Table Spiders

The numbers in the circles are equal to the number on the spider's back multiplied by the number next to the leg.

Starter of The Day Transum Mathematics Topics

Topics: Starter | Mental Methods | Tables

Transum,
This is the very first lesson starter I ever saw. It must have been around 1995 when the Numeracy initiative was being introduced to UK schools. The teacher drew the spider on the board (there were not many classroom projectors then!) and the pupils copied the drawing into the back of their exercise book then filled in the missing numbers. It was the fact that they were drawing a big spider in a Mathematics lesson that motivated the pupils. It also kept them busy while the teacher got the main part of the lesson ready and dealt with late arriving pupils. A volunteer pupil filled in the correct answers on the board at the end of the lesson starter time.

How did you use this starter? Can you suggest how teachers could present or develop this resource? Do you have any comments? It is always useful to receive feedback and helps make this free resource even more useful for Maths teachers anywhere in the world.
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Previous Day | This starter is for 2 August | Next Day

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Note to teacher: Doing this activity once with a class helps students develop strategies. It is only when they do this activity a second time that they will have the opportunity to practise those strategies. That is when the learning is consolidated. Click the button above to regenerate another version of this starter from random numbers.

Teacher, do your students have access to computers such as tablets, iPads or Laptops? This page was really designed for projection on a whiteboard but if you really want the students to have access to it here is a concise URL for a version of this page without the comments:

Transum.org/go/?Start=August2

However it would be better to assign one of the student interactive activities below.

Laptops In Lessons

Here is the URL which will take them to more times tables activities.

Transum.org/go/?to=Tables

Table Spiders

A Mathematics Lesson Starter Of The Day

Answers