Maths help for parents of children aged 5 to 11
more male teachers needed in schools
Well it was only a short while ago when I mentioned a piece of research which suggested it was not necessary to have male teachers in primary school. Yes, you’ve guessed it, another survey (the Yougov survey) recommends more men should be teaching in our primary schools. They say that it leads to better behaved boys. Continue reading “News: More male teachers needed in schools”
maths at home, counting, understanding number, knowing maths, shape, measuring, data handling,
What is expected of children during their primary school years in England?
Year 2 ( aged 6/7)
Let’s continue by looking at the expectations for children at the end of year 2 (6 to 7 years old). This is a year where a huge amount of new maths is introduced. However, it is still important to keep the maths in a practical context using real life situations. One of the most important developments is that children are expected to work with larger numbers, up to 100 and whole hundreds. Partitioning (or splitting numbers) is introduced with questions such as 36 = ? + 6.
Remember to look at the year 1 expectations to see the progression. Continue reading “What is expected of children? Part 4: Year 2”
Maths worksheets: Count in steps of one.
Here we have some practice at filling in number lines using two digit numbers. Some of the numbers have already been written in. Notice that the number line has the lowest number at the bottom – and the numbers are completed in ascending order. It is interesting to watch how children do this; most will fill in from a number already there and prefer to count up rather than count down.
A superb practical experience is to play snakes and ladders which has all the ingredients of counting on and going back down the snakes. Large floor game boards are great! Make sure you count out loud when it is your go. Other dice board games are also excellent as counting practice.
What is expected of children during their primary school years in England?
Part 2: Reception 4/5 years old
Let’s begin by looking at what is expected by the end of the Reception year – that’s children aged between 4 and 5 years old. This is sometimes called the Foundation Stage. Yes, even our 5 year olds have targets to reach!
I will take each of the strands in turn, but as you go through them it will become clear that the most important thing of all is to talk with your children and use the vocabulary of simple maths to help them describe the world around them. Continue reading “What is expected of children? Part 2: Reception”