Mathematics
Mathematics is taught through the strands of Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry and Statistics and Probability.
Students participate in daily Mathematics sessions with their teacher. Each Mathematics session focuses on;
-reactivating student learning from the previous day
-building fluency in mathematics such as skip counting
-explicit teaching using worked examples
-work time for students to apply their learning and gain feedback from the teacher
-small group instruction to cater for the needs of individual students
-reflecting on learning new skills.
As a staff team, we have developed a scope and sequence to track our teaching in Mathematics. This is especially important when teaching age-appropriate strategies such as drawing groups, then arrays, then solving worded problems when learning about multiplication.
Each class has access to a wide range of developmentally appropriate materials to support learning. These hands-on materials include counters, bundling sticks, teaching clocks and scales. The use of concrete materials support student mathematical thinking before they apply their understanding to more abstract problems.
Students learn various problem solving strategies. Developing their ‘Mathematical Toolbox’ supports students in applying different strategies according to the problem. Such strategies include; drawing a picture, creating a chart, estimating and checking or working backwards.