Add and Subtract with lollipop sticks - Practical Maths Activity

This practical maths activity is ideal for Year 2 students to enhance their fluency in addition and subtraction facts up to 20, in line with the National Curriculum objectives. The required materials are simple: lollipop sticks and permanent markers. Teachers are to write a maths question on each lollipop stick, making sure to leave one end blank for the answer. Once the questions are written, the lollipop sticks are lined up in a row, and students are tasked with writing down the correct answer on the blank space at the end of each stick, creating a chain of answers.

The activity offers a variety of interactive ways to engage with the maths problems. One option is to solve a question on a stick and then find another stick with the corresponding answer to connect them together. Another method is to pick a stick, read the answer at the end, and challenge the children to come up with different addition or subtraction equations that result in that number. Alternatively, students can select two random sticks and either add the answers together or subtract one from the other. These hands-on exercises not only make learning fun but also encourage students to think creatively and reinforce their arithmetic skills.