Maths Calculations Workshop Autumn 2017

Why this workshop? Feedback from parents suggests that more would like to know how to support their child at home Strategies used in school today are often different to the strategies taught when parents were at school – this often causes confusion for parents and children.

Challenge! Calculate 1534 ÷ 13 = What would you have needed to know before being able to access this question? Discuss fundamental skills – understanding of symbols, digits, whole numbers, place value, times tables, calculation strategies etc.

New National Curriculum (2014) Aims The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils: become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

Mastery The focus of the new curriculum (2014) is on teaching to mastery, by allowing enough time on a topic for a child to comprehend it thoroughly before moving on. Children will only become fluent, be able to solve problems and reason mathematically if time is given to the fundamental skills, including calculations.

The CPA approach Concrete representation The enactive stage - a student is first introduced to an idea or a skill by acting it out with real objects. ‘Hands on‘. Pictorial representation The iconic stage - a student can now relate the ‘hands on’ to representations, such as a diagram or picture of the problem. Abstract representation The symbolic stage - a student is now capable of representing problems by using mathematical notation.

https://mathsnoproblem.com/en/parent-videos/ Fundamental Ideas To calculate, children need to develop and understanding of the fundamental ideas of maths: https://mathsnoproblem.com/en/parent-videos/

First Steps Number bonds and times tables are the foundations for calculating It is crucial that children master these if they are to confidently calculate with larger numbers/decimals We assess every child’s number bonds (year 1 – year 6) and times tables (year 2 to year 6) once a term. Children are expected to practise these weekly. Please practise as often as possible at home – your child’s teacher should guide you as to what they are currently working on

https://mathsnoproblem.com/en/parent-videos/ Bar Model https://mathsnoproblem.com/en/parent-videos/

Let’s Learn! Addition strategies PRACTISE! Subtraction strategies Multiplication strategies Division strategies

https://mathsnoproblem.com/en/parent-videos/ Long Division https://mathsnoproblem.com/en/parent-videos/

Useful Resources