Mental maths

Number talks, ready for the board in one click

Pick your stage and a maths focus, and get a number talk with a purpose-built mathematical visual — downloadable as a PowerPoint slide you can throw straight on the board tomorrow morning.

Generate a number talk free

30 free credits — no card needed

The five-minute routine with outsized payoff

A number talk is a short daily routine — one prompt on the board, students working mentally, then sharing the different strategies they used. It builds number sense, flexible thinking and mathematical talk in a way worksheets can’t. The only catch is that a good one needs a well-chosen prompt and a clear visual — and making a fresh one every day is exactly the kind of prep that falls off the list.

A fresh, well-formed prompt every day

Tell HandsOnTop the stage and what your class is working on — subitising, doubling, partitioning, fractions — and it generates a number talk with a matching mathematical visual, pitched to your students. No hunting through slide decks from five years ago.

  • Prompts matched to your stage and current maths focus
  • A clear mathematical visual designed for the prompt
  • Downloads as a PowerPoint slide — straight onto the board
  • New talk in seconds, so the routine actually stays daily

Built for K–6 classrooms

From Kindergarten dot-pattern subitising to Stage 3 fraction reasoning, the prompts scale with your class. Use them as your morning warm-up, a lesson launch, or a quick formative check on how your students are thinking.

Try it with your next lesson

New accounts start with 30 free credits — about 15 resources. No card needed.

Generate a number talk free