Best suited for: First & Second Level / Age 5-7, 8-11
Maths involved: Sorting and comparing sizes; number bonds for 10
Materials needed:
A piece of green craft paper, 6cm x 10cm
A piece of A4 card, folded in half
A pair of scissors
A ruler
Glue
A pencil
A brown felt pen, coloured pencil or crayon
Instructions
Step 1: Cut the piece of green paper in to six strips of 1cm x 10cm each.
Step 2: Using the ruler, measure out and cut the strips of paper as follows
1cm + 9cm
2cm + 8cm
3cm + 7cm
4cm + 6cm
5cm + 5cm
The last strip of paper stays 10cm long so does not get cut.
Before you continue, you can stop to talk with your child or class about number bonds for 10 - use the cut up strips of paper to practice which numbers add up to 10.
Step 3: Fold the piece of A4 card in half.
Step 4: Discard one of the 5cm strips of paper. Arrange the strips of paper in order of size to create the shape of a tree and glue them to the front of the card – you should have the 1cm strip at the top going down to the 10cm strip at the bottom. Make sure you leave enough space to draw a tree trunk underneath the 10cm strip in the next step.
Step 5: Use the brown pen to add a tree trunk to your tree.
Maths Week Scotland is back for 2026 with the theme Maths Matters. To celebrate our tenth year, we will have an extended gala week running over two weekends, from Saturday 19 to Sunday 27 September.
It is almost time for the RSPB Big Schools’ Bird Watch – the largest citizen science project for schools across the UK. Sign up to take part, from 6th January- 13th February 2026.
