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DS (yr 2) bored by maths, not being streched.

7 replies

naughtymummy · 19/09/2010 12:07

Can some wise MNers give me some advice. DS is in a yr1/yr2 class with an experienced teacher who he had last year and a newly qualified. He has been able to do arithmetic in tens (eg making change from 50 in monopoly) for about 6 months and is now doing with three figures at home. He also knows his 2,5, 10 and 11 times tables.

I went to meeting at the school last week, his teacher said the class' numeracy target was number bonds to ten ! He says his maths at school is too easy and last year he hard hardly any corrections in his exercise book so I think he is probrably right.

Is it too early to tackle the teacher (s) about this? Should I let them settle the new year ones first? or should I speak up early, I am very aware he has SATS this year and want him to do as well as he can.

It is difficult to know about ability setting but he sits with some of the brightest children, whose reading is well above his .

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ramonaquimby · 19/09/2010 12:12

don't see it as 'tackling' the teacher, this is aggressive and unnecessary. if you think he isn't being stretched, then certainly go in and speak to the teacher - makes perfect sense.

maths is a lot more about adding figures tho, and times tables. its arriving at an answer in creative different ways, it's thinking through a problem and working out how to get the solution. it's about recognising and interpreting patterns - all sorts of things.


and don't worry about SATS - that's not for you to worry about!

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naughtymummy · 19/09/2010 13:03

Thanks, this why I was asking if I should wait as they may move on to something else , which he might find more intersting . As I said what they are doing at the .moment is adding and subtracting at a level which is below his ability. So should I wait until they move onto something else or speak up now ? I think it is important that if you are going to examine 7 year olds (and they are) they should be given the opportunity to perform to their potential why is that not my problem if the school don't know what he is capable of ? I apologise for the word tackle I would of corse speak to his teachers rather than wrestle them to the ground.

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minimathsmouse · 19/09/2010 15:07

Hi Naughtymummy, is your son is year 2 in this mixed year class? Are SATS in May? I think they are and I agree with you that if a child is to be tested they should have the opportunity to show their potential.

My DS was in mixed year class which proved to be a problem. When we tried to speak to his teacher (he was working at L5) in year 3, we were told the sats test couldn't give an indication of the level he was working at. The teacher couldn't make an assessment because the work she set was at a lower level. My son had no crossing outs in any of his maths books for over two years. Consistently finished first and was then set the task of helping the less able in the class. We paid for an independant assessment and showed this to the school. Sadly for my son, the school and the teacher in yr 4 would not/could not offer work that stretched him.

I can understand your concern about the SATS as the teachers use the assessment to set future work and set the children by ability but it is the SATS that cause the problem. If children are on track to attain the grade 2a,b,c there is little insentive for teachers to teach these children. If a school is rated by its results, then the school will want to focus its efforts on the children who need help to attain L2.

I would speak to his teacher though, I wish you lots of luck.

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mrz · 19/09/2010 15:31

I'm assuming if the class target is number bonds to 10 he has just left reception?
But that is the class target it may not be the same as his (individual) target I would find out about his target rather than rushing in and getting upset about class targets.

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snorkie · 19/09/2010 15:47

It's difficult to know what the right thing to do is and it is probably a little different for every child and every teacher, but definitely don't worry about SATs if he's really confident about his numbers (as he is) then he will do very well at them regardless. And ks1 SATs aren't very important in any case.

With Ds he cruised through maths at school, somehow always seeming to be well ahead of what was being taught (in spite of never having been taught it ifswim) and rarely if ever dropping marks in school work, tests or exams. We asked the teacher to give him more challenging work once in about year 1 - this resulted in slightly harder work being sent home do do as extra on top of what was done in school, which really wasn't what I had in mind at all and he only did about two lots of it as I recall. Some of his teachers were better than others at trying to make lessons more interesting, but ds never complained and was generally happy at school, so we didn't feel we needed to make a fuss. He missed as many maths lessons as he could for music and that's about as far as it went.

It worked for us - ds is now doing 2xA level maths in the sixth form (so not lost interest in the subject), still finding it very easy and still achieving very highly. So, I'm not sure what more could have been achieved by him pushing ahead earlier - well he might already have his A levels by now, but that's not always an advantage especially if you want to continue maths at university (as he thinks he might).

That's not to say this will be the right approach for every child of course, but I have a hunch that parents of mathsy children nearly always assume that more differentiated work is needed - essential even, whereas in practice it often isn't.

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mitochondria · 19/09/2010 16:12

naughtymummy - I could have written your post, except my boy is in year 1. He got a "number bonds to 10" target sheet too - he could do these before he started reception last year. So it isn't much of a target, really.

I haven't / won't go and say anything yet though - kind of agree with snorkie in that there isn't much sense in pushing him this early.

A primary teacher friend showed me this link:

nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/47122?uc=force_uj

they are maths problems for "able children in year 1 and 2" - they and are a little more interesting than just adding and subtracting bigger numbers together. We've had fun doing these together at home.

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domesticsluttery · 19/09/2010 16:42

I would be suprised if a Year 2 numeracy target was number bonds to ten. My DC did these and number bonds to 20 in Year 1 (and they were in a mixed Yr1&2 class as it is a small school). They also learnt their 2, 5 and 10 times tables in Year 1. DS2 is in Year 2 now and is certainly no maths whizz, but is doing number bonds to 100 and his 3 times table.

I would check with his teachers that this is his target, and if it really is then I would then have a chat with them about what he is able to do at home and find out whether it is different to the skills that he is showing in class. Sometimes their performance in class can be very different to what they do at home! But I wouldn't think of it as "tackling" the teacher as that is a little confrontational!

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