The New Curriculum and Helping at home with Maths

The New Curriculum Developing a Sense of Number and Number Fluency Learning Times Tables Written Methods Maths in the Real World

The New Curriculum Greater emphasis on core arithmetic and computational skills Increased level of expectations in terms of written calculation with larger numbers More complex calculations within multistep problems. No calculators.

Number Fluency Being fluent in maths : Be able to carry out mathematical calculations Have basic skills of number at their finger tips -eg +10’s, times tables, number bonds, adding on or subtracting using place value principals, adding and subtracting single digits and numbers up to 20. Understanding how the number system works

Number Fluency Play some games and puzzles to help with number fluency: Strike it out Make a maze Nice and Nasty Mystery matrix

Times Tables These are of course a part of number fluency. Raised levels of expectations – New Curriculum expect all children to know tables with quick recall to 12 x 12 by the age of 9 whereas before it was 10x10 at age 11.

Times Tables Everyone learns in different ways so a multi sensory approach to tables is the best. All children can learn how to work out their tables even if they can’t retain quick recall. Chant /sing/listen to tapes (oral) Write them out (visual and sensory) Look at patterns ( visual and logical) Play games eg computer games – (multi sensory) - School website

Link to website and also get up maths square Look at patterns in 3 times table talk about patterns and how can help learn Link to learning 17 times table youtube video

Number Fluency It also means: An ability to demonstrate flexibility in computational methods An ability to understand and explain the methods An ability to estimate an answer An ability to produce accurate answers efficiently

Efficiency - this implies that children do not get bogged down in too many steps or lose track of the logic of the strategy. An efficient strategy is one that the student can carry out easily, keeping track of sub-problems and making use of intermediate results to solve the problem. Accuracy depends on several aspects of the problem-solving process, among them careful recording, knowledge of number facts and other important number relationships, and double-checking results. Flexibility requires the knowledge of more than one approach to solving a particular kind of problem, such as two-digit multiplication. Students need to be flexible in order to choose an appropriate strategy for the numbers involved, and also be able to use one method to solve a problem and another method to check the results.

Number Fluency Number fluency does NOT mean : an ability to remember and repeat a procedure

Number Fluency Conceptual Fluency- an understanding of what they are doing, for example that when multiplying 27 x 6, understanding that this can be partitioned into 20 x 6 and 7 x 6 which can then be added together. ( gained from experimenting with smaller numbers eg 7 x 8 can be achieved by multiplying 5 x 8 and 2 x 8) (the 7 has been split into a 5 and a 2) Procedural Fluency - written algorithms.

Written Methods The New Curriculum requires children to be taught efficient traditional written methods of calculation at an earlier age. These written methods – algorithms – are the procedural fluency But we need conceptual fluency too, which is why we don’t move straight to the formal written method immediately.

Conceptual Fluency It takes time for children to develop and embed the conceptual understanding – they need to use concrete and structured apparatus, images and models, and play around with these ideas, constructing over time their own understanding of mathematical ideas and how they relate to written methods and symbols in mathematics.

Written methods Progression in written methods for all 4 operations will be posted on the website in due course.

Procedural Fluency The end goal is to use the standard written algorithm for all 4 operations. The new National curriculum expects that by the end of year 4, children are using the standard algorithm for addition and subtraction and multiplication of 2 digit or 3 digit numbers by one digit. Your child will be at some point along the line of understanding.

Procedural Fluency By the end of year 6, children will be expected to use the formal algorithm for long multiplication ( anything up to and including 4 digit by 2 digit) and the standard algorithm for long and short division ( 4 digit by 1 digit and 4 digit by 2 digit)

Maths in the real world This is where you can really help enormously. Every opportunity for real maths – grasp it Time – please help your children to read the time on an analogue clock. Every day talk about the time. What time does Brownies start? Oh how long have we got before we have to go to.... The plane departs at.... And we need to be at the airport 2 hours before so what time have we got to be there? etc

Maths in the Real World Cooking – measures, weighing food out, having a realistic idea of how much something weighs. Capacity also – how much liquid in the bottle, what unit of measure it is. Shopping – getting the change using the right coins. Talking about discounts, profits, percentage reductions.

Maths in the Real World Working with your child at home on real problems will help your child to tackle the complex problems they will face with the new curriculum. The following problem is an example of the complex problems the children will be expected to solve by the end of year 6.

In Summary Support your child by: Encouraging number fluency through playing games that require number facts to be used (including times tables) Help your child become fluent at written methods, using the method they are working with at school Use every opportunity at home to emphasise and use maths in the real world.