Times Tables work: should DD be doing it?

[AMouseLivedinaWindMill]

DD is good at maths, not gifted, but seems to have the brain for it.

Understands concepts quickly etc.

she knows her 1,2,3,4,5, 10,11 and 12 tables.

she is in year 1 and they are getting HW on 2 table and 10 etc.

I was hapy with this as I thought its re in forcing what she knows, ie she will know them even better.

She herself though has been saying its too easy for her.

Should I leave it and let her carry on, or should I mention to teacher?

I would ask what she is doing in class. This is, presumably, reinforcing what she knows but it does not appear to be extending what she knows. I tended to ask if I thought work was a bit easy.

it does not appear to be extending what she knows

YES THAts the thing I was tying to articulate .

Anyone think thats matters at this point? Or is it worthy of a mention?

Yes, but you might have to do it in a way that doesn't annoy the teacher. I would give continue giving her harder work at home and extending her. You could find out which maths workbooks they use in class, buy some and then show them, completed, to the teacher. Depending on how sensitive the teacher is (e.g. a less confident teacher might not believe she did them herself) you would move forward from there.

Or just mention it like ' my daughter seems to be finding this stuff quite straightforward, do you think she's ready for harder material, I'm not sure about thing myself but would it be possible to give her some harder material and exercise your judgement? I would welcome your opinion'.

It sounds sucky uppy and creepy but anything is worth it to get your daughter out of the time-wasting rut of being taught what she already knows. It might be painful but it's that old technique of telling somebody something but making them believe they reached the conclusion on their own.

Frsutrated thanks for that, I dont suppose you have any idea how well they are supposed to know them in year 1?

That's one thing the teacher WILL be able to tell you, and if that's the level they are learning at, that will be the average expectation. It's clear your daughter is well beyond that.

Do you know if she has full understanding of the times tables, as well as knowing them off by heart? Is this something you could practise with her? or check on? I don't suppose her reading is good enough for word problems? Can you do verbal multiplication problems with her, not two times three but if I have two bags of three apples, how many apples do I have? If she's good at these then she would be understanding what's going on, and you could edge forward along these lines. You could then start talking about 'having ten apples, and five children, so how many apples does every child get' to see if her grasp is good enough for division.

That's what I would do. Beyond that I would be taking apples and pieces of paper and cutting them into halves and fourths etc and start talking about fractions, not in an arithmetical way, but if a very practical, empirical way. Grasping that a half is 'one divided by two' - that opens up an entirely new world.

You'd have to be careful not to push her so much she starts to hate it all, but so long as she enjoys it, and you don't push her beyond her willingness, it could all be very exciting.

her reading is excellent but I do think word problems could be the way to stretch her more and great idea about apples etc.

It's through the word problems that she would begin to understand what it's all about, what it's all for and what it all means. I love times tables and think they are very useful, particularly for children who don't and will NEVER have a great grasp of maths, because at least they always know their tt's! But if your daughter is quick at picking up concepts and understanding their application, she could be first a talented arithmetician and hopefully soon a terrific mathematician too!

she seems to pick things up quickly to me, but my Maths is literally zilch. so I am not the best yard stick here which is why I am asking for guidance.

I am reluctant to do more with her at home in terms of extra HW as she hates HW. We usually do a table in the holidays so this half term will try and crack another one. I will try the words though and apple.
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This seems to be a problem with the new curriculum - that teaching is prescribed for a year group. In theory the most able children should be extended, but they haven't got it right at my DD's school either and she is also saying she is bored.

Good luck with it. Plenty of other opportunities too, like if you have a draughts set, they are great for making maths patterns on a checkered board, or piling up, and dividing etc.

Thanks Frustated really helpful.

red, we were told they would all be working at diff levels.

Yes, that's my point - you may have been told the children will work at different levels, but actually your DD is doing something she finds very easy - she's not being given work at an appropriate level for her.

Oh I see I am sorry red.

I am not sure though how the teacher would know, DD knows some of her tables unless I told them. They hand out HW it comes back right, they think she is getting it? Rather than already got it?

yep if they don't test them to a higher level then they won't know they are capable of it.

I think just have a quiet mention that you think she is already confident at.... and do they have any suggestions how you can build on this (like applying it). that way you are telling them what she can do (which they probably don't realise) but without telling them the work is too easy. One classic thing they will be looking for is does she just know them by rote or does she understand it all, can apply it, know them out of order, when asked in different ways and so on.

no

If I ask her 5 x 10, 2 x 10, 9 x 10, 3 x 5 , 10 x 5 etc she will know that.

On a basic level like her recent homework she will know 5 crates of 10 oranges is 50.

What I would like to do, is say she seems to know these tables can THEY test her and gage what to do! To make sure she knows them how they want her to know them.

Hello AMouse...

I think frustrated baker is raising a point that does play out in many schools (and certainly did in ours) - some schools are very determined to only teach certain things at certain times. The traditional view being x2/ x5/ x10 is Year 1. Maybe x3/ x4 is Year 2. All the rest for KS2 lower (Years 3/4). It's not ideal - but the choice of pace may make sense in the wider context of the entire maths curriculum.

What you can do? As frustrated baker suggested - you can raise this with the teacher. I find that by saying something like 'We think DC can do x, do you agree and what would you suggest DC works on next? What would you like us to do at home to support that?

Explore the many free resources that can allow your DC to really enjoy their growing maths skills.

Woodlands Junior School Mathszone is fabulous - there's all sorts of links to games/ resources there to really get in a lot of practice and build skills: resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/ - just select the area you're interested in (for example multiplication) and then have an explore.

Multiplication.com has lots of games to reinforce & secure multiplication skills: www.multiplication.com/

Maths Champs is recommended by Mumsnet on their Learning Resources pages - it has a lot of free maths games organised by age: www.mathschamps.co.uk/#home

NRICH maths is a resource from Cambridge University which provides challenging puzzles (and answers) for more able pupils - your child would be classed as 'primary lower' here: nrich.maths.org/primary-lower - on the right you'll see a box labelled collections - click School Maths topics - under Number there are all sorts of puzzles to solve involving patterns/ sequences/ addition/ multiplication/ etc.... They do provide answers - so you don't have to be intimidated.

If your school has a subscription to a maths tutorial (My Maths/ Maths Whizz/ etc...) don't just use it for homework - let your DC play the games and try other lessons. If your school has a general support package - education city for example - there's lots of games there.

BBC Bitesize KS1 is meant to prepare Year 2 pupils for KS1 SATs - but your DC may enjoy the maths games there: www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/maths/ - this page has been archived apparently (changing for new curriculum) - but I think the games still work.

I know it's not an ideal solution - but sometimes it's just easier to do more quietly at home than go to battle with the school.

HTH

Wow thanks so much Past. So useful.

My problem is however, I have got work books for her in the past and she loved doing them.

Now, she has lost enthusiasm for them. Which is why I was wondering if the school should be made aware she knows her tables.

However as far as I am aware she is on the top table for maths. So I assume they would know she is good at it?