Why children love them
A mystery picture turns a page of number recognition or maths facts into a puzzle with a payoff. Children want to see what the picture is, so they keep going, and every square they colour is one more fact practised. Because a wrong answer shows up as a square of the wrong colour, they can often spot and fix their own mistakes.
Three ways to play
- Numbers. Match each number to its colour in the key.
- Sums. Addition within 10, every answer from 2 to 10.
- Take away. Subtraction within 20, every answer from 2 to 10.
More puzzles
Try dot to dot for counting in order and mazes for pencil control. For more practice with the same facts, the addition worksheets come with answer keys too.
CAPS links
- Grade RRecognises, identifies and reads number symbols 1 to 10.
- Grade 1Rapidly recalls addition and subtraction facts to 10.
- Grade 2Rapidly recalls addition and subtraction facts to 20.
CAPS says colour is not a maths idea in itself, but its Grade R guidance uses colour for sorting, grouping and classifying. A mystery picture works the same way: the colour is the reward, and the number or the fact is the maths.
In the CAPS maths period, the rest of the class does independent work while you teach one group, and that work should practise what has already been taught. A Sums page suits Grade 1 once facts to 10 are taught, and a Take away page suits Grade 2. The fruit, animal and bus pictures fit any term of the South African school year.
Summarised in our own words from the DBE’s Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for Mathematics, Foundation Phase (2011).
