzles, but also to broaden their horizons. Interesting math assignments can be related to topics taught in history or the world. Here are examples of similar tasks:
- The Russian emperor Peter I slept daily from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., and at other times was busy with business. How many hours did his work day last? (19).
- Emperor Alexander II reduced his military service by 19 years. Under him, soldiers defended their homeland for 72 months. How many years did the Russian soldier serve before? (25 years).
- A large comet of Galileo appears near the Earth every 76 years. The last time this happened in 1986. When will the comet fly again? (In 2062).
- The land is inhabited by 2 million 500 thousand different species of animals. 4/5 of them are insects. How many species of insects live on our planet? (2 million)
Unusual structure examples
The attention of children is attracted by tasks that do not fit into the familiar pattern. Common examples in which you need to know the result of known components and actions quickly become boring. Another thing is if you need to place the actions and brackets between the numbers to get the specified result. Here are some similar math assignments. In the 4th grade, children will completely cope with them, and for younger students, examples can be simplified:
8 8 8 8 = 0 Answer: (8 + 8) - (8 + 8) = 0.
8 8 8 8 = 1 Answer: (8 + 8) :( 8 + 8) = 1.
8 8 8 8 = 3 Answer: (8 + 8 + 8): 8 = 3.
8 8 8 8 = 7 Answer: (8 × 8-8): 8 = 7.
8 8 8 8 = 8 Answer: (8-8) × 8 + 8 = 8.
8 8 8 8 = 9 Answer: (8 × 8 + 8): 8 = 9.
8 8 8 8 = 10 Answer: (8 + 8): 8 + 8 = 10.
8 8 8 8 = 16 Answer: 8 × (8 + 8): 8 = 16.
8 8 8 8 = 48 Answer: 8 × 8- (8 + 8) = 48.
8 8 8 8 = 56 Answer: (8-8: 8) × 8 = 56.
Mathematical Puzzles
It's boring to solve equations. Another thing, if you call the same example, is a riddle or a puzzle. Here are some interesting math exercises. In the 3rd grade, unknowns can be denoted by letters of the Latin alphabet or asterisks. In grades 1-2, children prefer images of toys, fruits, or other real objects. We will consider an option for older children:
- CN + NC = 33. Find the value of C and N. (In this case, one of the characters is equal to one, and the other to two).
- FFD + FDF + DFF = 444. What are F and D equal to? (F = 1, D = 2).
- Replace the stars with the necessary numbers: 1 * 9 * + * 4 * 3 = 4225. (Answer: 1792 + 2433 = 4225).
- Restore the example by substituting the numbers for the letters: AA1 × AAA + AAA00 = 11211. (A = 1).
Games for future ransomware
Another interesting task in mathematics can be solving the encoded words. In this case, each letter has its own number. To solve the cipher, children must solve a number of examples. Below are two such assignments.
- Guess the fairy-tale character:
Figures | 72 | 18 | 40 | 27 | 49 | 64 | 49 | 81 | 36 | 56 |
Letters | | | | | | | | | | |
M = 9 × 3, O = 7 × 7, B = 8 × 8, Yu = 6 × 3, Y = 5 × 8, A = 8 × 7, K = 6 × 6, D = 9 × 8, H = 9 × 9. (Thumbelina).
- In January, it is fat, but with each passing day it gets thinner and thinner.
Figures | 60 | 45 | 4 | 85 | 72 | 20 | 45 | eleven | 23 |
Letters | | | | | | | | | |
E = 34 + 51, P = 74-63, A = 57-12, L = 38-15, D = 4 × 5, L = 24: 6, H = 46 + 14. (The calendar).
Math tricks
To attract the attention of students, you need to surprise them. Especially for this purpose, you can use interesting tasks in mathematics with answers known in advance. It is better to call them "tricks." Children make up arbitrary numbers, conduct a series of operations with them. And then the teacher guesses the correct answer, common to all those present. Everyone will probably want to understand the secret of such a “trick”. Here are some similar tasks:
- Children must guess any number from 1 to 9 and multiply it by 2. Then the resulting number is multiplied by 5. 7 is added to the result, then the digit representing tens is discarded. To the remaining number add 3, subtract 8, multiply by 4. And the teacher calls the answer common to all students: 8.
- Have the children take three digits, with the exception of zero, and make up all possible three-digit numbers from them. Then you need to find out the sum of these numbers. The figures taken are also added together. The sum of all three-digit numbers is divided by the sum of three digits. The teacher "guesses" the answer: 222.
Interesting math assignments make the subject more attractive for primary school children. In addition, they make students think outside the box, move away from patterns. Thus, curiosity and creative thinking develops.