A short prompt can help a pupil pause, identify the relationship and choose a method before calculating. This is lighter support than teaching the full routine. Use it when the pupil can solve the problem once the right structure is brought to mind.

Keep the prompt concise: What do we know? What are we trying to find? What could we try? How will we check the answer?

Pause before calculation

Ask the pupil not to write an operation immediately. Give them time to state:

• the required outcome;

• the relevant quantities;

• the relationship between them;

• a suitable representation or equation;

• the likely order of steps.

A ten-second pause may be enough when the process is familiar.

Use prompts that reveal structure

Useful prompts include:

• “What are you trying to find?”

• “What does each number represent?”

• “Which quantity is unknown?”

• “Could you draw or write the relationship?”

• “What needs to happen first?”

• “What should the answer be roughly?”

Avoid asking, “Which operation word can you see?” Keywords are unreliable because the same word can occur in different structures.

A brief example

Problem: Packs contain 6 stickers. Aisha buys 4 packs and gives away 5 stickers. How many does she have left?

Ask the pupil to annotate:

• Know: 4 packs of 6, then 5 given away.

• Find: how many stickers are left.

• Try: find the total (4 × 6), then subtract 5.

• Check: the answer should be a little less than 24.

The pupil then calculates and returns to the question: 19 stickers remain.

Keep the prompt visible but small

Use:

• four headings on a card;

• a short note on the desk;

• a margin annotation;

• a consistent classroom display;

• a verbal cue such as “know, find, try, check”.

Do not require a full written response to every heading where an oral answer or quick annotation is enough.

Prompt only the missing stage

If the pupil identifies the problem and chooses a suitable equation, do not make them complete the entire scaffold. Ask only for the next missing decision.

For example, if the pupil has represented the quantities but starts with the second step, ask, “Which value do you need before that calculation can happen?”

Return to the question after calculating

A final prompt should ask:

• “What does your answer represent?”

• “Have you included the unit?”

• “Does it answer every part?”

• “Is it a reasonable size?”

Keep this brief. The aim is a useful habit, not a long written conclusion after every calculation.

Fade the prompt

Move from the visible four-question card to:

• a shorter verbal reminder;

• one question about the missing stage;

• a pause before the pupil begins;

• independent planning.

If the pupil repeatedly cannot use the prompts, return to full modelling rather than adding more questions to the card.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using keywords to select operations.

• Turning a quick plan into lengthy writing.

• Prompting stages the pupil has already completed.

• Requiring the same representation for every problem.

• Allowing intermediate results to lose their labels.

• Leaving the prompt visible after it is no longer used.

• Increasing prompts when the pupil needs the routine retaught.

Evidence and further reading

An Education Endowment Foundation blog on mathematical problem-solving and metacognition explains modelling and gradually withdrawing planning support. The Department for Education’s Primary mathematics guidance provides curriculum-aligned progression and examples.