Sunday 23 July 2017

Re Thinking Maths

At the halfway point of the year we are still very much focused on the emotional well being of the lads. First and foremost our challenge lies in having the boys ready for learning each and everyday.

I believe that we have reached a point where we now have a balance between academic outcomes and social outcomes. The boys, for the most part, are ready for academic learning and are revelling in their curiosities.

This coming term, as a school, we are learning about Planet Earth ad Beyond - Space. At Level 2 we are directed to focus on the sun's impact on earth which leads to learning about time. For maths this is of course the measurement strand of the curriculum.

For two terms we've been focussing on basic addition facts and place value to 3 digits. The boys haven't shown a lot of academic progress in maths and in fact are not even retaining the basic bonds to 10 that we practice everyday. There's little point continuing to flog this horse, even though I believe those skills are the most important - this approach is not working for us.

So for term three I endeavour to make every lesson based around the strand of measurement. There's a lot of scope for number as well as problem solving and hands on, in context, maths. This approach also allows for a lot of partner and group work - something that all the boys continue to have trouble with.

Some goals for term 3
  • Use maths lessons to focus on teaching participating and contributing as well as relating to others
  • Use strand maths to address the gaps in number knowledge
  • Make maths more of an academic focus within the class

I've spent a good portion of the term break making, creating, thinking about all sorts of activities based on NZ Maths lessons in Measurement. There's an absolute treasure trove of planning and lessons to draw on.