These sessions aim to provide parents with simple strategies and games they can play at home to assist their children in consolidating the critical basic number skills essential to becoming confident mathematicians.
We know that for a child to consolidate a mathematical skill and concept, they require 200 hits. 200 times to use and apply that skill. Regular repetition of concepts can be achieved through rote learning, but this can be a battle and is often far from enjoyable. Alternatively, you can achieve these hits through fun card and dice games.
It is not the simple playing of these games that is enough though. In our maths games workshop we explained to parents the key teaching points they should share with their children to help them develop effective and efficient mental strategies. The development of efficient mental strategies will pay dividends when they are older.
There are 390 key maths facts that a child must know by the end of Year 4. 100 addition facts to 10 +10, 100 subtraction facts to 10-10, 100 multiplication facts to 10x10, and 90 division facts to 81 divided by 9. As a child progresses through school, they need to develop understandings and strategies in each year of their schooling. These understandings and strategies provide them with the knowledge and efficient mental methods to apply to a range of higher-order mathematical concepts.
The key understandings and strategies by age group are as follows:
The Early Years
- subitising
- partitioning
Year 1
- count on and back
- build to 10
- partitioning
- doubles and near doubles
- bridge to 10
- bridge through 10 when subtracting
Year 2
- count on
- counting for subtraction
- build to 10
- doubles
- near doubles
- bridge 10
Year 3
- extend beyond the 390 facts
- factoring
- communicative property of multiplication
- distributive property of multiplication over addition
- know all basics multiplication and division facts
Year 4
- addition and subtraction strategies
- multiplication and division strategies
- arrays
- related facts
- doubling and halving
- properties of numbers
- multiplication of zero and one
- recall basic addition and subtraction facts
- recall basics multiplication facts 2,3,5 and 10 times tables.
Year 5 and beyond
- basic facts – 390
- addition and subtraction facts to 10
- tables to 10
- division facts to 9
- doubles / halving
- commutative property of multiplication
- distributive property of multiplication over addition
- know all basic multiplication / division facts.
We work every day to help our boys learn and retain these key understandings and strategies. Parents can help by playing a few games once or twice per week and allowing their children time to get their 200 hits to consolidate their learning. Make it fun, ask good questions, and you will see your child develop their confidence and number sense before your eyes.
If you would like further information about the maths games covered in the workshop, you can view a video of the workshop below and Download the games booklet containing rules and information.
John Stewart
Head of Preparatory School
PAC Parent Maths Workshop 2021