Is this really "behind" in maths?

[Handwasher]

Arggh so confused by what the school expect from my DS.

He is in year 2. At parents evening this week we were told he was 'slightly behind' in maths.

But he can count forwards and backwards in 5,2,10s and knows his 10 times table. They had this ticked off on their objectives sheet that he could do this. I thought that counting in 2,5,10 was what they needed to achieve by end of year 1 which he has done and then 10.5,2 times tables were what they needed to know by end of year 2. So if he already knows 10 surely he is well on track to have them all by the end of the year.

Or am I wrong. The teachers are really unhelpful as they just confuddle you with words and you are left no clearer than when you go in!

Are you sure it's just the times tables the teacher is talking about? There are many other areas of maths and it may be that there are other things that he is not entirely fluent with yet?

Well that was the only thing she showed me so I assumed that was what she was talking about. She didn't mention anything other than times tables to me.

Well what is he behind in?

• is it a particular areas of maths?
• is it behind the other children?
• it is behind where the school think he should be based on previous assessment?
• is he so infinitessimally behind so as to hardly make it worth mentioning?

Go back, and ask for specifics!

I think you'll only know what they mean if you ask the teacher. Maybe just say you've been thinking about what she said at parents evening and would like to know more about where he's behind in maths and what he should be able to do so you can help him at home?

Hi Handwasher:

This is new national curriculum programme of study for maths: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335158/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Mathematics_220714.pdf - it outlines the statutory requirements for what a child should be capable of doing by end of a particular school year. Year 2 info starts from page 11.

By the end of year 2 there is a quite a leap of core math calculation skills from end Y1. It's a lot more than just knowing 2/5/10 - which was o.k. in the old national curriculum (so if you have other older children that would have been fine). Certainly the statutory requirement is to be able to count in steps of 3s by end of Y2 - which thinking about it logically is x3 table and would be helpful for x6/ x9/ x12 tables (although there are tricks to use with x9).

Read through the 'statutory requirement' boxes for Y2 and I think you'll see that there's a lot of calculation skills and applied maths logic/ knowledge necessary which maybe your DC is a bit slow at compared to his classmates.

I do know that sometimes schools will have strong cohorts and treat what is a perfectly ordinary achieving child as if they're behind - so do bear in mind that what they may be saying is that they want him to be NC L3 (ahead of expected progress) by end Y2 and he isn't progressing fast enough for their liking.

KS1 SATs are teacher assessed in the main and that assessment can be made at any time (not necessary in May of the school year - although our school told parents they assessed for KS1 at the same time as KS2 SATs). So if the school is in fact thinking they'll assess in January - then yes it may be your child hasn't achieved all that is expected for end Y2. However, that's their schedule and not necessarily your child's.

HTH

Oh dear - I thought they did the SATs at the end of the school year so I'm a bit worried he's not going to be ready in Jan.

Yes - it does seem to be an extremely strong cohort this year which makes things very stressful as it feels like we are running really fast just to keep still.

I do lots with him at home but we never seem to catch up!

Just to point out that although there is a new National Curriculum, children in Year 2 (and Year 6) are still following the old one!!

yes yr2 this year should be on the old curriculum as I understand it. however presumably that means them playing catch up in Yr3 so perhaps the school is trying to do both?

I expect it is just a speed/confidence issue. DD1 is in Yr2 and they have been doing doubling, tables (2/5/10) and number bonds (quickly so know them immediately rather than work them out). but I don't know any more than that. she tends not to mention maths much.

I've never heard of schools assessing in January - they wait as long as possible to enable as many children as possible to do as well as they possibly can. So don't panic!

Schools will not be assessing in January for the end of year levels. What they may do is test in January (or they may have already administered the tests) but these are not the levels that are reported. Teacher assessment is continual and the teacher assessment level reported will be the level your child is working at at the end of Y2 not half way through.

The current yr 2s (and yr 6s) will be tested against the old curriculum not the new one so technically he isn't behind. But I would guess the school don't want them to have a huge leap into the new curriculum and expectations in yr 3 so are pushing them forward.

Did the teacher give you specific areas he needs to develop and practice?

It is important children UNDERSTAND number concepts, and not just 'recite' them like a poem! This is my standard numeracy advice:

?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

PS:
'Data collection' and producing graphs or charts is an easy activity, and will probably be covered in school, and attractive-looking results may stimulate interest in numbers and their manipulation. Thus, count makes of cars, different forms of transport; interview people for their favourite foods, TV shows, holiday destinations, toys etc.

Our school always issues year 2 says in last week of May and many local ones we the same so you may have a while yet. For info dd was taught 2, 5, and 10x tables in year 1. Year 2 is 3x and 6x for us with all tables done and dusted for year 3.

Times tables is just one part of maths- perhaps there are other aspects that he needs to work on. I'd ask the teacher for clearer targets, and in the meantime consider the following:

Mental addition and subtraction- can he very quickly answer questions like double 5, 6+3, 10-4, 3+4? Can he use different methods to do this? (e.g. counting back, counting on, using doubles)

Place value- can he explain that 34 is the same as 30+4, or 3 tens and 4 units? Can he add 10 to 34 without counting on?

Money- can he recognise all coins, can he count a handful of change?

Problems- can he understand and answer simple word problems e.g. balloons come in packs of 10. If I buy 3 packs, how many balloons will I get?

There are of course lots of other aspects, but think about some of these and talk to the teacher again- he/she should have been more clear with you.

In my experience applying what they know to solve problems is often the area most children struggle with in maths.

For multiplication/division and addition/subtraction it is important to develop instant recall of facts ... not good enough to just be able to recite tables in order.

There are other things such as weighing and measuring which are also part of maths. Is he good a doubling and halving too and his number bonds to 10?

Handwasher:

Agree heartily with mrz that there is a step up from knowing how to add and then applying that to a word problem (i.e. Charlie has 5 biscuits. Jane joins Charlie and adds 8 biscuits to his plate. How many biscuits are there). It's not just the maths - it's the reading and comprehension skills - which can sometimes lag behind maths skills or simply need to be developed (it is a way of thinking about things & it takes some training).

With DD1 - we found she responded very well to practice maths skills through video games.

As your DC is in Year 2 I'd heartily recommend:

BBC Bitesize KS1 Maths (there's also English & Science): www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/maths/ - you can control difficulty as well.

Math Champs: www.mathschamps.co.uk/#home - organised by age bands which can be a bit disheartening when your child is working in younger bands still - but ignore that - the games are good fun.

My personal favourite - Woodlands Junior School Maths Zone: resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/index.html - just search for the area you want to work on - lots of links to great worksheets/ games/ resources.

If your school subscribes to education city/ my maths/ etc.... - don't just use the subscriptions when they're assigned - they all have all sorts of games to help support maths skills.

HTH