Read each story aloud and take one or two hands-up answers per story. Push for the reasoning: which word told you? Do not solve them yet — that is the whole point of today's lesson, so keep the beat to naming the operation only.

Give five seconds of quiet think-time before any hands go up.

Adding: club has 248 members, 137 more join. 'More join' means the groups combine, so add: 248 + 137 = 385. Underline the signal words before touching numbers.

Subtracting: Cork 24, Galway 18. Pause before the reveal, ask the class to predict add or subtract. 'How many more' catches people because it sounds like adding, but it means find the gap: 24 - 18 = 6.

Multiplying: 6 teams, 9 players each. Stress 'each' means equal groups. Ask why not just add 9 six times, to surface that multiplying is repeated addition made quick: 6 x 9 = 54.

Dividing: 45 sliotars shared equally into 5 nets. Link 'shared equally' to the sharing work from earlier lessons: 45 / 5 = 9 in each net.

Two steps: gate takings €175 Saturday and €168 Sunday, then €240 on jerseys. Work the add on the board first and box the total €343 (175 + 168). Only then subtract: 343 - 240, leaving €103. Say plainly we can't start step two until step one gives the total. The screen shows only the second step; work the first above it.

Finish on the signal-word summary. Add: altogether, in total, both, more join. Subtract: how many more, how many left, fewer, difference. Multiply: each, every, equal groups, rows of. Divide: shared equally, split equally, into equal groups.

This round is for talking it through together — pupils take turns at the board and the class agrees or corrects out loud.

The order builds on purpose: an 'altogether' add, then a 'how many more' subtract (the wrinkle from Watch and Notice), then an 'each' multiply, then a 'shared equally' divide. Ask a pupil to point to the signal word before choosing the operation. When the third problem lands on 'each', pause and ask why is multiplying faster than adding 30 four times?

The fifth problem is the two-step one. Do step one first on the board: 8 rows of 40 is a multiply, 8 × 40 = 320 seats. Box that total, then do step two: 25 extra seats added means add, 320 + 25 = 345. The interactive shows the step-two problem with 320 already given; step one is worked on the board above it. Say plainly: we could not add the 25 until we knew the rows held 320. Let a pupil build the add and press Check so the class sees the ✓.

This is a distinct skill from the signal-word work: here pupils choose operations to reach a target (learning goal 4, 'choose operations strategically'), instead of reading a story to find the operation. Model the first target (24) fully on the board before anyone works independently, showing both routes, so the new task type is demonstrated, not just launched.

Work the first two targets together as a class; leave the last two as optional stretch for the strongest pupils.

Worked routes so you can rescue a stalled class:

• 24 from 6, 4, 20 — 4 × 6 = 24, or 20 + 4 = 24.
• 60 from 5, 12, 8 — 5 × 12 = 60, or (8 − 5) × 12 uses 8, 5 and 12 but undershoots, so 5 × 12 is the clean one.
• 100 from 3, 5, 7, 8, 25 — 4 × 25 = 100, and 4 comes from 7 − 3 (or 8 − 5 − ... keep it simple): (7 − 3) × 25 = 100.
• 150 from 6, 10, 25, 5 — 6 × 25 = 150, or 25 × 6 with the 10 and 5 spare; alternatively (10 + 5) × 10 is not available, so 6 × 25 = 150 is the reliable route.

Ask which operation gets us close fast? and invite a second route once a target is reached.