Addition and Subtraction Target Board - Mental methods

The Target Board is an engaging and versatile tool for Year 5 students to practice their mental addition and subtraction skills with increasingly large numbers. Presented as a grid of numbers, the Target Board offers a dynamic way to start or finish a maths lesson, perfect for quick retrieval practice. Teachers can use this resource with the whole class or in smaller groups, displaying the board so that all students can see it. Equipped with whiteboards and pens, students are tasked with performing calculations using the numbers on the board or finding answers that fit specific criteria set by the teacher.

For instance, a teacher might challenge the class with a question such as, "How many pairs of numbers can you find that total to more than 15,000?" This activity encourages students to mentally process large numbers and find combinations that meet the given condition. It's easy to differentiate the challenge for various ability groups by providing each group with different instructions or criteria to meet. The Target Board is a simple yet effective method for reinforcing mental arithmetic and is adaptable to a wide range of mathematical exercises.