🏅 The Math Olympics: facilitator kit
Grades 3–5 · 15–25 minutes · Level: Easy · 6 stages
Opening story: Welcome to the Math Olympics! The medal cabinet is locked, and the code is hidden in the Olympic events. Get through every event and win gold. The head judge lost the code, but left a clue in every event.
Setup
- Station sheets
- A 2-digit lock or an envelope
- Paper or chocolate medals
- A stopwatch for a real competition feel
- Print the 6 stage cards and put them in order, or hide each card around the room so every answer leads to the next one.
- Read the opening story to the group and start a timer.
- When the group gets stuck, give one hint from the table, one at a time.
- Turn the stations into events: each team carries an “athlete card” and gets a stamp at every event.
- For younger pupils, print a times table as a helper for station 4.
- Run a stopwatch and announce every team’s time at the end.
Answers and hints (facilitator only)
| Stage | Answer / code | Hints |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The medal event | 50 | First 7 times 8. · Then take away 6. |
| 2. The long-jump event | 48 | Each number is double the one before. |
| 3. The minibus event | 6 | First work out how many runners there are (4 times 9). · Then divide by 6. |
| 4. The mystery number | 42 | Look in the 7 times table for a number between 40 and 50. |
| 5. Warm-up route · The symbols on the lock | 4 | Every symbol is a number. What is one symbol worth? · Add: 2 plus 2. |
| 6. The medal cabinet | 92 | Add 50 and 42. |
Read at the end: The medal cabinet is open! Every team member gets a gold medal, and the judge announces: “This year’s math champions!”