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Maths in Town Squared: maths in the Airport
About these maths activities
In these activities, children link numbered power cells on a grid to help charge up airship batteries. Each grid displays different numbers to encourage children to think flexibly about addition, subtraction, and the relationship between repeated addition and multiplication.
An Airport - Single Charger activity is in progress. A chain of numbered power cells matching the target number have been linked. Electric bolts are moving from the number cells to the target number.
Each airship needs a different amount of charge, shown as the target number on the side of the console. Children look for a combination of numbers on the grid that match the target number and drag across the numbers to link them together.
Links can only be made between power cells that are next to each other (up, down, left, right, and diagonal). If a child feels stuck, a reset button below the grid loads a new set of numbers. Each grid is designed to show common number bonds that make the target number, so repeated play helps children practise and memorise the combinations.
Linking numbers of the right amount will send a charge of energy to the airship battery, and it 'fills up' a little bit at a time. When the battery is full, the ship charges up and moves away, and a new one arrives to repeat the process. Completing the required number of links earns the player a quest ticket.
Some activities in Airport include a gentle timer to encourage children to move on from counting, which is time-consuming, to recognising and linking common number bonds without counting. Most levels allow plenty of time, and running out of time has no penalty as the game simply resets to play again. By setting a goal, children are more likely to repeatedly play the level, and this practice over repeated turns helps embed number combinations in long-term memory and improve recall.
There are three activities in Airport, each with a different level of challenge.
Repair dock
This activity uses target numbers ranging from 4 to 100. There is no timer in this activity, so the puzzles can be done by children of all abilities.
An Airport - Repair dock activity is set to go. The target number is 12 and a 4x4 grid of numbers is ready to link up. It has no timer, for children who prefer to find the solutions at their own pace.
Single charger
This activity starts with targets as low as 5 and going as far as 250. Focuses on addition and multiples. This activity introduces a gentle timer to encourage mental maths skills and the process of committing common number combinations to memory.
An Airport - Single Charger activity is set to go. The target number is 14 and a 4x4 grid of numbers is ready to link up. The timer has begun.
Double charger
This activity requires charging two ships at the same time (each with a different target to reach) and introduces negative numbers, so links may require addition and subtraction. Negative numbers start small (eg -2), until children are eventually combining numbers between -30 and 75 to make totals up to 175. This activity includes a timer, starting with lots of time on the clock and gradually ramping the challenge.
An Airport - Double Charger activity is set to go. The target numbers are 40 and 32 and a 5x5 grid of numbers is ready to link up. Double Charger activities have negative numbers in the mix.