Year 7 maths homework

I have a love hate relationship with maths, passed Standard Grade, Higher and even some Uni level maths as part of my science degree, as well as helping DS through Nat 5 Mathematics - now he has passed that we both have no desire to do any more maths unless it helps us do something else! I would expect a primary teacher to be able to teach all primary levels of maths and a secondary teacher all secondary levels of maths (and primary I suppose too!).

Yes! We had to relearn BODMAS and long division in this last 2 weeks. My child has an ehcp and is doing ‘core’ maths which I suspect is lower level than some kids are doing too 🤗

@EatYourVegetables your example using reading is not fair or accurate.

When talking about maths equations a more comparable response would be something like interpreting a poem (language, themes, symbolism, structure etc) and writing a persuasive essay about it. It is not just about reading the words. Many adults are not able to do this effectively either.

It's not something people on this thread seem proud about to me - just stating a fact that it is now a skill lost to them after years of not using it.

I got a c in maths and yet am perfectly able to help my year 8 and year 11 children with their maths homework. It takes about 15 seconds to
look at the relevant page of a textbook and most of the year 7 curriculum is pretty simple stuff. I agree this is all very depressing.

This.

All the questions about energy bills, whether it is better to overpay a mortgage or save separately or what the average disposable income or grocery spend is probably wouldn't exist if people in general took more of an interest in understanding basic maths.

But that's not the same as struggling to help is it? I often don't use the same method as they are taught now. I look at DC's knowledge organiser to see how they are taught and sometimes I'll google their method. But fundamentally, the concept behind is the same.

I'm voting you are being unresonable only because I didn't find Year 7 maths hard. DC1 is in Year 8 and all her maths are easy to do without having to look up anything.

Disclaimer is that I have an engineering degree. Math is probably my strongest Year 7 subject. I find science harder as I often have forgotten the terms and have to google.

Mean
Median
Basic statistics - just so you know when someone gives you a statistic, you can have a reasonable idea of what it means.

Percentages - so useful to know when it comes to inflation, loans, pay rises

Value for money - are you getting value for money when you buy items*

*See also shrinkflation

Maths is so useful for everyday living and there are people and companies who take advantage of people who don't see a point to it.

I have never understood maths beyond + - x÷. I don't know my 7 & 8 times tables. My DD got a six in Maths at GCSE and that was a herculean effort. Her dad can add & subtract, but is good at working out odds (he bets on football and horseracing) but that's it. My daughter is doing Humanities for A level. She's glad she's dumped Maths

We are more an arts and humanities sort of family. I don't need maths beyond using a calculator for certain things. My STBXH is the same.

Ds school use an online program for the maths homework which is great as not only does it give answers straight away so you know if it’s right they have videos to watch to recap the topic and the methods used.

they also have access to extra activities if more revision is needed.

Plenty of people don’t enjoy reading, or struggle with comprehension, etc. I love reading, but it doesn’t bother me that others don’t. I’m sure they have other interests and skills.

To be honest, if posters have managed to get through 20/30/40 years of post school life without needing to use certain elements of mathematics, then they’re obviously not that vital.

It's depressing that someone who could be allocated a year 6 class doesn't have enough of an understanding of Mathematics to provide work they can mark for those in the class who are beyond Y6 maths.

Maybe OP only teaches KS1.

At any rate, primary teaching and secondary teaching are very different kettles of fish. I don't think it's fair to criticise and try and compare the two.

Primary teachers aren't maths specialists though and secondary is a completely different syllabus. Thete is no requiremeht for prinary teachers to be maths specialists as they have to teach maths,English, science, PE, PSHE, history, geography etc. Therefore why should they have subject specialist level maths skills?
In theory secondary school maths teachers should be specialists in maths, unfortunately with the current recruitment and retention crisis, in many cases that isn't true. I would personally be more worried about whether my DC's maths teacher was a maths specialist than whether a primary teacher can do Yr 7 maths.

If you put the maths question on here then I'm sure several mumsnetters including me would be able to help show you the method to answering it.

Last year I ended sending a piece to my brother who has a Masters in Maths... we finally worked it out but his response was "why do they want them to that?". It wasn't hard as such, just illogical. But then a few lessons later they did something harder, using the same techniques and it made sense.

Her homework actually comes with instruction videos. She rarely actually asks for help.

As @BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz said, it’s depressing that teachers in Year 6 don’t know the content of Year 7. And it illustrates how bad maths and science education is in this country.

Further, it’s depressing how PROUD all these PPs are of not knowing maths. Can you imagine someone being this proud of their ignorance in another subject? Can you imagine someone saying “Yeah I never really got reading” or “My reading is at the level of an 11 year old child and I am proud of that”?

It's depressing that someone who could be allocated a year 6 class doesn't have enough of an understanding of Mathematics to provide work they can mark for those in the class who are beyond Y6 maths.

What's depressing about it?

I don't remember most of what I learnt in secondary school - especially things I've never had to think about since.

The only maths I use these days is basic addition and subtraction - everything else is done by software or apps.

Asking ChatGPT to explain the answer to 'and quote the question' is a really really brilliant way to get you started. The answer won't be perfect til you get the hang of asking the question. A few goes and you will get it ok.

Good luck

What on earth are they learning? I only scraped an o level in maths and even I was able to follow a good deal of Y7 maths, it wasn't that different to ks2 and that was top set stuff as (unlike me) my dc are good at maths.

Yes, DS maths really hard.
They have only been in Y7 for 3 weeks- surely they will still be doing Y6 stuff just making sure the whole class are ok with that?

What are you actually struggling with?
In this house, it's the arts/languages side that we are less likely to be able to help with.

Google can be your friend.

However, what year do you teach? I think some CPD might be in order if KS2.

I haven't been able to help with maths since they went into Y6. It went beyond anything I remember doing for GCSE. Though I instantly forgot everything after the exams and never used any maths I learned for GCSE in life.

Primary teacher here. Often help Secondary kids with Maths: my own/ family/ and sometimes outsiders. Always take time to study it up beforehand. Don't get landed with them just asking. They give me the topic. I have the books. I go through it a few times, different examples until l am comfortable to help. Sometimes l use a different method to their teacher..unknowingly..but that helps them understand better or maybe suits them better.
It's all about prior warning, look at examples and swot up.

And if I get really stuck…then I ask older sibling to show younger sibling!