No longer 'Guess Who"

Using Games to learn number facts

Creative Resources for primary children| Education| 11+
June 18, 2024•3 min read

Making learning number facts fun

Good morning and happy bank holiday Monday.  

Yesterday I was working with a lad on the 11+.

I had my lesson planned our and his resources in his folder but as I was about to go into his house, I noticed the ‘No Longer Guess Who’ game in my boot and decided to grab it just in case.  

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this game before. I used to play it a lot as a child when we went to a friend’s house so impart, I think I associate it with childhood memories and them.  

Anyway, what I have done is taken out all the faces and swapped them with numbers. The numbers include prime numbers, even numbers, square numbers, odd numbers, numbers in the 3x table, numbers in the 5x table, etc. up to 100.  

Now instead of trying to guess the person the other person has; you must guess the number by asking a series of questions. “Is it odd?” “Is it a 2-digit number?" etc.

If I say it’s odd, they need to put down all the even numbers. In theory the number left standing at the end is the number the other person has.   It’s good fun, and an enjoyable way of practicing number values such as odd, even, prime, square, multiples, etc depending on the stage your child is at.  

Learning number facts

Here are some facts to help you to quickly answer those questions:

  • Is it a multiple of 3? The easiest way to establish this is, if the number contains more than 2 digits, add them together. If they come to a number that is in the 3x table, then yes they are a multiple of 3. For example: 12 - 1+2 = 3, so 12 must be in the 3x table.

  • Is it even? If it ends in a 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8 yes it will be even.

  • Is it odd? If it ends in a 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 it will be odd.

  • Is it prime? That's trickier to summarise in just 1 sentence, but if you will only find that number in the 1 or it's own times table, it's prime.

  • Is it in the 5x table: simple if it ends in a 5 or 0, yes it's a multiple of 5

  • If I round it, will it round up? If the second digit is 5 or higher then yes, it will round up. If the digit is 4 or lower it will round down.

There are many more questions you might ask/ be asked, but hopefully these ideas will get you started.

Enjoy the game!

Our goal at Clara James Tutoring is to make learning fun and accessible to everyone. If children are engaged in what they are doing they are more likely to want to participate, if they are enjoying it, they are more likely to relax and retain the information.

If they are retaining the information it will help boost their knowledge and with knowledge comes confidence.

If you have a child who enjoys learning through games and being more creative, and you enjoy spending time with them, you might be interested in the Clara James Approach, the membership group we have put together to support you in supporting your primary school aged child with their maths and English.

Interested?

Click here to learn more: The Clara James Approach

Primary EducationHome EducationMathsMaths FactsCreative LearningParentingEducationMakeLearningFunMaths tips
For the past 20+ years I have been a firm believer that learning should be an enjoyable experience. I appreciate that traditionally education has revolved around worksheets, textbooks, listening to teachers. But a grounding in early years and working with children who had a variety of learning styles from I learned that it is an individual activity that is personal to all of us. We don’t all learn in the same way. Our influences, our experiences, our capabilities all influence how we retain information. But through it all, I believe that if we can make it enjoyable and engaging, they will want to participate. With participation comes practice which in turn boosts skill and confidence. With an increase in skill and confidence comes a willingness to have a go. This in turn leads to more practice which leads to a positive spiral of success. The moral, we need to make learning fun, engaging, use a range of techniques.

Dawn Strachan

For the past 20+ years I have been a firm believer that learning should be an enjoyable experience. I appreciate that traditionally education has revolved around worksheets, textbooks, listening to teachers. But a grounding in early years and working with children who had a variety of learning styles from I learned that it is an individual activity that is personal to all of us. We don’t all learn in the same way. Our influences, our experiences, our capabilities all influence how we retain information. But through it all, I believe that if we can make it enjoyable and engaging, they will want to participate. With participation comes practice which in turn boosts skill and confidence. With an increase in skill and confidence comes a willingness to have a go. This in turn leads to more practice which leads to a positive spiral of success. The moral, we need to make learning fun, engaging, use a range of techniques.

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