Why are teachers saying that ds can't do number bonds up to 10, when I know he can?

[StarlightMcKenzie]

Grrrrrrr.

I have checked and checked his concepts, his understanding, and his rote ability and it's obvious he has had this skill for quite some time and yet his teachers are saying that this is his target until Christmas.

Why can't they see what I see? What more is there to it?

'ds' if there are 10 lanes on a motorway and 4 are going in one direction, how many are going in the other direction?' Correct reply.

'ds' which two groups of beads go together to make a group of 10?' Correct reply?

'ds what is 10 - 5?' correct answer

Why are we so out of sync?

fwiw he has ASD, - but I'm not sure that is relevant here.

Written?

Ah, well that us a WHOLE other issue...........LOL

School won't address his appalling and tiring pencil grip. Grrrrrr

But you what? I'll give it a try tomorrow all the same.

www.andrelleducation.co.uk/BMFreebies/BMBT%20Learn%20Its%20Tests.zip

If you look at the appropriate "test" for his age group the sheet will say how long is allowed to complete or you may want to start with Y1.

www.schooljotter.com/files/newoscott/Maths_Zone/Number_Club/7._Terrific_Tens.pdf

You are contextualising them (good idea) maybe the school are just doing it numerically and he can't quite relate to it in the same way?

Contextualising is very good. I did read somewhere that it was all wrong to learn number bonds and times tables sans context - that they then get stored in a verbal memory (like a poem) and retrieval is ridiculously hard work for the brain. Much better, apparently, to learn them in context as later retrieval will be quicker because they are stored differently.

I must look up where I read that as it is interesting...

Not read whole thread but had similar experience with son last year in year 1. He's not asd but he is a lazy git who needs to be strongly worded to do things properly and to muck around and he was getting a bit of a class flow reputation for giving silly answers to get a laugh out of the other kids by saying daft things.

Teachers won't always instinctively know when kids are giving wrong answer because they are mucking around, nervous, bored etc vs when they don't know the answer and ndstandably teachers won't want to push too hard if they think the child is struggling with the concepts.

Speak to the teacher about it. My sons new year 2 teacher Sussed him out immediately and doesn't take any crap, which is what he needs and my son is doing a lot better in class as a result.

Not suggesting your son is mucking around in class like mine, just giving aexampleof when teacher understands the child better they ar n a better posits to get the best out of them.

Class clown reputation, not class flow. Doh

Thanks sparky. I think you have a point about personality etc. In my ds' case his ASD. He doesn't like communicating with anyone if he can help it so if he is asked a question he will answer whatever he needs to answer to make the person go away the quickest. He's very accomplished at this skill and know that he has to be crafty.

Thank you mrz for those resources. I think they will be extremely helpful. DS hasn't covered the reception curriculum afaics so is starting it all a year late. Absolutely no reason why he can't catch up imo.

Having said that, I do now see the need to absolultely and without doubt make sure these concepts are secure before building on them, so will work a bit harder with him. He's obsessed with tape measures so there must be lots of opportunities.

spatsky, I mean

to be fair the school have been good when issues have been raised.

They told me that ds was having trouble with something due to his high sensory needs. I said 'sensory needs or not, giving a piece of marble run for doing it' and they did, and they were astonished at the miraculous skill acquisition of something they were convinced he was finding very difficult.

But he's moved into the main school now as last year he was still in the 'nuture unit', so different teachers, different curriculum etc.

It seems that there is always room for improvement with communication between schools and parents. This is another example. Child's target says 'number bonds to ten' and parents assume that only means all the ways to make ten when it really means all the sums that make all the numbers up to ten.

Sounds like school is generally doing ok with your ds, starlight, but I do wish they would in general provide more explanation of terms and concepts to parents who don't necessarily understand everything (just look at phonics!)

This was me as a kid. At home I could do it perfectly with my dad hammering questions at me, at school I was put on the spot and didn't like it, and wasn't pushed enough. Hated maths, no good at them, so no one thought I could do any better at them and left me alone. Maybe record your DS doing it well at home for the teacher to listen?