DS2 - level 1 on maths and science end of yr2

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Which doesn't altogether surprise me but still a bit taken aback at how behind he is . However that is how it is. So what to do? The one thing that was emphasised in the report was lack of self-confidence in his abilities - he needs to be prepared to make mistakes in order to learn. But at home he is brimming with self-confidence - can't really see what we can to help with that.

The one thing that did upset me was her estimate of his drawing - she implied it was adequate, whereas in reality he draws the most complex and detailed drawings - but probably not at school.

What do we now? What's the best thing to do to help him?

First piece of advice - Don't panic!

Regarding the drawing, either your child is dumbing himself down (maybe a classmate said something about one of his detailed drawing, or his teacher doesn't "get it") Whichever it is, don't force him to improve, have a chat with him, leave plenty of paper/pencils/coloured pencils around, then when he draws something give him feedback such as, "I like the way you drew his fingernails but what do you think his eyebrows would look like."

For the maths, do a little bit everyday (say 10 mins). I like the Bond Nonsense Books, but the WHSmith Maths workbooks are good as well. Start on a work book that is younger than his age so either the 5-6yrs or 6-7yrs, in order to fill in any gaps in his maths knowledge and to increase his confidence. It's also important that his arithmetic skills are strong, test him orally or print off some worksheets, and again start with easy questions, "1+1, 1+2 etc.

For science, I tend to just order interesting, kid friendly booksets from The Book People.

Hope this helps

Thanks caroline - it does. I am not bothered abut the drawing, just surprised. I am also not bothered about the science - he will either get that or he won't. But the maths bothers me - when we do his hw he seems to have no ability to remember anything such as simple number patterns.

I will try the workbooks - I got some for DD a few years back and they did help.

ICTgames.com is a great website for level 1/2 Maths games.

Going down well feenie!

Excellent!

Hello, I teach maths and I have been doing quite a lot of reading about Dyscalculia, don't panic,instead run a search on the net.
Children who have this difficulty find it very hard to remember simple number facts. The part of the brain that deals with number facts is the same part that deals with language.
There is some research that suggests these children also need to revisit pre-numerical maths activities and then start to move forward. They have difficulty with the concepts of magnitude and size.
One way to check if your son is having difficulty with magnitude would be to have two dishes, put several beads in one dish and a few less in the other(maybe 12 and 10) ask which pot has the most(don't allow him to count) encourage him to guestimate first. Continue the game and see if he has problems guessing correctly.
Above all else, don't panic. Just try some pre-numerical games, they help to build confidence too, move slowly onto number, encourage the use of number lines, finger counting and abacus. Its been proven that finger counting is the best indication that a child will be able to do computation later to a higher level, the use of visual spatial learning resources taps into the part of the brain needed for higher level computation.
Unfortunately teaching in primary school now focuses too much on auditory learning of number facts and rote learning. Many children who are not gifted in maths are labelled so (because they have excellent memories!) other children who have real ability but are basically V.Spatials who use their own strategies are often missed in assessments because they don't rote learn. So don't worry too much about the memory, instead focus on building up his strategies and in the longer term, he may well do very well. Almost all our top mathematicians Einstien incl were Visual spatial thinkers.
Good luck.

Thanks minimaths - I will have a go at that tomorrow morning.

minimathsmouse - Unfortunately teaching in primary school now focuses too much on auditory learning of number facts and rote learning

Do you teach in the UK? It certainly has not been my experience that schools focus on number facts and rote learning. I guess besides 'number bonds to 10'. Other than that....

My DD is horrendous at maths - but school disagree and actually gave her a 2C in year 2 SATS despite only being able to add using her fingers, or a number square.

If it wasn't so sad you'd have to laugh. When I questioned why they thought she could add 10 to a number despite only being able to do it if a number square was in front of her, they said she's a visual learner.

classic.
Pupils who use a crib sheet during exams, can now class themselves as "visual learners".

At level 2, children are allowed to use a number square - but for level 3 they cannot. It's a stepping stone towards being able to do things mentally.

Feenie - Thank god the number square gets phased out for level 3 - I'd been told by the school that she was allowed to use the number square up until year 6.

Although if she makes average progress that means she'll still be able to use the number square for another 2 years. And I have severe doubts that her progress in Maths will be average - far more likely to be less than that.

But serioulsy, Feenie, if she can only do things with a number square, and shows no ability to do it by herself - how can they say she can do the task?

For example when I asked her to add 20 to a number she told me I know how to do it with a number square, I just go down 2 rows. But she seems to not know the relationship between going down 2 rows and numbers.

"But serioulsy, Feenie, if she can only do things with a number square, and shows no ability to do it by herself - how can they say she can do the task?"

Because that's the difference between level 2 and level 3!

You are right to be concerned as to how she can progress from there, and it does sound as if she has problems if she isn't making any links yet.

But the school have assessed her correctly atm.

it seems that the task is "how to use a number square?" rather than "how to add 20?".
Interesting to know what percentage of children fail to use a number square correctly.

No, the task is 'how to add 20 using practical equipment'. Just like at level 1 in Year 1 where children have to add and subtract using conkers/pennies/beads/cubes/elephants, whatever. Would you say then that actually those children can't add and subtract up to 5 at because they do it practically? They are just skills on a hierarchical scale towards performing a calculation mentally later on. No need to scoff because young children need scaffolding to start with - that's how they learn.

no I think conkers and fingers are very good because they are real physical things which ingrain the concepts in the mind. I'm not so sure about number squares, they seem to me to be more like calculators and don't have the physical aspect which helps with learning. An abacus is a form of calculator but it is good because it is physical.

It's actually very good for children to use number squares, and they are an excellent teaching tool to help children spot patterns and see relationships between numbers - I can't think of anything better. They are invaluable when it comes to teaching odd and even, for example, or counting in twos, threes, fives, etc. It helps them see how everything fits together. It is also a 'real physical thing' because children can actually see how it works in practice, rather than working in the abstract for these concepts.

yes good point. Now I understand the benefit of them as a learning tool. The counting in twos, threes and fives is very good because you can see them all displayed at once before you and can jump three etc., a bit like a number line.

Exactly. Except that you can also actually see the relationship and what happens to the numbers in say, a column like 11, 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, etc , in a number square, which you couldn't do in a number line.

yes I was wrong it is good. You can spot all of these patterns and they will stick in memory instantaneously in one visual image. It allows you to visualise many different patterns all at once. It is a clever way of representing so much information in so small a space.

Claig / Feenie - thanks for helping me out with this. Sometimes I hate MN - all those Mums / Teachers who disagree with me - and yet on other threads, like this one, I've learnt so much.

Thanks

No probs - glad to help!
There are some good games on ICT games specifically to help children find their way around a number square - don't know if it will help your dd, Indigobell, but maybe worth a try?

would you be able to afford some tutoring during the holidays?

my son was ok on all subjects but his writing has let him down and so i am getting a couple of sessions over the summer.

I probably could afford it but TBH I'm not sure it would help. He just zones out if anything you do with him hints at MATHS. Games are good if you can disguise the fact that they are maths games - if he realises he just comes up with 'I don't like maths' or' I can't do maths'. It's very frustrating - both DH and I mathematically-minded although that was far from the case for me at school.

We just can't helo him by any obvious means he w0n't let us

its so hard isn't it. If you are in the northamptonshire area and do want a tutor though let me know and I will send you the details of the lady we use. She is really good

We've just bought numbershark - my DS (7) loves the computer and this game has hundreds of options and seems good. Pricey but I think it should be a good investment... I've got two more after him!