Help with Yr 1 numeracy please

[Allegrogirl]

My DD1 is coming on brilliantly with literacy after a bit of a shaky start in foundation. We are supporting her with writing, phonics, spellings and lots of reading which is loving.

However I am clueless about numeracy at this stage. She doesn't get much numeracy home work apart from looking for examples of shapes, talking about money a bit maybe. I brought it up at parents evening but it was early in the school year and we had a lot of ground to cover (behaviour and poor attention).

I don't even know what number bonds are . Is there an idiots guide I can refer to?

I guess you could try something like this?

It does seem like they've invented a whole different set of maths since I was a girl...

DS is still in reception, so I've got all this to look forward to.

Or this
which is great if you understand Maths but don't understand modern ways of teaching it

You will know all this but it was probably called something different when you were at school (not implying that you're old, it was different for me too!). Number bonds to 10 would be 7 and 3, 8 and 2, 9 and 1 etc etc (see how easy it is).

My DD is struggling with her numeracy too. Her reading and writing seem to be no trouble to her.

When I learnt numeracy in early primary, we used number lines. Can anyone say if these are still used. She seems to be really struggling with number bonds (and addition and subtraction) even when using visual things like sweets or toys. I feel like a number line might work for her, but I don't want to go against what she is learning in the classroom.

DS1 is in yr1 and has been taught to use a number line. His main stress is being able to draw a number line neat enough that he can actually use it for counting on.

We had printed ones stuck to our table. Seems a shame that he is unable to learn maths because he is struggling with drawing the number line!

My DD is still not very neat and she does take her time with reading, but she doesn't seem to mind those exercises. When a numeracy thing comes up she starts getting stroppy and refuses to do it.

Read "maths for mums and dads" by rob eastaway. It explains a lot about how maths is taught at primary level and how to help your child.

At home count stuff to reinforce concept of numbers. Count out plates, number of fish fingers, how much is 1 more or 1 less. Count how many stairs, what if you go up 2 at a time? How many then? Share out sweets etc so everyone has the same amount. Give a small amount of pocket money each week that uses a few coins (for a while we did 87 p as that was one of each coin but it got to be a pain in the neck!)

WH Smiths or Waterstones do KS1 revision guides and workbooks which will go over all your child will learn at this stage and the workbook will give them a chance to practise. They only really learn maths by doing it themselves rather than being told how to do it. I liked Letts, but CGP are equally good or there may be others you and your ds like the look of better. I also used to have an A4 book so I could explain things or give examples for them to try as we went through the books and coloured pens to make it look interesting.

BBC Bitesize is also good.

Hello there:

First off my advice is look into the new national curriculum programme of study for maths: www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-mathematics-programmes-of-study - scroll down and click the programme for KS1 & KS2. Year 1/ 2 = KS1 and Years 3 - 6 = KS2.

So this document will tell you broadly what should be covered by year and therefore can help you to gauge the kind of things your child should be learning to do during a given school year.

So for Year 1 - the statutory requirements are:

Statutory requirements for Y1 (page 6 of KS1/ 2 programme of study)

Pupils should be taught to:

? count to and across 100, forwards and backwards, beginning with 0 or 1, or from any given number

? count, read and write numbers to 100 in numerals; count in multiples of twos, fives and tens

? given a number, identify one more and one less

? identify and represent numbers using objects and pictorial representations including the number line, and use the language of: equal to, more than, less than (fewer), most, least

? read and write numbers from 1 to 20 in numerals and words

Things you can do for free on-line to help:

First off can I introduce you to ICT Games: www.ictgames.com/counting.htm - I've put in 'counting games' and would highly recommend bead string (numbers to 10 or 20) and later abacus (so understanding place value that the 1 in 13 represents 1 ten and the 3 represents 3 units).

the wonderful Woodlands Junior School Maths Zone: resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/ - a lot of the skills for KS1 can be practiced as games under 'NUMBER SKILLS' section. - there are some lovely 100 square number games on this website as well: resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/interactive/numbers.htm - in fact a lot of games on this number skills page are really useful for early maths skills practicing.

Math Champs: www.mathschamps.co.uk/#home - has free games organised by age bands 5-7, 7 - 9 and 9 - 11.

Cool Maths 4 Kids www.coolmath-games.com/1-number-games-01.html - has some lovely number games as well (again free).

With all these games - I find it is useful to try them out first yourself and gauge whether they're too complicated or stressful for your child. However, I have sometimes been very surprised what my DDs have taken to.

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Now for KS1 there are a ton of early maths workbooks. You literally can go to any newsagent or book shop and see a wide selection. My advice is take your DC along and let them guide you what to chose. Some children prefer proper numbers (DD2) and others prefer to learn these early concepts visually (DD1).

If your school subscribes to My Maths or Education City - there are all sorts of games you can play any time on these - so find out your child's username/ password and encourage them to play for 5 - 10 minutes whilst you make dinner/ etc...

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Ordinary things about home you can do:

Snakes & Ladders is brilliant - you can start with just counting on (so addition) but gradually encourage your child to count on in jumps - maybe jumps of 2 (if even) or 2s and then 1 (if odds). You can work on subtraction by playing it backwards.

Once your DC is ready for numbers >6 - just add another die - 2 dice = 12, 3 dice = 18, 4 dice = 24 - the game goes a lot faster (which can be a good thing) but you can always play it forward and backward again to make it go faster.

When it comes to learning times tables - you can use the dice to help. So you can declare you are paying snakes and ladders for x2 and use 2 dice - then each roll is what you multiply 2 by - so for example if you roll a 4 it's 4 x 2 = 8 (move forward 8).

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SNAP

Just use an ordinary deck of cards. Pick a starting number - so maybe '6' - write it down on a sheet of paper or a post-it. Shuffle deck. Ace = 1, 2 - 9 as numbered and Jack/ Queen/ King all = 10. Flip a card - say it's a '4' - what is 6 + 4. It's 10. It may take counting on fingers at first - but it all works toward being able to add mentally.

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NUMBER BONDS

Schools really overkill on learning all number bonds 'for' 10 - 1+9/ 2+8/ 3+7/ 4+6/ 5+5/ 6+4/ 7 + 3/ 8 + 2/ 9 +1 - of course also 10 + 0 & 0 + 10. BUT I really think it is important to learn them for numbers 5 - 9 as well (

Thank you all for your ideas and book suggestions. I will get some work books for us to do with her to see how she is getting on. Might try 'Maths for mums and dads' too.

Sadly I have no good memories of being taught numeracy. I went to 8 schools and either missed things completely or repeated 2 or 3 times. My arithmetic is very good and I am a whizz with Excel but at primary school it scared the hell out of me! I will try and get past the jargon and work on the skills I need to support my DDs.

Past, if the OP's child is in year 1 now, the 2014 curriculum won't become statutory for her until she is goes into year 3 in Sept 2015. The version that is relevant for her will be the current curriculum until she reaches the end of KS1.

In terms of number bonds I would start by getting her to 'take apart' or decompose numbers using objects. E.g. if you have 5 biscuits and 2 plates how many biscuits could be on each plate? Then say the number sentence out loud - 1 and/add 4 makes 5 altogether. You could then write it down - 1+4=5. This works with towers of linking cubes, toy farm animals in fields, dolls in different rooms of the dolls house. Whatever might interest her.

Once she can do this, then I would move on to learning them so she knows them quickly. Agree with Past that it should be all the numbers to 10 not just the number bonds for 10 itself.

I like the idea of "taking apart" numbers and making number sentences about them. The things that really confused me at first were the grid method for multiplication and partitioning numbers before adding and subtracting. Have you looked here? www.mathsright.com/ There are some free information sheets you can print out.

My DD1 is Y1 and I've been doing some mental maths with her whenever we're walking somewhere. I ask her questions like 'what's one more than...' 'one less than...'As well as simple addition/subtraction e.g. three plus two. I also try to vary the language a lot, so I might say add/plus/more than/count on.

We have a hundred square up at home and we've spent a bit of time looking at the tens and units digits and what they mean- so she can answer questions like 'if I had three tens and seven units, how many is that?' Or 'what is ten less than 57?'

I also agree with the post above recommending the ictgames website- DD1 especially likes the shopping game, where you 'scan' the item to check the price, and then have to choose the right coins to pay.

Hi Rafa:

I hear you and agree it totally depends on the school.

This is what the Old National curriculum said in summary for KS1 (Y1 - Y2):

During key stage 1 pupils develop their knowledge and understanding of mathematics through practical activity, exploration and discussion. They learn to count, read, write and order numbers to 100 and beyond. They develop a range of mental calculation skills and use these confidently in different settings. They learn about shape and space through practical activity which builds on their understanding of their immediate environment. They begin to grasp mathematical language, using it to talk about their methods and explain their reasoning when solving problems.

The mathematics programmes of study and the primary framework for mathematics are fully aligned. The framework provides a detailed basis for implementing the statutory requirements of the programme of study for key stage 1 in mathematics.

Building on the early learning goals

Pupils' prior experience of mathematics includes:

counting and using numbers to at least 10 in familiar contexts

recognising numerals 1 to 9

talking about and creating simple patterns

beginning to understand addition as combining two groups of objects  
and subtraction as 'taking away'

describing the shape and size of solid and flat shapes

using everyday words to describe position

using early mathematical ideas to solve practical problems.

(source: www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/primary/b00199044/mathematics/ks1 - page 2 of 14

So it isn't a hundred miles for the new statutory requirements for Y1. The problem is some Year 1s are tackling addition/ subtraction (starting with single digit work - so numbers to 9 - and then moving on if appropriate) - and others (like our school in years previous) weren't.

Our school now has really raised standards in maths and Y1 clearly are doing simple addition/ subtraction work (often with objects but moving to formal numeric problems) - but this is also the result of being specifically tackled on poor maths curriculum during OFSTED inspection in 2012.

I know of some schools that have just gone ahead and moved teaching over to new curriculum standards and others are still using 'old curriculum' with no sign of putting much in place yet of 'new curriculum' - it is of course complicated by the fact that SATs testing over the next few years will reflect 'old curriculum' as apparently it takes a few years to design/ review/ test out new standard SATs exams.

I fear we're in something of a limbo at the moment. However, just looking at it logically - it probably is better to be working to higher than lower standards long term.

I will say that 'write' numbers has always been losely interpreted - some schools teach children how to spell eight others don't. I ended up teaching DD1 how to spell words for numbers in Y5. She didn't know how to spell eight, eighteen, eighty; let alone one hundred, one hundred and fifty-six, etc...

It's complicated further by the fact that the bits in the new curriculum document for 'year 1' don't have to be taught in year 1 either. The only statutory part is that they need to be taught by the end of KS1. In theory. How that will work in practice when OfSTED come round is a different matter.

I think there was a bit more of a change in the original draft of the new curriculum but stuff got taken out after the consultation period. Personally I'd rather see less taught more securely at KS1. Harder/bigger numbers isn't always better when it comes to early maths.

Year Ones will still be assessed against the old curriculum criteria when the are assessed at the end of Year Two in eighteen months time, so should still be working on the old curriculum in Y1. They will be the last cohort to do so.

This is my standard info for these questions:

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

Hi Rafa:

Just a Mum - so I don't know what the government is saying to teachers - but as a parent if the new National Curriculum programme of Study is saying what I quoted is a 'statutory requirement' for Year 1 - I do think parents aren't being totally unfair to think this should be taught to - and ideally mastered by - DCs in Y1.

All I can say observationally is this is achievable in Y1. Schools clearly are doing this in the area - but.... it is raising the bar, does require practice and help when concepts are tricky and probably necessitates good communication with parents on when numeracy skills should be learned/ methods preferred by school.

I fear it's the getting parents on board & prepared to help bit that our school so spectacularly fails at (i.e. having a maths workshop for Y2 parents in early July is rather late in the day - as one parent said in the feedback - would this have been better as a workshop to prepare us for expectations in KS2/ Y3 given Y2 is nearly done now).