Activity 01
Pair Sketch Challenge: Animal Adventure
Read a word problem about animals joining or leaving a group. Pairs draw pictures to show starting amounts, changes, and results. They count and label their drawings, then swap with another pair to check the solution.
Explain how drawing a picture can help solve a math problem.
Facilitation TipDuring Pair Sketch Challenge, remind pairs to take turns listening and drawing so both students contribute equally to the visual solution.
What to look forPresent students with a word problem like, 'There were 5 red apples and 3 green apples in the basket. How many apples were there in total?' Ask them to draw a picture to solve it and write one sentence explaining their drawing.
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Activity 02
Manipulative Stations: Number Stories
Prepare three stations with word problems and tools like counters or ten frames. Small groups model one problem per station, solve it, and sketch their visual. Rotate after 10 minutes and compare solutions.
Design a visual representation for a given word problem.
Facilitation TipAt Manipulative Stations, model how to record each step on a small whiteboard before moving to the next station to build metacognitive habits.
What to look forGive each student a card with a subtraction problem (e.g., 'Sarah had 7 cookies. She ate 2. How many are left?'). Ask them to draw a picture or use counters to show the problem, then write down the answer and one sentence about their visual strategy.
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Activity 03
Visual Strategy Share: Whole Class Gallery
Students solve individual problems using chosen visuals, then display work around the room. The class tours the gallery, votes on clearest representations, and discusses why certain visuals succeed.
Compare the effectiveness of different visual aids in problem-solving.
Facilitation TipDuring Visual Strategy Share, circulate with a clipboard to jot down which students used ten frames versus drawings so you can group them thoughtfully for the gallery.
What to look forShow two different visual representations for the same problem (e.g., a drawing of apples and a number line). Ask students: 'Which picture helps you understand the problem better? Why? What is good about the other picture?'
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Activity 04
Ten Frame Build: Individual Warm-Up
Give problems with numbers to 20. Students use ten frames to represent and solve alone, then pair share to verify accuracy and suggest improvements.
Explain how drawing a picture can help solve a math problem.
Facilitation TipIn Ten Frame Build, pause after each build to ask, 'How does this frame show the story?' to reinforce the link between pictures and numbers.
What to look forPresent students with a word problem like, 'There were 5 red apples and 3 green apples in the basket. How many apples were there in total?' Ask them to draw a picture to solve it and write one sentence explaining their drawing.
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Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Teach by modelling your own thinking aloud as you turn a word problem into a drawing or ten frame. Use think-alouds to show how you decide what to draw first, how to group dots, or when to cross out a counter. Keep visuals deliberately simple—circles, dots, or tallies—so students focus on quantity, not art. Avoid correcting every small error; instead, ask guiding questions like, 'What part of the story does this dot show?' to prompt self-correction.
Students confidently choose and use simple drawings, counters, or diagrams to represent word problems and explain their thinking in clear, step-by-step sentences. They compare visuals with peers and adjust their models when needed, showing flexible problem-solving.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
During Pair Sketch Challenge, watch for students spending too much time on detailed drawings instead of focusing on quantities and actions.
Set a 30-second timer for the drawing phase and remind students that simple shapes or dots are enough to represent the problem; spend the rest of the time discussing what each mark means.
During Manipulative Stations, watch for students using the same tool (e.g., counters) for every problem regardless of whether it fits the situation.
Circulate and ask, 'Which tool helps you see the groups best? Why did you pick this one?' to guide students to match tools to problem types like subitising or partitioning.
During Visual Strategy Share, watch for students assuming their visual is the only correct way to represent a problem.
During the gallery walk, model comparing two different visuals side by side and ask, 'How do both pictures show the same answer? What’s different about them?' to normalise varied but accurate representations.
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