Year 6 Maths. OMG. <quiver> help

[QuintessentialShadows]

After 4 home works, I am at my wits end.

DS1 has always been good at maths. He whizzed through Y5 homework with no problem.

Because we were away for 3 years, he also had a maths tutor last year to help him catch up.

I am in full panic mode. Every single home work has been a struggle. There are 40 odd questions/exercises, like a big pick and mix, from calculating unequal fractions, mean and mode, how many degrees and what distance between Jack and the three, volumes of cuboids, area of triangles, HCF, lowest common multiple, half of them he does not know what to do.

I am not a maths teacher. I have not learnt maths for over 20 years. I dont know what to do!

Has he been taught all these types of calculation in school?

In year 6, I think it's in his interests to let him sink or swim, so the teacher knows what his real level is. You do nothing apart from ensuring he is properly working for the allotted time (or if none allotted, a reasonable time) and then write a note to say how long he worked for and to highlight any areas where he needs additional explanation.

Do you mean that he is struggling, and you don't know how to help him?

Whenever I have been in that situation I have always managed to find a website to help explain it to me so that I can explain it to DC in turn, might that be an option?

If not, I think you need to talk to his teacher and explain that it is too difficult for your DS and that he needs to be in a group that is working at a slower pace.

If it is the number of questions that is daunting then I would double check how long the school expects pupils to spend on maths homework - our primary school used to say 30mins - and just have your DS work for that length of time, even if he hasn't finished (you can add a note explaining).

I have not been able to find very helpful websites. I would like to find exercises he could do too, not just reading what to do with the various types of fractions. But all I find, you need to get a subscription and pay to see the exercises. I dont want to pay before trying to see if the site is any good.

I agree with sink or swim. Only, his teacher does not mark his work, she goes through it in class, so the only person knowing he had a problem is him.

BBC Bitesize is quite good, and doesn't need a subscription.

I also bought a KS2 maths book from WHSmith for about £5.

But tbh it really sounds as if you need to talk to his teacher.

I have KS2 maths books. To be honest, he worked through most of his ks2 book this summer, along with shoefield and sim Fractions, and Maths problem solving skills, and Maths on Target Y5.

I dont find these types of exercises in his books! (he took his sheets with him to school so I cant give exact examples)

Bitesize is mostly games, is it not?

If he doesn't know what to do, then either you or he must tell the teacher. Either the teacher has pitched the homework wrongly OR your ds is not understanding the lessons for some reason.

Shoring him up at home is not the answer, honestly. Have a word with the teacher.

I know.

He has already had nearly two weeks off sick since the beginning of term. He has hardly been in his lessons.

His teacher is aiming to put 1/3 off the class up for level 7 in the SATS, and I am wondering if this homework is pitched especially to find out who?

Have you got a good big WHSmiths,

CGP revision books are DDs fav. Not as glitzy as some, but work through the complete syllabus.

Available on Amazon probably cheaper, but you may want a proper flick through and compare (hence smiths).

Also ask school, we got lent Mathswatch CDs nearer SATs, but they would have been useful earlier in the year. (I've checked they only do multi disc school orders).

i use this website to help (me, not her!) understand dd's homework (also yr6). there are some links down the right hand side to the different school years, that will take you to another page with a whole lot of resources covering numeracy.

i find, most of the time they have done it in class, but she forgets and then gets flustered. sitting down and talking the homework through with her reminds her of what she's learned.

Level 7? Are you sure?

Thanks for mentioning the CGP, I just went to the website and found sample 11+ Maths papers - They look really simple and easy compared to the homework he has.

how on earth are they going to cover the level 6 AND level 7 work in Y6? Surely it's "just" level 6 (which is a lot of extra work by itself)?

I'm hoping level 7 was a typo..........

Level 7? I didn't think you could do that at primary school?

Sorry, level 6. 6

Surely you mean teacher wants a third of them to do Level 6 SATS paper? There is no level 7 paper for KS2 - Level 7 is higher than what is expected of the average child at the end of year 9!

L7 is very high, L6 is the usual absolute top for primary.

I'm guessing a private school showing off.
A bit silly if you ask me.

Most DCs that age want a life not to be tutored to GCSE standard in maths.

It's very debatable whether sitting exams early (which can be their only aim) is good practice.

cross posts

She will divide the class in three tables, level 4, level 5 and level 6 work. She gets two extra teachers on board.

Not a private school.

3 of the students in his class has been to a national maths competition, and done very well. The level in his class is very varied.

No Bitesize isn't just games, but if your DS has already worked through the KS2 curriculum as you say, and is being prepared for L6/7 at school, then it is probably time to invest in a KS3 workbook of the type Startail recommends.

My DS (Y8) has the CGP KS3 revision book and the GCSE revision book - really good explanations and examples.

Golly. In our 'outstanding' state primary there were 5 or 6 out of 30 who got level 6 in maths at the end of Y6 last year. They got a special prize in assembly. what is your school?

But I am really reassured by this, having seen the 11+ sample papers, I am confident he can do these.

He has told me everybody has different homework sheets, and if he is getting this homework, which seems beyond the sample papers, then I can breathe a little.

I got into a total panic thinking he was completely off target.

Six is quite feasible for top group primary.
DD2 tried and didn't get it, they started doing it after school far too late.

If school is starting now in main lessons then it's more than feasible.

It's about a D at GCSE (Y7 set1 at DDs comp). There is basic algebra and new concepts which is why it threw DD doing it too quick.

Starting now you should have chance to ensure your DS understands it properly and he should be fine.

Good luck