Open-Ended Maths: Picture Book Investigations | Room on the Broom (Foundation Year) 

Looking for a way to link maths and literacy in a meaningful, curriculum-aligned way? This open-ended maths investigation pack is designed to help Foundation teachers confidently implement rich, engaging lessons — without sacrificing structure or support!

Whether you’re new to open-ended tasks or want something ready to go, this resource provides everything you need to run hands-on maths lessons using the much-loved book Room on the Broom.

✨ What’s Included In This Book Companion:

• 3 open-ended maths investigations covering length, part-part-whole and ordinal numbers
• Australian V9 Curriculum links for Foundation
• Detailed lesson plans with enabling and extending prompts
• Clear learning intentions and success criteria
• Printable exit tickets + editable tracking sheet with “I can” statements
• Teaching slides to support instruction
• Engaging printable materials
• Photo examples of student work for reference

✨ Why Teachers Love It:

• Takes the stress out of planning open-ended tasks
• Links directly to the Australian Curriculum V9
• Offers real structure with space for student creativity
• Helps teachers assess confidently with clear, practical tools
• Makes maths fun, meaningful, and connected to a story students love

✨ Perfect for:

• Foundation Year
• Teachers wanting to try open-ended maths with support
• Literacy + maths integration
• Hands-on, student-centred maths learning

✨So why Open-Ended Maths?

Open-ended math tasks are problems or activities that have multiple solutions or strategies, allowing students to approach them in different ways. 

And when you combine open-ended tasks with picture story books you unlock a powerful space for…

• rich mathematical thinking
• creativity
• deeper engagement
• developing problem-solving skills
• collaboration
• building confidence

By the end of the lesson, your students will be thinking mathematically, communicating their ideas, and feeling confident in their problem-solving – and so will you.

**This is a book companion. You will need to purchase your own copy of the book for this lesson.

Please note that this is a ZIP file that includes a PDF and a PowerPoint.

Love this resource or would like to see something added? Let me know your thoughts in the feedback section so that I can make the next Open-Ended Maths: Picture Book Investigation resources even better!

Follow for Updates: Don't miss out on new resources! Follow me on Instagram at @becteachingprimary to be the first to know when new resources are available.