Support deeper mathematical thinking — without increasing workload.
Margin Maths is a low-paper maths routine designed for Years 5–6, aligned to the Australian Curriculum v9. Each Margin Maths Thinking Strip scaffolds students to analyse problems, select efficient strategies, justify their reasoning, and evaluate solutions — all while working alongside existing maths tasks.
Rather than completing another worksheet, students use a Thinking Strip to structure and explain their thinking next to any maths problem, investigation, or textbook activity.
✨ What’s Included
- 19 ready-to-use Margin Maths Thinking Strips
– Written specifically for Years 5–6 curriculum expectations and language - 1 editable Thinking Strip
– Customise prompts to match your unit focus, school language, or student needs - Print-friendly format
– Designed for low-paper use, with multiple strips per page
🧠 How Margin Maths Works
Each Thinking Strip guides students through a rigorous problem-solving process:
- ANALYSE – Identify what is being asked and determine relevant information
- SOLVE – Show clear, logical steps using efficient strategies
- JUSTIFY – Explain and defend the chosen strategy
- CHECK – Evaluate reasonableness and prove the solution
- CHALLENGE – Solve using another method or create a related problem
This structure supports reasoning, metacognition, and mathematical communication, helping students move beyond answers to explanations.
👩🏫 Perfect For
- Daily maths routines and warm-ups
- Problem-solving and reasoning lessons
- Maths journals and books
- Small group instruction or intervention
- Extension tasks and early finishers
- Teachers seeking higher-order thinking without extra marking
❤️ Why Teachers Love Margin Maths
✔ Encourages justification and strategy selection
✔ Builds consistency across maths lessons
✔ Reduces reliance on full-page worksheets
✔ Easy to reuse across strands and topics
✔ Aligned to Australian Curriculum v9 expectations
