Maths

We use a maths mastery programme to help with our teaching of maths. Please read here for weekly updates about mastering number.

28th November - This week, the children will revisit the concept of 1:1 correspondence by making sure that they match collections of objects to their representations. They will develop their understanding of the concept of cardinality – that the last number in the count tells us ‘how many’ things there are altogether – and begin to apply this concept to count more abstract things, such as claps and jumps. The children will also begin to explore verbal counting to larger numbers. The children will also have opportunities to begin to link quantities to 5 with their corresponding number and to explore conservation of number by investigating what happens to quantities of objects when they are rearranged.

21st November - This week, the children will build on their understanding of the composition of numbers by investigating the composition of 3, 4 and 5. Composing and de-composing numbers involves the children investigating part–part–whole relations, e.g. seeing that 3 can be composed of 1 and 2.

14th November - This week, the children will begin to explore composition by focusing on the preliminary skills: the concept of ‘wholes’ and ‘parts’. By investigating their own bodies and familiar toys they will begin to understand that whole things are often made up of smaller parts and that a whole is, therefore, bigger than its parts. 

7th November - This week, the children will be encouraged to compare the number of objects in 2 sets by matching them 1:1. Seeing that objects in some sets can be matched without any being left over will draw the children’s attention to instances when the quantities of objects are equal.

31st October - This week, the children will continue to engage with activities that underline the purpose of counting – to find out ‘how many’ objects there are altogether. They will reinforce their understanding of cardinality – that the last number in the count tells us ‘how many’ things there are altogether in a set of objects – and they will further practise their 1:1 correspondence skill, by counting numbers at the same time as moving or tagging objects.

17th October - The activities this week will focus on developing comparison using language to describe sets of objects that they can see. Language is a key focus and adults will model the language of ‘more than’ and ‘fewer than’ to describe how many objects there are in each set. ‘Fewer than’ is used rather than ‘less than’ because the focus is on countable things.

10th October - This week, the children will build on their subitising skills. They will continue to use ‘perceptual’ subitising – instant recognition – by saying the number of sounds that they can hear, such as claps or drum beats, without needing to count. They will be encouraged to look closely at small quantities and observe whether the quantity has changed or only the arrangement.

3rd October - This week, the children will explore how numbers can be composed of 1s and, from this, begin to investigate the composition of 3 and 4. Composing and de-composing numbers involves children investigating part–whole relations, e.g. seeing that 3 can be composed of 1 and 2.

26th September - This week, the children will engage with activities that draw attention to the purpose of counting – to find out ‘how many’ objects there are. They have used subitising to identify the number in a set; they will now develop their counting skills to enable them to identify how many there are in a set that cannot be subitised.

19th September - We will be carrying out maths baseline assessments this week - therefore no formal teaching.

12th September - This week, the children will be encouraged to quantify sets of objects by subitising, rather than counting. When subitising, children can say how many there are in a small group of objects by ‘just seeing’ and knowing straightaway without needing to count.