Maths Support:
As a school, we use the White Rose Maths scheme to deliver our curriculum.
"How can I help my child at home?"
ALL CHILDREN
- Ask your child to teach you their new learning
- Use repetition to develop fluency
- Ask your child to justify what they are doing
- Work through examples backwards so that your child can consolidate their understanding of each step
"It can be difficult to learn new mathematical content away from the classroom, but evidence suggests that we should provide opportunities for children to retrieve the knowledge that they have previously learnt. Parents should encourage practice of previously studied content. This might be via an online learning platform – a textbook – or simply revisiting questions." (Education Endownment Foundation blog ''Supporting the learning of mathematics at home")
YOUNGER CHILDREN
- Make maths relevant by incorporating it into everyday activities (ask them to help count money out when shopping, point numbers out in their environment...)
- Use mathematical vocabulary where possible as part of conversations and play (e.g. 'Which is bigger? Which teddy is first in line? Who has more? Are they shared fairly?')
- Sing number rhymes! Nursery Rhymes and Songs (BBC School Radio)
- Watch Numberblocks (BBC) together
- Find the maths in story books
OLDER CHILDREN
As children become older, more independence can be expected, but support will still be needed.
- Create a daily routine for mathematical practice (reinforce with praise and rewards)
- Encourage your child to set goals, plan, and manage their time, effort, and emotions. (This type of support can help children to regulate their own learning and will often be more valuable than direct help with mathematical tasks.)
- Having a place to study mathematics, with the materials they need, is helpful.
- Encourage your child to practise the times tables either online or on paper. There is value in this: evidence shows that pupils need to develop a fluent recall of mathematical facts, and times tables are among the most important of these.
- Ask your child to share aloud their thinking:
Planning my approach
What is the problem asking me to do?
Have I seen problems before that look like this one?
What maths might help me to solve this problem?
What information in the problem is important?
What information is less important?
What might I need to work out?
Would drawing a diagram help?
Monitoring Progress
Is my chosen strategy working?
Are there different ways to solve this problem?
Should I think about solving this problem in a different way, or should I stick with my plan?
Has my teacher shown me anything which might help me here?
Would it help if I asked another pupil to check my work so far?
Look back: have I made any obvious mistakes?
Evaluating my success
Does my answer make sense? How do I know?
Is there any way that I can check my answer?
Am I sure I have answered the question? Re-read the problem and your solution to make sure!
Does my answer need units?
Would another pupil understand my working out? You could ask a friend to check.
Can I explain to someone else what I did and why I did it?
Would a different way of solving this problem have been quicker?
Would I solve the problem in a different way if I tried it again?
Could I share and discuss these different approaches with a friend?
(Questions from EEF Planning a Think Aloud)
School-Home Resources
By the end of Year 4, children should be proficient in all of their times tables up to 12x12. In the summer term, the children in Year 4 sit the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) to test their knowledge of the times tables. To support the learning and continued practise of times tables, we use Times Table Rockstars (TTRS). This is an online platform where children engage in a range of games to improve their speed and accuracy with times tables.
Prior to learning their times tables, children need to become proficient in their basic addition and subtraction skills. To support this, alongside White Rose Maths, children have access to a range of other resources. Many of these can be easily accessed at home.