Why Stories Might Be The Missing Piece In Maths Lessons - with Hannah Allison

What happens when maths lessons start with a story rather than a method?

In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon Cripwell is joined by Hannah Allison from Maths Outside the Box to explore the role of stories in primary maths teaching. Drawing on her background in the arts and her experience as a maths leader, Hannah explains how narrative, character and context can help pupils engage more deeply with mathematical ideas.

Together, Jon and Hannah discuss what maths through stories actually looks like in practice, and how storybooks can be used as a meaningful starting point, a way to deepen understanding, or a reflective consolidation lesson rather than a bolt-on activity. They explore the difference between maths picture books and true maths storybooks, and why that distinction matters for learning.

The conversation also looks at engagement beyond entertainment, including how stories support talk, oracy and mathematical sense-making, particularly for pupils who feel anxious or disconnected from maths. Hannah shares practical classroom examples, including how storybooks can create low-threshold, high-ceiling tasks that invite curiosity, discussion and sustained thinking.

Jon and Hannah also grapple with real-world constraints such as time, workload and schemes of work, discussing how story-based maths can sit alongside structured programmes without becoming an additional burden for teachers.

This episode is a thoughtful exploration of how stories can help move maths lessons from something pupils watch to something they actively do.

Guest Bio

Hannah Allison is a primary school teacher and Maths Lead, who founded Maths Outside The Box in 2024 to support other leaders who wanted to find creativity in their Maths delivery. Since launching as a resource-based platform specialising in teaching Maths through stories, she now delivers CPD & INSET sessions in teaching Maths through stories, cross-curricular Maths planning and financial education both online and in-person. Her mission is to engage more children in the subject through creative and exciting lessons, connection to 'real-life' maths and through a problem-solving approach.

Links

website: MathsOutsidetheBox.com

email: Hannah@mathsoutsidethebox.com

instagram, tiktok and facebook: @mathsoutsidethebox