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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Primary education

Year 1 maths

35 replies

Reallytired · 04/12/2007 17:42

Can anyone recommend an INTERESTING year 1 maths textbook. I want to understand how the numeracy stragery works and the weird logic behind it. I want to have a go at some of the problems so I can help my son to understand his Maths.

Ideally something as fun as Jolly Phonics.

I don't want anything like Kumon or death by work sheet.

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mankyscotslass · 04/12/2007 18:03

How about this? Ds is also in YR1 and loves it here
or this is one the ds came home from school and asked me to find on line, his favourite is Save the whale here.

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Hulababy · 04/12/2007 18:07

Was also going to suggest Rainforest Maths website. DD (Y1) loves it!

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Hulababy · 04/12/2007 18:08

Here

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Reallytired · 04/12/2007 18:47

Thank you for the websites, but I am really looking for a text book. Surely maths text books still exist. I want something I can read that will explain the weird methods to me.

It is mad, I have a physics degree, but I don't know how my son is taught at school. It is completely and utterly different to the way I was taught. I want to be able to help him without confusing him.

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ChasingSquirrels · 04/12/2007 19:17

thanks for the 2nd one scotslass - ds1 loved the money game.

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EmsMum · 04/12/2007 19:20

What on earth can they be doing in year 1 which is beyond a physics grad?

the only thing I remember DD doing at all differently up till now was subtraction the 'borrowing' is a little different - can't even remember which year that was in, but hardly rocket science ... so presumably its not that which is foxing you.

Um... would it not be possible for you to ask the teacher?

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Hulababy · 04/12/2007 20:05

What about the Lett's and Gold Stars type work books...although these are really just worksheets I guess.

For Numeracy books aimed at adults, but for teaching this age, try a big bookstore like Waterstones and look in the Teaching/Education section.

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stealthsquiggle · 04/12/2007 20:07

I am with you, reallytired - DS (Yr 1) insists that they do some sums "differently" at school. Since he finds numeracy work generally very easy and can do way harder problems at home than they seem to do at school, I settled for "it's always a good idea to listen to other people's ways of doing maths, as sometimes they are easier/quicker, but as long as you understand it and get to the right answer it doesn't matter which way"

Probably the wrong answer but I was driving at the time and really not in a postion to try and understand DS's explanations of how the methods differed.

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cazzybabs · 04/12/2007 20:09

wh don't you just look at the national numeracy website? They don't tend to use text books at this age. Letts do a text book but i am not sure there is anything like JP. - a niche in the market?

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ChasingSquirrels · 04/12/2007 20:10

I was going to ask if a workbook would help, we have a couple of the letts ones (from following a free link on here a few months ago) and I would be happy to scan some pages and e-mail them over if you wanted a look. catherine at e-mail/wanadoo/co/uk replace / wirh .

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Whizzz · 04/12/2007 20:21

They do teach diffrent methods, especially mental maths. DS came home with a good way of dividing by 2 eg half of 18 -> half of 10 is 5, half of 8 is 4 then add the 5 and the 4 together to get 9!!
I'm sure someone on here posted a link to a parents website - have a search in the education threads

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Reallytired · 04/12/2007 20:47

I have no problems with maths. Before my son was born I did an extremely mathematical job.

The thing is with the numeracy stragery is that there is loads of methods. I don't want to confuse my son by giving him the wrong sort of help.

I am a strong believer that a child has to understand what they are doing in maths.
I have bought some cuisaire rods and my son has been making patterns with them and using them for addition. I am quite interested in some of the montesourri ideas for teaching maths.

A good mathematican is not necessarily a good maths teacher. To teach a child sucessfully you have to understand what is difficult for them.

Prehaps I need a book on mathematical education theory.

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stealthsquiggle · 04/12/2007 21:23

I agree that the montessori methods work really well - for children whose brains work that way. My mother swears by them for everything from super bright children to 18yos she has coached through their 3rd/4th attempts at GCSE.

I am hoping that since DS loves numbers and "gets" them (concept of multiplication by zero took about 5 seconds to sink in) that he can regard different methods as just interesting rather than confusing. Hopelessly naive, I am sure, and I fully expect tears and tantrums the first time he does find something difficult, but I am hoping that won't be for a while (but that it will be sooner than it was for me, which was the first year of uni, when I almost sank without trace!)

ReallyTired - is your concern that DS is struggling, or just that you don't understand what he is doing? If the latter then my guess would be almost nothing really since they will still be trying to get some of the class to understand the concept of numbers (the "fourness" of 2+2), IYSWIM.

Let me know if you do find any good books - I think you are right that it is education theory you are looking for, since any textbook aimed at the children is not going to explain how they explain it.

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Reallytired · 04/12/2007 21:51

My little boy isn't struggling as such. He likes maths

What he does do does make mathematical sense to me, but it seems weird.

For example he wanted to find out

8 + ? = 20

His approach was to say 20-10 = 10

He knows that 8+2=10

to find the missing number he then adds
8 + 2+10 = 10+10
8 + 12 = 20

missing number is 12

I am just interested in the logic of why they choose to teach maths in a particular way. Why have teachers completely changed the methods used from our school days.

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Reallytired · 04/12/2007 21:53

I don't have problems understanding his maths. What I don't understand is why he is taught in a particular way.

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Reallytired · 04/12/2007 21:53

I don't have problems understanding his maths. What I don't understand is why he is taught in a particular way.

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stealthsquiggle · 04/12/2007 21:56

Are you sure he has been taught that, or is that just how his mind is working? DS works things out in "interesting" ways sometimes, but having caught sight of numeracy work on the board in DS's class I think it is more likely he is coming up with it by himself, as the sums they are doing are really basic.

As you say, it would be good to know how they are taught, but what I would mostly take from your example is that your early ventures into rods, etc have worked really well - manipulating numbers like that shows real confidence in the concepts.

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EmsMum · 04/12/2007 22:10

Right ... ISWYM now I think.

yes, they do seem to teach more 'strategies' for working out sums. I don't think they stressed it too much at DDs schools but there was quite a bit of reference to learning/using 'number bonds' (which I deduced, though no-one ever told me) meant pairs of numbers which sum to 10. And things like making use of 'near doubles'. They seemed to me to be strategies which I naturally used myself for mental maths without ever being taught them so didn't really think on't much.

Really, if (as it sounds) you've got the sort of child who can throw numbers around in different ways then having a variety of strategies for doing sums is all to the good isn't it?

But for those who haven't.. or who can only do maths themselves by following the rules they were taught at school ... it certainly would be a jolly good idea for someone to produce a Parents' guide to KS1 maths methods.

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tottingup · 04/12/2007 22:29

www.amazon.co.uk/Mathematics-Explained-Primary-Teachers-Haylock/dp/1412911834/?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

Lots of useful stuff talking about methods - explains a lot, I think it's probably what you're after (I'm also a scientist with a strong maths background who wanted to understand this sort of thing now my dc is at school).

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Reallytired · 04/01/2008 10:14

Tottingup, thanks for you your book reconmendation. I have been given the book for christmas and its just what I need.

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jennifersofia · 04/01/2008 22:52

It will take some time, but if you want to know the hows and whys behind the strategy, I would spend some time reading the actual strategy on the web, which is what I do for all my planning! (I teach Y1.) It isn't that daunting, and can be very informative. Google primary strategy, follow maths tab at the top, and go into planning then Y1 (or you might have to go into Y1, then planning). We don't use any textbooks, but are almost purely led by this. Literacy strategy is there too, btw, which can make interesting reading (or am I just wierd?)

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Reallytired · 04/01/2008 23:59

Admitally its not revelent to year 1, but is long division no longer taught in UK schools?

I'm having a look at the planning of the national numeracy stragery. Its incredibly detailed.

I almost feel that if my son was ill I could ask his teacher which day of the numeracy stragery they were on and fill in the missing day.

I didn't realise that primary schools were to controlled to this level of detail it feels a bit like George Orwell 1984.

The detail on this plan is incredible.

www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/teachingresources/mathematics/nns_unit_plans /year1/Y1T1Unit3Moneyandplace/nns_unitplan050803y1t1unit3.pdf

What happens if you have a class with really low ablity who have not mastered the reception work. Or a lot of children who are progressing faster than the pace of the national numeracy stragery?

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jennifersofia · 06/01/2008 00:00

Well, it is detailed, but (at least at my school) not operated on a day by day basis. We basically look at the objectives that are recommended for the week, then decide which ones we want to do which day, and then plan the activity accordingly. Sometimes we use some of their activity ideas, sometimes not, depending on how much the children in the class know already, what we think they will be able to do, what is appropriate. Also, each activity is differentiated at least 3 ways, for top, middle and bottom groups, and often something for special needs children too if what the bottom group is doing isn't appropriate.
I find the strategies generally pitched at a 'medium' level, or what I imagine to be middle class England and thus always have to be adjusted to my particular cohort. Mind you, any teacher worth their salt would need to adjust anyway for their particular class.

In answer to your question, we do go over things for children who are not ready to move on (eg my bottom group is still working with numbers to 5 for finding out how much 1 more is).

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stealthsquiggle · 14/01/2008 10:01

Reallytired I got the book for Christmas as well and found it really quite scary - they do use exactly the method you described your DS using, and it makes no sense to me at all.

Related question - is anyone's DC in Year 1 doing "column addition" (or subtraction) yet? We introduced DS to it at the weekend, he was absolutely entranced and "got" it straight away, but I was a bit (and so was DM, an ex primary teacher) that he hadn't come across it at school - AIBU?

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singersgirl · 14/01/2008 10:33

Well, at my DSs' school they don't teach column addition and subtraction till at least Year 3, and they don't teach borrowing/carrying until Y5 - and this is to 'top group' children.

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