DD 'over' levelled in Maths?

[Happypiglet]

Bit of a weird issue but I am starting to think my DD (age 6 Year 2) is being over levelled in Maths.
She finished Year 1 on a 2b and is in the top set in Year 2 and has been asked to a Maths Club for the more able. So far so good but she often comes home from school saying she did not understand the Maths lesson. For instance today they were doing take away with cubes- so 5-2 for instance. Then they were being asked to check their answer (by doing 3 + 2) but she was convinced that to check it she should do 5 + 2... and didn't find the number sentence 5+2 = 3 odd this is not the only example- obviously I help her at home but seem to have to do a lot of explaining.
I find that she doesn't really have a good grasp of place order. She still uses her fingers to add and take away, she cannot reliably add on in 10s (let alone take away in 10s) - and as above doesn't seem to have a 'sense' of number...
However I am not sure if I am expecting too much and she really is doing OK. She finds shapes, graphs, time etc easy but does not get money at all.
My worry is that she is being moved on quite quickly (for instance doing partitioning of 100 numbers) when her basic grasp of place order is not secure.
It's parents evening next week and I wonder whether to raise it- she would be devastated to move 'tables' (lets face it they all know what the tables mean)
argg- not sure what my question is really maybe what does a level 2b look like and should I raise my concerns next week?

It's worth mentioning at parents evening. I sometimes found at that age that teachers occasionally didn't notice when a particular concept was misunderstood by the child.

Found this online, any help?

www.sandringham.newham.sch.uk/menu5/Supporting_Families/Helping_Your_Child_Learn/images/Maths_Expectations_Year_2.pdf

TBH I would expect a child who was at 2b to understand inverse operations like this. Certainly, it is something we would expect our level 2 child to be doing fairly accurately, especially with small numbers.

Young children can find 'money' confusing, wanting only to count the number of coins and not appreciating the 'value' of each coin. Bit surprising she can manage 'time' but not 'money'.

Re the checking by doing the reverse operation: if she does it with two colours of counters, cubes etc, it might help her 'get it' more easily.

I'll give you below stuff I always pass on to parents with numeracy queries, though some may not be relevant as it is aimed at various age groups:

QUOTE:

Practical things are best for grasping number concepts - bricks, Lego, beads, counters, money, shapes, weights, measuring, cooking.

Do adding, taking away, multiplication (repeated addition), division (sharing), using REAL OBJECTS as just 'numbers' can be too abstract for some children.

Number Bonds of Ten forms the basis of much maths work, so try to learn them. Using Lego or something similar, use a LOT of bricks (of just TWO colours, if you have enough) lay them out so the pattern can be seen of one colour INCREASING while the other colour DECREASES. Lay them down, or build up like steps.

So:

ten of one colour none of other
nine of one colour one of other
eight of one colour two of other
seven of one colour three of other

etc, etc

then of course, the sides are equal at 5 and 5; after which the colours 'swap over' as to increasing/decreasing.

To learn TABLES, do them in groups that have a relationship, thus:

x2, x4, x8

x3, x6, x12

5 and 10 are easy

7 and 9 are rather harder.

Starting with TWO times TABLE, I always say: "Imagine the class is lining up in pairs; each child will have a partner, if there is an EVEN number in the class. If one child is left without a partner, then the number is ODD, because an odd one is left out."

Use Lego bricks again, lay them out in a column of 2 wide to learn 2x table. Go half way down the column, and move half the bricks up, so that now the column is 4 bricks wide. That gives the start of 4x table.

Then do similar things with 3x and 6x.

With 5x, try and count in 'fives', and notice the relationship with 'ten' - they will alternate, ending in 5 then 10.

It is important to try and UNDERSTAND the relationships between numbers, and not just learn them 'by rote'.

I am sorry it seems complicated trying to explain these concepts, but using Lego or counters should make understanding easier.

An inexpensive solar powered calculator (no battery to run out!) can help learn tables by 'repeated addition'. So: enter 2+2 and press = to give 4. KEEP PRESSING = and it should add on 2 each time, giving 2 times table.

There are good web sites, which can be fun to use :

www.ictgames.com/

www.resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/index.html

UNQUOTE

Data collection and producing bar graphs or pie charts is also a useful activity, which Yr2 probably do. Count different kinds of traffic (cars, lorries, buses etc); in the park or country walk, count different trees, birds, animals (breeds of dog), plants; in town, colour of front doors; shops etc. Anything that gives numbers a PURPOSE rather than just being abstract concepts is good.

Thanks both that is very useful. It is clear to me from the list from Hulababy that DD is not a 2b- I am not too hung up on what level she has been (possible erroneously) assigned but that she is 'hurried' along too much.
Some of the things on that list I know they have not covered (angles) and some she is not secure on (counting back in 2s, 5s, 10s, doubles, facts to 20 for instance)
However other areas she is secure on- she can draw bar charts, do tally charts, understand Venn diagrams, tell the time, estimate measurements etc
Its really the number and calculating she struggles with.
Interestingly after we discussed it after tea she has then been doing the inverse checking correctly independently (setting herself her own sums including 2 digit numbers) ever since so I hope she has got it now!
I think I may speak to the teacher as I think it partly boils down to the explanations she is given- it may be that as she is in the top group they are not given as much guidance or support. She also has crises of confidence over it when she sees her table mates 'race away' and she is fumbling around a bit. The last thing I want is for her to feel she 'can't do maths'.
Once again many thanks for your help.

I find Maths very hard to level accurately, and I'm a Primary Maths Specialist with a number of years experience, so it's not at all impossible that she was over levelled last year. The old KS1 SATS papers were notorious for over-levelling children because it was (I'm told) possible to be a level 2 just by answering the shape, space & measure questions correctly. Number should have a weighting of 50% and you say that's what she struggles with. I also spend ages deliberating about a child's level, depending on how much they do independently. At our school, children who are judged (using APP) to be level 1 do a verbal assessment with the teacher 1-1, but if a child is judged to be level 2, they do a written paper. I've found there are lots of children who are regularly working at level 2 in lessons, but the written paper throws them completely and they can't answer questions I know they've done previously. Whereas if I do the level 1 assessment with them they sail through and get everything right.

So I wouldn't be surprised if your daughter hasn't been accurately levelled. But don't worry about the level - her teacher this year will know what she can and can't do in class. It may well be that the teacher knows she is the weakest on the top table, but there's a significant gap between her and the next child/group down, so their work wouldn't be appropriate for her either. In your position, I'd ask the teacher for things you can do at home to help her develop her understanding of number and calculations. What will they be doing at school over the next few weeks? Can the teacher let you know if there's anything your DD would benefit from going over again at home?

This website www.hullavington.wilts.sch.uk/attachments/Wiltshire_Bare_Necessities_KS1.pdf has some good ideas for games you can play at home to help her become confident with number - there's a KS2 set from the same team that you can also find online. Good luck!