Maths
How is the Maths curriculum implemented in our school?
Pupils use concrete objects to help them make sense of the concept or problem; this could be anything from real or plastic fruit, to straws, counters, cubes or something else meaningful. Whatever the objects are, they can be moved, grouped and rearranged to illustrate the problem.
As the child’s experience and confidence grows, they may no longer need physical objects to actually move around. Instead, they draw them. These simple pictures to represent the problem could be pictures of real objects they have used in the past, objects mentioned in the problem or something else meaningful to them: dots, lines, marks.
As understanding develops, children move on to use some form of abstract representation. This could be giving values to rectangular bars (bar model) to identify what is known and what is unknown, using a symbol to stand for a number or something else.
It is important to realise that these are not stages gone through once, but a continuum.
There will be occasions when a particular pupil will use concrete, pictorial and abstract representations all in one session.
A pupil who uses abstract representations in one area may need concrete representations in another. On a different occasion, a pupil may need to revisit a concrete representation before moving on to a pictorial or abstract one.
Therefore, it is important that a variety of representations are available for pupils to use at all times. When pupils are able to understand a concept in each stage and various contexts in depth, we are looking at mastery
Teaching of Times Tables.
This happens in Phases 2 and 3. An initial assessment will be done on the pupils by their class teacher. The class teacher will tell from this which times table they need to start on.
Times table sessions are carried out four times a week, for fifteen minutes in class. Each session will be different using a variety of strategies, for example:
-chanting
-songs
-bingo
-games
-counting stick
Each class teacher will test their class as a part of their fourth weekly session; the assessment process will go as follows:
Week 1: Timed test in order.
Week 2: If they got full marks, they will complete the test in a mixed order.
Week 3: If they got full marks, They will complete the test in a mixed order again.
The sessions will follow an order of difficulty, rather than times tables consecutively:
2, 5 and 10 times tables
4 and 8 times tables
3 and 6 times tables
9 and 11 times tables
7 times tables
12 times tables
G+T – further times tables and a mixed bag of 1-12.
Timestable Rockstars Explanation Video
https://play.ttrockstars.com/
Timestable Rockstars is an app which helps with learning the times tables and also will recall the speed of each. It works by initially testing the children to see what multiplication facts they already know, which then allows the app to measure the children’s ability and group them accordingly. This means that the children will get the tables at their ability. Children gain points which they can spend on changing their avatar and buying different accessories for them. They can also challenge other children around the school as well as challenging teachers. Below is a video explaining how to use it.
Maths Chase is a completely free site where you can quickly test your times tables. The site is a great game that kids enjoy because it provides a fun way to learn their times tables!
Have a go and find out for yourself: www.mathschase.com
MyMaths homework:
Homework is set weekly for pupils using MyMaths. Each teacher and pupil has their own log in. A minimum of two activities is set for each pupil based on what they have been learning that week in their class based Maths lessons.
When a task has been set by the teacher it will appear in the Homework area. Once the children click on the homework, which has been set, there is a link to the lesson if they want to revise first, and a link to the homework itself. When an online homework lesson has been completed scores for the work will be automatically saved to the database for the class teacher to see.
Upon completing a task, the children will see one of three images (a green trophy, amber trophy or a red rosette) next to the activity which they have finished. If a green trophy appears next to a topic, they have good skills in that area. If a amber rosette appears they still have some difficulties. If a red rosette appears they need to go back and relearn the topic. Get them to try the lesson again or ask their teacher for extra help.
If you want to work with your child, an effective strategy is to pretend that you have forgotten how to do something and ask them to show you how. Putting your child in the position of “teacher” is good for their confidence and gets them to talk about their thinking.
If you have any questions on using MyMaths at home please click here to visit the website's help page.
How do we measure the impact of our Maths curriculum?
To measure the impact of our Maths curriculum w use our Maths Teacher Assessment Grid, which is in line with the programme of study for that year group. (Please see below.) In each box the class teacher would place a small sticker indicating their assessment of the pupil's understanding in this area from these lessons:
Blue - exceeded
Green -expected
Orange - emerging
Red – below