Maths news

Next week we concentrate on multiplication together with a calculator activity.

The first worksheet is a reminder of the golden rules about multiplying:

When a number is multiplied by 10 it moves one place to the left.

When a number is multiplied by 100 it moves two places to the left.

The second worksheet looks at multiplication and addition with another golden rule. The rule is that the multiplication should be worked out before the addition, whatever the order of the question. This is a good mental arithmetic exercise but children may need to make jottings to help them.

We also have a harder version of the 2x table calculator game, published earlier, in that the grid has larger multiples of 2.

The latest Ofsted figures show that more schools are being judged as inadequate. In 2008/9 the proportion of schools judged as inadequate was 4% but this has more than doubled to 10% this year.
Why?  Well, it has more to do with the way Ofsted works than schools actually getting better or worse.  Ofsted is concentrating on inspecting schools which have a poor record in the past, so they are not looking at the best schools as often.  Outstanding and good schools will only be inspected every 5 years whilst inadequate schools receive regular visits.

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Carol Vorderman’s maths
Well, I was hoping to have a look at this but at the moment it is impossible to sign up to Carol Vordeman’s maths site. Too many applicants. Not surprising given that she had a 7 minute free advert on prime time BBC which included talking about her price structure as well as a link on the BBC site to her site. I’m sure all the other companies producing similar maths material, such as Conquer Maths, Whizz maths, Mathsgogogo, MathSphere,  URBrainy, 10 Ticks (I could go on!) would like a similar 7 minutes free advertising and links.

Whilst I’m totally in favour of improving maths I do think all these sites should be given equal chances to advertise: but I believe that the BBC are not supposed to advertise.

On our year 6 fractions page there are several different sets of skills and knowledge needed. Firstly knowledge of measurements eg that there are 1000 metres in a kilometre, 1000 ml in a litre etc, as well as a couple of Imperial measures thrown in as an extra challenge.

Secondly, to be able to write 600ml as a fraction of 1litre eg 600/1000.

Thirdly to be able to simplify fractions eg 600/1000 is equivalent to 6/10.

Getting a clear concept of amount of time is important for young children. Next week’s page on time challenges children to complete a number of tasks in one minute, such as how tall a tower can be built using blocks/lego etc.

Also coming soon is a calculations game to help with learning the two times table.

Next week we have a page on knowing that multiplication can be done in any order. This, of course, is also true of addition, but not subtraction or division and this knowledge comes into play a great deal later on with ‘BODMAS’ etc.

We will also be publishing a tricky year 6 worksheet on fractions. Understanding equivalent fractions is the key to understanding fractions generally and this page will test students understanding.

A good way to reinforce the 2x table is to play our fun game. For two players, why not take on your son/daughter?

I came across a really interesting project the other day for anyone in business who would like to share their love of maths with children in school for just a few hours a month.

Number Partners is a volunteering programme designed to support young people in schools across the country with their number and financial literacy skills. Volunteers visit primary or secondary schools to play number games with students, making maths and financial literacy fun, improving their skill with numbers and boosting their confidence.

Evidence indicates that not only do volunteers help in supporting young people’s maths, but are also vitally important in the development of their personal and social skills.

“It’s rewarding to see how giving up a small amount of your time can make a big difference. I was amazed by how excited the children were!”

Volunteer Number Partner

Number Partners volunteers are highly valued in schools and they are in great demand. To read case studies of Number Partners in action and how it can make a real difference to children in schools across the country, please visit the Number Partners website at www.numberpartners.org

Newsround has come up with some interesting data about children’s sleep habits. It found that more than half of the 9 to 11 year old children interviewed admitted that they thought they needed more sleep.

Most children of this age went to bed by 21.30 but then many stayed up watching TV, playing video games or games on their mobile phones.

Over half the children interviewed said they had a TV in their bedrooms.

Experts recommend at least 10 hours sleep a night and a lack of sleep has been linked to a wide range of behavioural problems such as ADHD.

How important is it that parents know what their children are doing, what TV programmes they are watching, what computer games they are playing and what they are accessing on their phones? This is impossible to monitor if they are sent up to their rooms to ‘play’ for hours.

A great way to practice the 2x, 5x and 10x tables is with 2p, 5p and 10p coins. If you can gather together a set of ten of each this makes for a really good practical resource with endless questions: e.g. I have six 5p coins, how much do I have? Give me 20p all in 5p coins etc. We will publishing a worksheet which gives further ideas next week.

Also coming soon will be pages on time, including days of the week for young children and problems using television programme times.

Dispatches Part 1 Kid’s Don’t Count
This two part special asks how and why we seem to be failing our young children when it comes to maths.
One fifth of children are leaving primary school without basic skills and far too many children dislike maths. The programme also questions the maths ability of the teachers.
The average 8 year old should be able to work out a question such as half plus a quarter. Many can’t.

Dispatches follows a class of final-year pupils at Barton Hill Primary School in Bristol as their staff adopt a radical approach to teaching, in a bid to improve the maths ability of these children before they head off to secondary school.

The blank looks on the children’s faces in the programme showed that they had no idea how to answer the questions. So why were they being asked these questions when they should have been working on a task they could achieve?

Much goes wrong very early in school, from Reception on, when children are moved on too fast, don’t grasp the basics and are lost from that point on. They don’t know basic number bonds such as 4 + 6, they don’t understand the value of the digit 1 in 15. Yet suddenly they are being asked to add 40 and 60! This is especially true of children who come into school with poor language skills. The best thing a parent can do is talk to their children.

Many teachers think that because they have taught a child something that the child has understood and learned it. Too often the planning says they have to move on, regardless of the needs of the children. So move on they do; the teacher, that is, not the child!
By the time children reach Year 3 they know so little they are really beginning to fail.

Many teachers’ own maths is weak, and like most of us, resort to old methods they went through themselves, even though those methods failed them.

Often it is teachers who don’t like maths who make it most difficult for the children, by not allowing them to use practical apparatus, or fingers to help count.
Intervention programmes usually work over the short term, it is more difficult to keep it up. Part two will be interesting!