Numbers Game 1-20

Making PIXIE work

By pressing buttons you can make PIXIE pause or move forward, backward, left and right.

Press Go to tell it to start a program.

Press CM to make it forget its program.

You can stop PIXIE urgently by pressing any button.

Playing the game

PIXIE may be made to travel directly over the numerals or alongside them.

Shuffle the numeral cards and place them face down beside the play mat.

PIXIE may start at any grid reference.

Turn over the first card and program PIXIE to travel to that marker on the grid.

Players continue to take turns at turning over cards and programming PIXIE.

Support and Differentiation

Children will already have experience of smaller microworlds for PIXIE. This grid is suitable for children who are already confident when counting to 10, and who are now dealing with numbers to 20. Pupils should be encouraged to talk about what they plan to do before they begin to tap in their program. Practitioners may wish to scribe the program onto a laminated record card.

If PIXIE fails to reach the correct grid reference help the children to analyse their programming error and try again.

Always model and encourage the use of appropriate vocabulary.

Have you sequenced numbers with the number fairy?

These ideas were supplied by Mrs. Anne Taylor, Sidemoor First School and Nursery, Worcestershire. Many thanks for permission to reproduce them here.

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Date Last Modified: 1/1/02