To think a 9/10 yo should be able to add 8+7 in their head?

[WittiestUsernameEver]

Am I missing something?

A few kids I've been with around 9-10 (yr 5) have struggled with what I'd consider simple mental arithmetic? So one definitely couldn't do 8+7, another struggled with 5+9, and the third child had a similar question.

Am I expecting too much? Is it the way maths is taught these days makes it harder somehow ? Don't they have to do this very much? I'm genuinely surprised.

My 5 year old knows the answer. It’s basic mental maths

Sorry my brain may be addled by time passing but…

reception age children adding 8+7 and 5+9??

my two maths enthusiasts (Alevel maths + further maths)…one at RG uni doing astrophysics, the other in yr 12 with As in recent mocks for both…

could only count on one hand to 5 at that stage

They couldn’t add or subtract greater than those 5 fingers

i don’t remember maths being a big push, it was reading and handwriting at that age 🤷🏻‍♀️

Haha Haggis. You forget that everyone of Mumsnet is raising a mini Einstein!

They’re either not concentrating (entirely possible) or they’re ‘working towards’ in Maths. Only a few children in my Year 4 class would need to use fingers to work that out and I can only imagine a child with significant SEN getting it wrong.

Dd year 3 so 7 answered it correct with help from her fingers but she is emerging in maths. I totally expect her to get it by end of year 3 judging by how her maths is taught...I'd say in her class it be 60÷ who gets it right now but by next year aged 8 most should...

@HaggisHhahaha you’re right that number bonds to five is the focus in Reception. A child who enjoys Maths probably could go into double digits if given the chance though. This type of question is in the curriculum for Year One but many children will use notation / manipulatives to find the answer.

I struggle to do mental maths or spell things in my head, I have to write them down to "see" them (the irony of being partially sighted and needing to do this hasnt past me by...)

I, despite this, have A level physics, a science degree and a masters in data and I work in data so I wouldn't necessarily worry that not being able to do mental maths means that they are bad at maths

I could do these types of sums at age six months, but unlike kids today I wasn't helicopter parented by tiktok crazy snowflakes who think that a mobile phone is a suitable substitute for a good education and an abacus.

My ds had to know this at 7 when he wrote the 7+. I really thought time tables were taught this early.
I would be really shocked if a 9yo could not do this simple, simple sum

Agree - multiplication was taught in KS1 for my DCs and I also learnt it when in primary school all those years ago, distinctly remember playing the “buzz game” in y6 over 3 decades ago

I agree. I teach Yr 5 and this year group have very shaky foundations in Maths and SPAG. They understand the Yr 5 content, but fall down on basic number sense and things like full stops and capital letters. They missed the crucial deliberate practice when they were younger.

Ds9 would struggle he’s in yr4 & below expected in maths, always has been. Currently being assessed for dyslexia & processing difficulties. Dd8 could do it easily as could dd6 in yr2. Ds4 in reception not a chance.

My year 6 ds needed to use his fingers. He got there in the end though. He has moderate learning disabilities.

I'd expect year one children to be able to do those, some children will be able to in reception or earlier.

I teach 9/10 year olds (Primary 5) and the amount they have been affected by covid is insane. The things like basic number bonds and basic times tables just don’t seem to have stuck with them (that and a whoooole range of other problems!)

I’ve just started as a TA in secondary school and working in maths intervention groups for yr7 & yr8 and those coming up in September as the maths for many is behind. Ds9 missed a lot due to two lockdowns and there are huge gaps in his maths. Try as we might, cannot catch him up.

My DS is P5 and it's endemic in our local authority according to teachers. I think a lot of people posting about their advanced mathematical abilities are forgetting what happened in schools 4 years ago when these kids were 5 and supposed to be learning the basic maths principles.

Absolutely. That and a massive lack of resilience, problem solving, team work and general people skills.

I'm 30 and I can't do that! I do think I have discalculia though.

9 and 10 year olds will have missed half of year 1 and half of year 2 of schooling due to Covid closures. I seriously believe this has had a direct effect on their education and things like basic maths are much harder for them than current year 1 and 2 who are being taught in school by teachers. They have moved on to harder maths in line with the curriculum but basics are missing.

So glad to see this from a teacher. It does seem so much harder for this age group.

My 6 year old can do it but 9 year old struggles

I think the vast majority of kids that age would absolutely be able to do that sort of sum in their heads with no bother.

However, obviously there are always going to be some kids who do struggle, just like there are always going to be some kids who really struggle with reading, so I don’t think the couple of kids you’ve encountered who couldn’t manage it are representative of the norm.

Also, as a PP said, without context it’s hard to know whether panic/shyness/social anxiety might have been a factor.

Ds could do that kind of simple maths in the womb.

That late?

My nephew could do it before my sisters egg was even fertilised

How do you cope with such a slow learner?

😉