Teach the Table
Explaining something to people you know is one of the surest ways to understand it yourself. Pick a course you've finished, print its kit, and host it at your table: a short talk in your own words, one question for the room, one game, and a place to write down what stumped you.
Host kit
Thinking in Odds
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 1 minute on "What "likely" means": what does "a one-in-six chance" actually promise, and what doesn't it promise?
- About 1 minute on "A coin has no memory": when does the past change the odds, and when doesn't it? Give one example of each.
- About 1 minute on "Weighing a rare thing": why can a good test still be wrong most of the time when the thing is rare?
- About 1 minute on "A fair price": what does expected value tell you about a price — and what does it leave to you?
- About 1 minute on "The bingo hall": where does a hall make its money, and what do the extra parts of a bingo app add?
- About 1 minute on "The festival dice": why does the festival dice game feel fair, and where does the banker's share come from?
2. Ask the room
You roll a fair die 12 times and get no sixes. What is the best way to read that?
- The die is probably unfair.
- Twelve rolls is a short run; no sixes is unusual but quite possible.
- A six is now due on the next roll.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The two-dice table
2 or more, any ages · Two dice, a pencil, paper
- Before rolling, each player guesses which total (2 to 12) will come up most often in 36 rolls.
- Take turns rolling both dice 36 times in all. Tally each total.
- Look at the tally together. Which total won? Most tables see 7 — there are six ways to make it, and only one way to make 2 or 12.
- Talk it over: whose guess was closest, and why is the tally lumpy even though 7 is the favourite?
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
How to Argue Well
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Claim, reason, evidence": what are the three parts of an argument, and why does it help to pull them apart?
- About 2 minutes on "The strongest version": what is the test of a fair restatement, and why is it worth doing before you reply?
- About 2 minutes on "Two common slips": describe the two slips, and one gentle way to bring a conversation back from each.
- About 2 minutes on "Changing your mind well": pick one view you hold. What evidence, honestly, would change your mind about it?
2. Ask the room
"The new café is better — the coffee is fresher, and three friends said so." What is the claim?
- The coffee is fresher.
- Three friends said so.
- The new café is better.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The two-chair table
2 or more, any ages · Two chairs and a light topic (pineapple on pizza, the best season)
- Pick a light topic where you disagree.
- Each person argues the OTHER side first, for one minute.
- The other person says whether that was their real view at its strongest. If not, try again.
- Only then argue your own side. Notice whether it changed after hearing yours made strong.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
How to Listen
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Wait for the end": why does waiting for the end help, and when is it hardest for you to do?
- About 2 minutes on "Ask a real question": what makes a question "real"? Write one open question you could ask someone this week.
- About 2 minutes on "Say it back": what two things does saying it back do for a conversation?
- About 2 minutes on "Listening when you disagree": think of a recent disagreement. What might the other person have cared about most?
2. Ask the room
A friend is explaining a hard week and mentions a detail you know is wrong. What usually helps most?
- Correct the detail straight away so it does not mislead them.
- Let them finish, pause, and then decide if the detail matters.
- Change the subject to something lighter.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The say-it-back table
2 or more, any ages · A few light topics (a favourite meal, a good day)
- One person talks for about a minute about something small.
- The listener says back what they heard, in their own words, before asking anything.
- The speaker says how close it was. Then the listener asks one real, open question.
- Swap roles. Talk afterwards about what was easy, and what was hard.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
The Night Sky
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Why the stars move": why do the stars move across the night sky, and why does Polaris barely move?
- About 2 minutes on "Why the Moon changes shape": explain the Moon's phases without mentioning the Earth's shadow.
- About 2 minutes on "Planet or star?": give two ways to tell a planet from a star by eye.
- About 2 minutes on "Old light": why is looking at the night sky also looking into the past?
2. Ask the room
Why do the stars seem to cross the sky during the night?
- The stars are moving around the Earth.
- The Earth is spinning.
- The Moon pulls them along.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The window-sky table
2 or more, any ages · A clear evening, a window or a yard, paper and a pencil
- Pick one bright star or planet and sketch where it sits next to a roof, tree or chimney.
- Look again an hour later and mark where it is now. Which way did it move?
- Talk it over: is it moving, or are we? Does it twinkle?
- Over a few weeks, sketch the Moon each night you can see it and line the drawings up.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Read the News Well
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Report or opinion?": how can you tell a report from an opinion piece when there is no label?
- About 2 minutes on "Who is behind it?": what does "reading laterally" mean, and why does it beat reading the page closely?
- About 2 minutes on "Past the headline": what tends to go missing from a headline, and where do you find it?
- About 2 minutes on "Keeping a number in proportion": what two questions help you keep a news number in proportion?
2. Ask the room
"The council clearly made the wrong call and must reverse it." This sentence is…
- a news report
- an opinion
- a correction
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The headline table
2 or more, any ages · A newspaper or a few printed stories
- One person reads only a headline aloud. Everyone guesses what the story will say.
- Read the first three paragraphs together. How close were the guesses? What did the headline leave out?
- Sort a few stories into "report" and "opinion" piles and say what gave each away.
- Pick one number from a story and ask together: compared with what, and out of how many?
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Great Games of Chess History
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Get your pieces out": what opening habit does the Opera game teach, and why does it work?
- About 2 minutes on "The power of open lines": why do long-range pieces need open lines, and what question can you ask when you are stuck?
- About 2 minutes on "A sacrifice that pays": what two questions test whether a sacrifice is worth making?
- About 2 minutes on "Calm in the endgame": how does the king's job change in the endgame, and why?
2. Ask the room
What mostly decided Morphy's famous Opera game?
- A rare opening trap.
- Having far more pieces ready to play than his opponents.
- His opponents running out of time.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The replay table
2, any ages · A chessboard, or the Great Games page on one device
- Open a Great Game (the Opera game is a good start) and set up the board.
- Play through it slowly, one move at a time. Before each move, both guess what comes next.
- At the end, each person names the one move they would remember.
- Play a game of your own and try to use that idea once.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Go Through the Ages
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "A game of surrounding": what is a liberty, and how does a capture happen?
- About 2 minutes on "Two eyes to live": why does a group need two eyes rather than one, and what question do good players keep asking?
- About 2 minutes on "The ear-reddening move": what kind of move does the ear-reddening game teach you to look for?
- About 2 minutes on "A new opening": what is the old saying about where to play, and what did the 1933 openings change about it?
2. Ask the room
What does a stone, or a group of touching stones, need to stay on the board?
- To be next to a stone of the other colour.
- At least one empty point next to it.
- To be in a corner or along an edge.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The small-board table
2, any ages · A 9 × 9 board (a drawn grid and coins work), or the Go page on one device
- Open the Go page and choose the 9 × 9 board. If one player is new, give them a head start of a few stones.
- Play a whole game slowly. Before each move, say out loud which group you are worried about.
- When you both pass, count together and agree which groups could not have escaped.
- Name one group that lived because it had two eyes, and one move that did work in more than one place.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Thinking Under Fog
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Read what you can see": what can a piece that never moves tell you, and what can it not tell you?
- About 2 minutes on "Information has a price": when is it worth paying something just to find out more?
- About 2 minutes on "Pretending fairly": what makes a bluff fair inside a game, and when would the same move not be fair?
- About 2 minutes on "Staying steady": how would you tell a bad decision apart from a good decision that met bad luck?
2. Ask the room
An opponent’s piece has not moved for the whole game. What is the most careful conclusion?
- It is certainly the flag.
- It could be a bomb or the flag, or a piece that has not been needed yet.
- It must be a weak piece the opponent is hiding.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The two-cup table
2 or more, any ages · Two cups and a small object (a coin, a button)
- One person hides the object under a cup while the other looks away.
- Agree a price: finding it under the left cup scores 1, under the right cup scores 2 for the hider if missed.
- Play ten rounds, then talk: did the hider fall into a pattern? Could the seeker read it?
- Swap roles and try hiding at random, about two times out of three on the left.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Thinking in Loops
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Stocks and flows": name a stock in your own week, and the flows that fill it and empty it.
- About 2 minutes on "Loops that snowball or settle": describe one loop that snowballs and one that settles, from your own life or work.
- About 2 minutes on "Delays": where in your own life does a delay make it easy to overdo a correction?
- About 2 minutes on "Every model is an argument": pick a forecast you heard recently and name one premise it depends on.
2. Ask the room
A reservoir is half full. Rain adds water faster than the town draws it out, but the town draws more each year. What happens to the level this year?
- It falls, because the town is drawing more.
- It rises, because more is coming in than going out right now.
- It stays the same until the two rates are equal.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The lemonade line
4 (or 2 people taking two seats each) · paper slips, a pencil each, and coins or buttons for crates
- Sit in a row: the stand, the shop, the warehouse and the farm. Each seat starts with 12 crates.
- Each turn the stand draws a customer card and sells that many cups. Every seat ships what it is asked for, if it has it.
- Each seat writes an order on a slip and passes it up the line. Slips and crates both take two turns to arrive.
- After a few turns the stand's customers go from 4 to 8 a turn and stay there. Keep playing for twenty turns.
- Lay out every seat's orders in a row and compare. Talk about why the farm's swings were so much bigger than the stand's.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
The Folded Line
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "A fold is a mirror": why does folding one dot onto another always put the crease halfway between them?
- About 2 minutes on "What a corner allows": what two things must be true at a point where creases meet, for it to fold flat?
- About 2 minutes on "Paper that flew": what is the difference between a design that has flown and one that has been proposed?
- About 2 minutes on "One straight cut": why does a one-cut shape need every edge folded onto the same line?
2. Ask the room
You fold one dot exactly onto another. Where does the crease lie?
- Through both dots.
- Halfway between them, at right angles to the line joining them.
- Wherever your hand happened to press.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The one-cut table
2 or more, any ages · Paper, scissors, a pencil
- Fold a square along both diagonals, cut once straight across, and open it: a square comes out. A grown-up cuts for young children.
- Fold a square in half, then fold it into a fan of five equal wedges, cut once at a slant, and open a five-pointed star.
- Each person draws a shape with straight sides. Pass it to the left: that person works out how to fold it so every edge lies on one line.
- Cut, open, and compare. Which shapes were easy, and why?
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
How to Explain a Game
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Say how you win first": why does saying how you win first make the rest of the rules easier to follow?
- About 2 minutes on "Show one turn": why is an ordinary turn better than a clever one for teaching?
- About 2 minutes on "Start before everyone understands": why do rules heard during play stick better than rules heard before it?
- About 2 minutes on "Change one rule out loud": why is a head start said out loud better than quietly playing worse?
2. Ask the room
You are about to teach a card game to four people who have never seen it. What do you say first?
- What every card in the deck does.
- How you win, in one sentence.
- The rules for a tie.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: Teach a game in sixty seconds
3 or more, any ages · Any game in the house and a timer
- Pick a game one person knows and the others do not.
- The teacher has sixty seconds: how you win first, then one ordinary turn with the real pieces.
- Start a practice game straight away; explain the rest when it comes up.
- After the game, the youngest player teaches it back to the table, in their own sixty seconds.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
How to Play Again
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Follow their lead": what is the difference between joining a child's game and taking it over?
- About 2 minutes on "Play at their size": why does it matter where your eyes are when you play with a child?
- About 2 minutes on "Add one small twist": what makes a twist stretch a game instead of taking it over?
- About 2 minutes on "Stop while it is still good": why is it worth stopping a game while it is still going well?
2. Ask the room
A five-year-old is lining up animals along the sofa. What is the best way to join in?
- Show them how to sort the animals by size.
- Pick up an animal and add it to their line.
- Ask them to tidy up first so there is space.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: Five minutes on the floor
One grown-up and one child · Whatever the child is already playing with
- Sit down at the child's height, phone in another room.
- For five minutes, only copy and describe what they do. No questions, no ideas.
- Then add one small problem to their game and hand it back.
- Give a two-more-turns warning, stop, and tell them one thing you liked.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
How to Run a Room
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "One quiet signal": why practise a quiet signal when the room is already calm?
- About 2 minutes on "A job for every change": why do changes between activities need a job?
- About 2 minutes on "Fair teams, quickly": what is wrong with captains picking teams?
- About 2 minutes on "Two questions for a fight": what are the two questions, and why do they work better than judging?
- About 2 minutes on "End while they want more": why praise the whole room at the end, not one child?
2. Ask the room
Twenty children are chatting and you need them. What works best over a term?
- Raise your voice until they can hear you.
- Use the one quiet signal you practised when things were calm.
- Try a new trick each day so it stays surprising.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: Teach the signal
A room of children, any ages · Nothing
- While the room is calm, show your signal: hand up, voices off.
- Practise it three times as a game; thank the first table to get there.
- Count off one-two to make two teams, then play one short game.
- Call "last round", finish, and name one thing the whole room did well.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Coach by Questions
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Ask what they see": how can someone who plays worse still help a stronger player?
- About 2 minutes on "Ask before they move": why ask the same question in the same way, game after game?
- About 2 minutes on "Ask after they lose": why ask about one moment instead of listing every mistake?
- About 2 minutes on "Let them teach you": what does a child learn by teaching you?
2. Ask the room
Your child plays chess better than you. What is the most useful thing to ask during a game?
- "Why don't you move your queen?"
- "What is your opponent trying to do?"
- "Are you winning?"
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The question coach
A child who plays, and one grown-up · A chess board, or any strategy game
- Watch a game and ask only one question: "What is your opponent trying to do?"
- In the next game, ask before each move: "What could go wrong?"
- After the game, ask which moment it turned, and play back to find it together.
- Finish by asking them to teach you one idea from the game.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Thinking with Machines
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Say what you mean": what are the parts of a good request, and which one do you usually leave out?
- About 2 minutes on "Lock your own answer first": why does it matter that you write your answer before you look?
- About 2 minutes on "Check it against the source": which kind of fact do you always check, and how?
- About 2 minutes on "Know when not to ask": name one thing you would rather keep doing yourself, and why.
2. Ask the room
Which request leaves the tool the least to guess?
- Make this email better.
- Rewrite this email to my landlord so it is polite and under 100 words. Keep the date and the repair list exactly as they are.
- Fix my email, you know what I mean.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: Find the confident mistake
3 to 6 grown-ups · Paper, pencils, and the printed brief cards from this page
- One player writes a short brief, such as "plan a picnic for eight people, two of them vegetarian, for under £40".
- Another player plays the machine: they answer the brief exactly as written, confidently, and slip in one mistake that the brief did not rule out.
- Everyone else hunts for the confident mistake and says which line of the brief would have prevented it.
- Rewrite the brief together so the mistake cannot happen, then swap roles.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
The Maths They Teach Now
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Number bonds": what is a number bond, and how does "make ten" help with adding?
- About 2 minutes on "Ten-frames": what does a ten-frame let a child see that a pile of counters does not?
- About 2 minutes on "Bar diagrams": why does drawing the bar first help a child choose the right sum?
- About 2 minutes on "The area model": what does the area model show that the column method hides?
2. Ask the room
Your child works out 8 + 6 by saying "8 and 2 make 10, then 4 more". What are they doing?
- Guessing and getting lucky.
- Making ten first, using a number bond.
- Counting on their fingers.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: Make ten at the table
2 or more, any ages from about 5 · An egg box with ten cups and a handful of buttons or beans
- One player puts some buttons in the egg box without counting aloud.
- The other says how many there are, and how many more would make ten.
- Check together by filling the empty cups.
- Swap, and when it gets easy, try making twenty with two boxes.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Ahead, Not Alone
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "What the research says": what would you want in place before your child moved ahead in a subject?
- About 2 minutes on "The mind can run ahead of the hands": where in your child do you see the mind running ahead of the hands?
- About 2 minutes on "Depth before speed": what is one deep question you could ask your child this week?
- About 2 minutes on "Find a circle, and know when to wait": what would make you decide to do nothing for now?
2. Ask the room
According to the research, what usually matters most when a child moves ahead?
- That they move ahead in every subject at once.
- That it is planned with the child and their teacher, often one subject at a time.
- That they are told they are special.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: A kitchen-table circle
2 to 4 families, children of mixed ages · One puzzle printed for each child, paper, and a timer you never look at
- Read one puzzle aloud, such as "how many squares are there on a chessboard, counting every size?".
- Everyone works alone for a while, then in pairs.
- Each pair explains how they started, not just their answer. Grown-ups only ask "how did you get that?".
- End with one question nobody solved, to take home.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
The Shape of Life
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Shape is the job": why do biologists care so much about the shape of a protein?
- About 2 minutes on "How a chain folds": what is the hydrophobic effect, in a sentence a child could follow?
- About 2 minutes on "A prediction, and how sure it is": what does a faint, low-confidence region in a prediction tell you?
- About 2 minutes on "Pictures of the real thing": what can an experiment show that a prediction cannot, and the other way round?
2. Ask the room
Why can a single changed building block matter so much?
- Because it makes the protein heavier.
- Because it can change the shape, and the shape decides the job.
- Because proteins only have one building block.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: Sketch, then photograph
2 or more, any ages from about 9 · A pen, a pencil, paper and a phone camera
- Each player draws a familiar object from memory, such as a bicycle or a kettle: pen for the parts you are sure of, pencil for the rest.
- Photograph the real object.
- Lay drawing and photo side by side and mark what each got right and what each missed.
- Then open one protein in the Fold Commons Viewer and find its firm parts and its faint parts.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
The Partnership Table
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Count what you hold": why does a shared point count help two partners talk?
- About 2 minutes on "The first bid is a sentence": what does it mean to treat a bid as a sentence?
- About 2 minutes on "The opening lead": what is the opening lead telling your partner?
- About 2 minutes on "Duplicate: every table, the same cards": why does playing the same deals make the comparison fair?
2. Ask the room
A hand holds two aces, one king and one jack. How many points is it?
- 10
- 12
- 8
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: This week's four deals
4 per table, any number of tables · A pack of cards per table and the printed deal sheet for this week
- Each table lays out deal one exactly as the sheet shows: thirteen cards to each seat.
- Bid and play it, and write down the result.
- Play the other three deals the same way.
- Compare results with the other tables deal by deal, and talk about one bid you would make differently.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
How to Ask an Elder, and Be Asked
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Ask about a day, not a life": why does a small question often get a bigger answer?
- About 2 minutes on "Let silence work": why wait after an answer, and why offer a pass?
- About 2 minutes on "Say it back": what is the difference between saying something back and adding a lesson to it?
- About 2 minutes on "Keep it honestly": what are the three marks, and why use them?
2. Ask the room
Which question is most likely to get a story you have not heard before?
- What was your life like?
- What was in your school bag when you were ten?
- Were you happy as a child?
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: Eight Evenings
a teenager and an elder · eight evenings, the question cards, and a pencil
- Lay one card between you.
- Both answer the same question.
- Each says the other's answer back.
- On the last evening, each writes the other's story in 200 words, with the three marks.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Drawing a Problem
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Parts and a whole": what are the three questions you ask before drawing the bar?
- About 2 minutes on "More and less": why do you take the difference away before you share?
- About 2 minutes on "Equal units": why is finding one unit the first step in a ratio problem?
- About 2 minutes on "From a bar to x": how does a bar drawing turn into an equation?
2. Ask the room
A sofa and a chair cost $900 together. The sofa costs $640. Which drawing fits?
- One bar for $900, cut into a $640 piece and an unknown piece.
- Two separate bars, one for $900 and one for $640, set side by side.
- A bar for $640 with another $900 added on the end.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The paper-strip table: the child teaches
a grown-up and a child, 7 or older · strips of paper, a pencil, scissors and one word problem from homework
- The child reads the problem aloud. The grown-up does not solve it.
- The grown-up asks the three questions, in this order: what is the whole? What do we not know? What stays the same?
- The child draws the bar on a strip and cuts it into its parts. The grown-up copies the drawing, and gets corrected.
- Only then does anyone write a sum. Swap roles with the next problem.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Money, Drawn
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "A paycheck in parts": why is the take-home bar shorter than the pay on the offer?
- About 2 minutes on "A bracket is a cut bar": why can a raise never leave you with less after tax in a bracket system like this one?
- About 2 minutes on "Interest is a slice": why is the second year's interest bigger than the first?
- About 2 minutes on "A loan's shrinking slice": why does more of each payment go to the loan itself as time goes on?
2. Ask the room
A paycheck is $2,000 before anything comes out. $300 goes to tax, $100 to retirement and $150 to health cover. What reaches the bank?
- $1,450
- $1,700
- $1,550
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: Paper paychecks
2 to 6, a teenager welcome · strips of paper, scissors, a pencil
- Each person cuts a strip and writes a pretend monthly pay on it.
- Take turns naming one thing that comes out (tax, rent, savings) and cutting that piece off, with a rough length that matches.
- Lay the leftover strips side by side. Talk about one piece you would choose to make longer and one you cannot change.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Near Enough
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Round and fix": after you round, what do you have to fix?
- About 2 minutes on "Make a ten": what does "make a ten" mean, and why does it help?
- About 2 minutes on "Ten per cent and half again": how do you find fifteen per cent without a calculator?
- About 2 minutes on "Is it the right size?": what is the quick check you do before trusting a total?
2. Ask the room
What is the quickest exact way to work out 49 × 6?
- 50 × 6 = 300, then take away one 6: 294
- 50 × 6 = 300, then take away 1: 299
- 40 × 6 = 240, then add 9: 249
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The receipt guess
2 to 6 · a shopping list or a till receipt with the total covered, paper, a pencil each
- One person reads the prices aloud, one at a time.
- Everyone keeps a rounded running total in their head and writes a guess at the end.
- Uncover the total. Whoever is closest explains how they rounded, and everyone tries their way on the next receipt.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
A Number's True Size
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Per cent and percentage points": what is the difference between "two per cent" and "two percentage points"?
- About 2 minutes on "Relative and absolute risk": what two questions turn "doubles the risk" into something you can picture?
- About 2 minutes on "Big numbers per person": why does it help to ask "per what?" about a big number?
- About 2 minutes on "A test in beans": why does a rare condition mean most positive results can be false ones?
2. Ask the room
An interest rate goes from 4% to 6%. Which statement is correct?
- It rose 2 percentage points, which is a 50% increase.
- It rose 2%, and that is all you can say.
- It rose 50 percentage points.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: A thousand beans
2 to 6, a teenager welcome · a bag of dried beans (or rice), a few coloured ones or a marker, two bowls
- Count out 100 beans as a town of 100 (or weigh out a thousand if you are patient). Mark the few who "have it".
- Pick a headline from today's news with a percentage in it and act it out in beans.
- Each person says the headline back as a count: "this many out of this many". Vote on which way of saying it is fairest.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Why the Formula Works
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Multiplication is a rectangle": where is the rectangle hiding in long multiplication?
- About 2 minutes on "Dividing by a fraction": what question does dividing by a fraction really ask?
- About 2 minutes on "Cross-multiplying": why is it fair to multiply across?
- About 2 minutes on "Completing the square": where does the number that completes the square come from?
2. Ask the room
Cut 23 × 14 into tens and ones. Which four areas make up the rectangle?
- 200, 30, 80 and 12
- 200 and 12 only
- 230 and 140
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The scissors proof
a grown-up and a teenager · squared paper, scissors, a pencil
- The grown-up picks one rule from school they never understood.
- Together, find the drawing in this course that explains it and cut it out of squared paper.
- The teenager explains the drawing back to the grown-up in their own words, without the formula.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Beads Before Numbers
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 3 minutes on "The oldest counting machine": why might moving beads come before writing numbers?
- About 3 minutes on "A bead is a place": what is the upper bead worth, and why do you need it?
- About 3 minutes on "Handing on a ten": how does a bead frame carry a ten?
2. Ask the room
What do counting boards and bead frames have in common with how children learn number now?
- You move real things and see the pattern before you write a symbol.
- They avoid numbers altogether.
- They only work for adding.
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: Build a bean abacus
a grandparent or grown-up and a child, 6 or older · string or pipe cleaners, dried beans or beads with holes, a cardboard frame or a shoebox lid
- Thread three strings across the box lid: ones on the right, tens in the middle, hundreds on the left. Put nine beads on each.
- The grown-up shows a number with beads and the child says it aloud; then swap.
- Add two numbers together on the frame, saying each hand-on of a ten out loud.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Thinking in Rates
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "One number over another": what is the difference between pace and speed?
- About 2 minutes on "The same speed, two ways": how do you turn a speed into a pace?
- About 2 minutes on "A longer race is slower": why should your pace be a little slower in a longer race?
- About 2 minutes on "Age-grading": why can age-grading make a family race fair across generations?
2. Ask the room
You walk 8 kilometres in 40 minutes. What is your pace?
- 5 minutes per kilometre
- 8 minutes per kilometre
- 0.2 kilometres per hour
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The family relay
2 to 8, any ages, walkers welcome · a measured loop (a park path, a block), a phone or watch with a timer, paper
- Everyone walks or runs one lap and writes down their time.
- Each person works out their own pace for the lap, then predicts the whole relay's time if everyone does one lap in turn.
- Run the relay. Compare the prediction with the real total and talk about which leg surprised you.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.
Host kit
Answering a Why
1. The talk (10 minutes, in your own words)
- About 2 minutes on "Answer the why that was asked": what makes an answer an answer?
- About 2 minutes on "“I don’t know — let’s find out”": what can a child learn from “I don’t know”?
- About 2 minutes on "Say what is known and what is guessed": why tell a child how sure you are?
- About 2 minutes on "Ask “What do you think?” first": why should the guess come before the answer?
- About 2 minutes on "Keep the question": why keep a question instead of answering it straight away?
2. Ask the room
A child asks, “Why is the sky blue?” Which reply answers the why that was asked?
- Because it is.
- The sky is very big.
- Sunlight bounces off the air, and blue light bounces around the most.
- What a great question!
Let everyone pick before anyone explains.
3. The game: The kitchen jar
Two or more, any ages · A jar, the printed label and slips, a pencil
- Print the label and the slips, and stick the label on a jar.
- When someone wonders something, write the question and the date on a slip.
- Under it, write their guess before anyone looks anything up.
- Once a week, take out a slip together: find out, or put it back to keep wondering.
4. The question I couldn't answer
Write it here, then look it up together next time.