This was a session that Elly and Dinah spent together unpacking the teaching of Maths in the junior school.  Below are my notes...

• Start with a strategy and/or a context (Context is nearly always strand (could be pure number at times)

• From this, identify the knowledge that is required.  This will become what they work on independently.

• So often in schools, we ‘create’ the tail from the moment children enter school.  We put children in ability groups, which they stay in for the rest of their schooling.

• We need mixed ability groups in the first two years to stop the tail from forming.

• To do this, three things are required (Paul Swan)

• Teacher knowledge

• Content
• Learners

• The ability to orchestrate discussions to maximise learning
• Ability to choose the right task

• Get the kids to make task cards...

• Get kids to do creating - in this way there is never a finish!

• Let children find the errors.
• NE (Pure number - 2 weeks then Strand (integrated with number) - 2 weeks)
• If you can find a context, use it.
• All of the time, think, What is my major goal?
• Subtraction - what are we doing at RSS?  We need to find a consensus!

• What is left?

I need...

• A whole lot of stuff that is similar

• E.g. bike images from Dinah (“Find me ten wheels”, patterns, etc)

• Thermal Drapes

• Numbers
• Word numbers

• Patterns
• Grid (to make 1 picture per grid, graphs, patterns)
• Etc

To buy:

• “Child Friendly Cards” from Modern Teaching Aids

1 to 1 Counting

There are SO many ways to pull out number through strand.  Here are some examples...

• Sides of 2D and 3D shapes
• 10 sticks - How many squares can you make?
• Position and Orientation - use the grid outside.
• Simple maps (just squares - no co-ordinates)
• Thermal drapes with boxes 1 - 25 - great for matching.

• Cover up words - who has 3 in a row?

• Tally Marks
• $ - $1 coins with animal pictures with $ attached - How many horses can you by?
• Block Graph/Pictograph “How many?”
• Sorting objects (count and labelling)
• Shape pictures - make a picture with 2 circles and 4 squares (advanced: add $)
• Probability: Throw dot dice - what did we get?  Put counter in 1 of 6 shot glasses, then count the counters etc
• Matching animal strips with food - how many beans do the giraffes need?

LET THE KIDS FIND THE ERRORS

• Match animal strips with thermal drapes with numbers
• Clock #’s
• Measurement

• Length “how many blocks (non-standard) is this?
• Area “how many books fit on the table?
• Capacity “how many cubes do we need to balance three teddies?

• Algebra

• Make a pattern with 5 red and 5 blue etc...
• Or... red/green/blue - how many red are there?
• Patterns with 10’s frames or animal strips - increasing or decreasing
• Patterns of shapes and numbers.