Number (addition and subtraction): Smart Squirrels
The Problem
A new maze has been created for Duke the grey squirrel. However, this maze is slightly more complicated than the one featured in the main film clip. There are no dead ends in this maze, but there are numbers. (You can see these on the plan of the maze opposite.) You’ll notice a gate at the end of the maze. It only opens when a squirrel runs a route that totals 40.
Which route will Duke need to run for the gate to open?
Did you know?
Squirrel nests are called ‘dreys’. They are usually found in the forks of tall trees and are made out of twigs, leaves, bark and grass. The nests keep the squirrels warm in the winter, when they spend more time sleeping. A squirrel drey also provides a baby squirrel a safe place to grow up for the first months of its life.
Visualising the Problem and Getting Started
If Duke takes the route shown by the red dotted line, will the gate open?
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Now use the Time to Talk ‘Which Method?’ prompt to explain to a partner how you added the numbers together. Did you have similar methods? Could you have used different methods? Can you agree on the best method?
– Which Method? (Click the 🗣️)
