Operation Toolbox in a Class Trip Plan

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1 Getting Started
2 Watch and Notice
3 Try It Together
4 Work the Clues in Your Copy
5 Class Challenge
Pupil practice

1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

Illustration for Getting Started Our class is planning a day trip, and here are the three costs waiting on the board: a bus, everyone's lunch, and the entry ticket. To plan it we will crack a chain of four clues, one for each operation we have practised this module. Here is Clue 1: I am the answer to 1,008 ÷ 8. Which single operation does Clue 1 need? And once we work out that number, where could it slot into our bus, lunch and entry plan?

Teacher Notes

Display Clue 1 and a short bulleted trip-costs slide (bus, lunch, entry) side by side as pupils settle, so the closing question is grounded in something visible. Take three hands-up answers to which operation? only, not the full solution. This is a whole-module review, so keep the tone celebratory: everything we've learned about the four operations is about to earn its keep.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+5 XP

2 - Watch and Notice ~11 mins

The interactive shows the Glendalough day-out budget for a class of 28: bus, lunch and entry. We'll work our clue chain first, then watch how those same numbers plan a real trip. Notice which costs stay fixed and which are charged per pupil.

Teacher Notes

Four clues, one operation each; land all four answers before any working: Clue 1 (1,008 ÷ 8) = 126, Clue 2 (35 − 28) = 7, Clue 3 (5 × 2) = 10, Clue 4 (14 + 14) = 28. These four run to the final code and start the Class Challenge.

Clue 1 in full, bus-stop style: 8 into 10 is 1 r2, 8 into 20 is 2 r4, 8 into 48 is 6, so 126. No lonely zero this time. 126 is the hinge of the lesson, so land it firmly.

Budget: point to each row. Bus €280 ÷ 28 = €10 each. Lunch €4.50 × 28 = €126 — same 126 as Clue 1, pupils enjoy the coincidence. Entry €7 × 28 = €196. Guide fee €35 for the group is an extra. Each pupil's share settles at €21.50 before extras.

Name the two kinds of cost: bus is fixed (€280 for 20 or 30), lunch and entry are per-pupil and grow with every pupil. This returns in the wrap.

Factors of 126: write 126 = 2×63 = 3×42 = 6×21 = 7×18. Ask which group sizes share cleanly. 2, 3, 6, 7 leave nothing over; 5 and 8 leave a remainder. Reading factors tells us in advance which group sizes divide evenly.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+10 XP

3 - Try It Together ~8 mins

Now for a fresh, simpler plan. This time we are pricing a different, cheaper trip — a day at a local farm park, for a smaller group and lower prices, with a budget of €400. Let's build it up cost by cost on the board: first the bus at €280, then lunch at €80, then entry at €40. Watch the running total climb and the remaining amount shrink. Which of these costs stay the same if fewer pupils come, and which shrink?

Plan a €400 farm park day

Teacher Notes

This round is for talking it through together — pupils take turns at the board and the class agrees or corrects out loud. Say clearly that this farm park plan is a fresh, cheaper scenario with different figures from the Glendalough one, so pupils do not expect the lunch €126 to reappear.

Enter one category at a time (bus €280, lunch €80, entry €40) so the class watches the running total build to €400 and the progress bar fill exactly. Before each entry, ask a pupil to predict the new running total. When the bar lands full, ask what could we still add if the cap were €450? to open the extras idea for the challenge step. Keep the round brisk; the deeper modelling is the copybook and challenge beats.

+15 XP

4 - Work the Clues in Your Copy ~8 mins

COPYBOOK MOMENT

In your maths copy, work each of the four clues in its own labelled section, showing the operation you chose:

Clue 1: 1,008 ÷ 8
Clue 2: 35 − 28
Clue 3: 5 × 2
Clue 4: 14 + 14

Before you write the trip-cost summary, watch one full rebuild on the board that uses those same four answers. We turn the clue numbers back into the Glendalough costs like this:

Bus = 10 × 28
Lunch = Clue 1 (already known)
Entry = 7 × 28
Extras (guide) = €35

Add bus, lunch, entry and extras in one summary line, then share that grand total among the class by dividing by 28. Circle the per-pupil total.

Now copy the same pattern underneath your four clue answers: write your own bus + lunch + entry + extras summary line for the Glendalough plan, show the divide-by-28 step, and circle the per-pupil total at the bottom.

Teacher Notes

Walk the room glancing at whether each section names its operation before the working. This is whole-class copybook practice, not marking — no red pen, just a nudge where a pupil has skipped the strategy label. All four clues and the €35 extras were shown in Watch and Notice, so every pupil has what they need.

Board demo first (one pass, then they copy the pattern): land the four clue answers, then rebuild out loud with the clue numbers only: bus 10 × 28 = 280; lunch is already 126; entry 7 × 28 = 196; add extras 35. Write the summary line 280 + 126 + 196 + 35 = 637. Finish with 637 ÷ 28: 28 × 20 = 560, remainder 77; 28 × 2 = 56, remainder 21; 21/28 = 0.75, so €22.75. Circle it. Say clearly that this is the model they will mirror in the copy.

Slip to watch: pupils who add only the four clue answers (7+10+28+126) instead of rebuilding bus and entry as products; nudge them back to 10 × 28 and 7 × 28. Also watch for stopping at €637 without the ÷ 28 share.

+10 XP

5 - Class Challenge ~8 mins

Time to crack the final code. Your four starter numbers are our clue answers — 7, 10, 28 and 126. We work through these target rounds in order: reach 147, then 154, then 161, and finally the stretch target of exactly 350. Tap the starter chips and the operations to build an expression that lands on each target. Predict roughly which starters get you close before anyone taps.

Crack the trip code

Teacher Notes

These are the practice questions — pupils take turns at the board, check each answer, and the class confirms before moving on. Keep the board work brisk rather than over-explaining.

The starters are the four clue answers (7, 10, 28, 126), so pupils flex all four operations. Watch for pupils who fix on one operation — prompt would multiplying two of these get you closer than adding? Verified sample routes (no reuse): 154 = 126 + 28; 147 = 126 + 28 − 7; 161 = 126 + 28 + 7; and the stretch 350 = 10 × (28 + 7). Have the strong finishers plan the 350 route before the board is free.

+15 XP

Pupil practice

Module 2 · Operations and Computational Fluency Number

Lesson 29 · Operation Toolbox in a Class Trip Plan

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Teacher Class Feed

1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

2 - Watch and Notice ~11 mins

3 - Try It Together ~8 mins

Plan a €400 farm park day

4 - Work the Clues in Your Copy ~8 mins

5 - Class Challenge ~8 mins

Crack the trip code

Unlock the full learning experience

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