Is it time for maths textbooks in primary?

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Just saw this today: www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-30129639

As a parent - I would like text books (for one thing that's how I was taught) but with solutions to problems available, I can help my DDs understand their mistakes at the time (rather than feel I have to check problems without confirmation I have the correct solution, which I know puts many parents off interfering with maths homework) & I can also understand what's coming next (and support that at home - rather than vaguely understanding this term they'll be covering shape/ measurement/ calculation skills/ number facts - which says NOT A LOT).

One thing that did interest me about the BBC article was the fact that the government (?OFSTED) don't comment on/ validate quality of text books - it does seem rather a free-for-all and I'm not terribly convinced that most ordinary primary Heads of Maths are really qualified to make that judgement (yes as a teacher they can see what works best pedagogically/ structurally for their school - but I suspect assessing which mathematical approach is best would be problematic and I also wonder whether school budgets don't influence resource decisions).

Why exactly is it that the government - who seem very kind to prescribe elements of the national curriculum are less than keen to evaluate resources available to teachers/ parents? Should educational resources be entirely unregulated?

Ds's teacher explained on meet the teacher evening that they us 3 different textbooks. The set the school had she thought were a bit easy for most if the pupils so they started to use another set.

However she also uses a more challenging textbook sometimes especially with the more able children.

I used Collins, Ginn books when I first started teaching ... abacus came along a little later ...hated all three!

I've got about 8 different Maths text books in my room (1 for Year 5, 3 for Year 6, 4 for Year 7/8). Some of those I have as sets of about 4 or 5 books. I wouldn't be happy trying to go through them page by page. Some don't go in the order I need, some don't show the same methods I am teaching. Some ask too many of the same questions, others don't stay with a particular topic long enough or omit topics I am covering... They are good for simple skills practice, but not to replace proper teaching, which is why I dip in and out of them. They supplement other resources I am using.
Abacus aren't great...the level tends to be too low for my class. I've got the full set (including the challenge book) and they haven't been used once all year so far. They may have changed them now and come up with a new edition, though.

We have a range of maths textbooks in school.

I dip in and out depending on the topic, and also use books from the year above or below for differentiation.

Plus we use some worksheets (not many as it makes the books look untidy!), practical lessons eg on measurement, word problems or maths challenges books, online resources.... The sky is the limit!

You'll never find a one size fits all textbook....

Over a two or three week period I would probably use Abacus, NHM and Collins with the class.

I would also use Maths on Target and our challenges book once or twice too....

Quite! We all use textbooks as and when they suit/fit. But what we wouldn't do is give a child a text book in September and expect them to work their way through the book starting at page 1 and basically leave them to it!

Thanks all for posting - especially teachers.

Really interesting - because my impression was text books were not used at all (from talking to teachers at our primary).

What I like about text books as a parent - is knowing what is covered (for that year) and having a good idea what is next - that information didn't make it home to me during primary (which I presume was the teachers' choice).

I do take the point that working your way through a text book page after page won't work for everybody and may be very dull for today's children who like interactive learning/ variety of tasks/ etc.... However, I do wonder if the reason teachers don't like issuing age appropriate/ school year appropriate text/ workbooks is that it may confront pupils and parents with the reality that as a pupil, they are behind/ struggling.

It might be one of the reasons ( just as I make sure that children working below ARE aren't confronted in Year 6 with worksheets labelled Year 2) but I don't think its a major one.

One school, I work in uses Busy Ants maths books. Each page/topic has 3 challenges on so built in differentiation for you...(Just wish the school had also got the other resources that go with it...)

Target maths is similar ( as is medal maths) all useful for dipping in and out of with 3 levels of challenge for each topic. If anyone wants to see what is covered in each year , these are a good starting point as both have worked examples and tips before a series of questions at the differing levels

I don't think religiously working through a text book has ever worked for children. Some children need much more consolidation of maths topics than others and there are no more pages in the text book to provide that while some grasp the concepts quickly but need to stretched in ways that a generic text can't offer.
One of my greatest hates with the old strategies was the idea that if it's the 25th of November we must be teaching Shape Space and measure rather than the freedom to teach what the child needs to learn. It's " teaching by numbers" !

Most teachers I know dip in and out of various text books when teaching but don't follow any rigorously page by page. They use their professional judgement and knowledge of their pupils to decide what works

As a parent I would welcome the use of workbooks for maths in particular. IMO there would be less differentiation needed in Maths if parents were given the tools to support at consolidate at home from an early age. Maths is all about building blocks and consolidation, so if a child does not grasp a concept early on they are unable to master the next topic and so on and they will always be at a disadvantage.

What is difficult for parents is not knowing what their child is expected to master and not knowing what how different topics in maths are being taught. Not all schools give homework especially at KS1, so other than the vague list of topics parents are largely in the dark. If my child is stuggling to grasp a particular concept and needs more practice, I am blissfully unaware until a few months later when, if I'm lucky I might find out at parents evening. Meanwhile my child has lost valuable ground when I could have provided support. If there was a maths workbook I could perhaps see that there was a issue and address it sooner. This is even more important with the new curriculum, where topics are introduced much earlier and more support might be required.

there would be less differentiation needed in Maths if parents were given the tools to support at consolidate at home from an early age - sadly this is a very naïve statement. You would be astounded by the number of children who, even in "middle-class" schools, have no back up and support at home. These children do not read with an adult, complete homework, return consent slips for basic things, have PE kit in school on the right day, have parents that attend parents evening, etc. Text books are not going to ensure parental engagement and these are some of the very children that require the differentiation at school. Schools have all sorts of initiatives to engage these "hard to reach" parents, but with the vast majority they just don't want to / are able to get involved with school work.

Perhaps I am being naive - I don't doubt that there are many parents that are not engaged but there are also many that are very willing to help as is demonstrated here on Mnet. Schools need to provide parents with the tools to allow them to be better suporters in their childrens learning. It is really unfair to deny all parents the opportunity just because some parents are not bothered.

My problem would be the opposite - over keen parents flogging the kids through the entire workbook in the first two weeks.

And then arguing with me about my professional judgement - "he can do it at home standing on his head, so why are you saying he can't do it?"

It would be book bands all over again - arggghhhh!!

How would you envision texts books being a useful tool for parents?

So teachers don't want parents to have maths workbooks to support learning because parents are either disengaged or too keen

I didn't think this debate was about workbooks - I thought it is about a set text book for schools to use. If parents want to go and buy a workbook there are plenty out there and publishers will soon (if they haven't already) get them tied up with the new curriculum. Text books are a different thing altogether.

There's nothing to stop parents buying a text book and working through it at home.

I think unless there are specific problems identified by the teacher, most kids would be better off relaxing at home and coming to school rested, refreshed and ready to learn....

My question was how do you envision a text book help you to support your child she bird?

Easy planning.

Monday-page 1
Tuesday-page 2

mrz:

totally take your point that following a textbook rigidly can be hard going and a poor fit for many pupils (possibly also the teacher)....

but....

I like text books for given school years because:

1. the syllabus for the entire year is there for all to see/ understand
2. Calculation methods would be explained to pupils & parents - with worked examples (which you could return to to refresh your memory/ review if confused).
3. opportunities to review/ practice are always there - just open the book
4. answers are there - so when it's a tricky problem you or your child can check - if they've got it wrong they can go back and resolve the error (technical/ poor transcription/ etc....) and understand their mistake instantly, at the time.
5. most importantly - as a parent - if you have doubts about what the school is doing - pace/ gaps/ etc... - having access to a text book means you don't have to cast about looking for solutions. Moreover, if that text book was 'vetted' by school boards (maybe too much of a US thing - I don't really think they exist in England)/ OFSTED/ etc... - you would know it was a reliable learning resource.

In our case - without a text book and without regular homework - but totally aware there were serious problems (have posted a lot about wake-up call around Easter of Y2 when DD1 was struggling to play a board game with friends because she could not easily calculate the sum of her position + roll of dice to move her piece forward) and when we raised this with the school we were left to find solutions ourselves. I think we've managed - but DD1 has an educated mother, au fait with the internet and willing to go to battle - that isn't every child.

I do wonder if school choice of resources - text books/ on-line subscription maths programmes like (Mathletics/ My Maths/ etc...) isn't more a budgetary decision than an educational one - which ultimately results in some schools with markedly better resources for pupils than others. Indeed DD2 has started at a new primary - and 'night and day' would sum up the difference in resources & how they're used.

I don't know what the solution is - and I can see insisting all schools use the same resources would never be acceptable to teachers - but there is disparity out there - not just in terms of quality of schools or teaching, but in terms of quality of resources children are working with.

It creates a very narrow curriculum but perhaps parents would prefer that.

Do you envision schools sending text books home or parents buying their own copy?

I think the idea that a parent could buy a text book to supplement a child's understanding in certain areas makes sense - practice makes perfect after all.

However the idea that parents would somehow be able to reproduce the maths lessons at home for the entire year shows a lack of understanding of what teachers actually do.