foundation stage mathematics 07

Presentation slide 1.1Presentation slide 1.1

Player A

Player B

Player C

Player D

Playing board for the game Crooked Rules

Hundreds Tens Ones

Presentation slide 1.2

Key features of mathematics within the Primary National Strategy

The strategy involves:1. A structured, daily mathematics lesson of 45–60 minutes,

depending on the children‘s ages. There is usually a different structure to teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage

2. An emphasis on mental calculation with oral and mental work in each lesson

3. Direct teaching of the whole class, with as many children as possible taking part

4. Group work in which children in three or four groups work at different levels on the same topic

5. Regular activities for children to do out of class and at home6. The renewed Primary Framework offers teachers guidance

on planning and teaching to help all children to learn mathematics and make good progress


Teaching an Early Years Foundation Stage class

• Emphasis on practical, active, imaginative and enjoyable activities• Children are given many opportunities to develop their speaking

and listening skills• Include problem solving in a practical context• The environment, daily routines and activities will be planned to

give children opportunities for mathematical learning• Children will be given opportunities to practise and talk about their

developing understanding in a broad range of contexts both indoors and outdoors

• Teachers put greater emphasis on using stories, songs, rhymes and finger games to help with counting

• Mathematics is not taught in isolation, but as part of a broad, rich curriculum

• Children in Early Years Foundation Stage classes need a balance of adult-led and children-initiated learning, both outdoors and inside.


The daily mathematics activity in the Early Years Foundation Stage

• An activity with a group or the whole class, often involving counting, songs or stories

• Adult-led activities for smaller groups of children, focusing on the main topic of the day or week

• Play activities, initiated by either the teacher or the children themselves

• Review of learning with the whole class when the activities have ended, not necessarily every day


Video clip: working with children in the Early Years Foundation Stage

1. How do the TAs involve the children?2. What sort of questions do they ask?3. Do they help children to work and play together in

any way?4. How do they develop mathematical vocabulary?5. How successful are they in helping the children

learn new skills?6. What else could they do to help the children with

their learning?


Working with individuals and small groups

• Get children talking about what they are doing

• Help them understand what they are doing

• Help them to work and play together

• Familiarise them with the rules of mathematical games

• Help them to develop, learn and use new mathematical language

• Help them to use mathematical resources

• Ask them open questions to get them thinking

• Observe, talk and listen to them to find out what they have learned

• Encourage and celebrate success


Ten Nice Things

Player A’s objects Player B’s objects


Helping children to use correct mathematical language (1)

• Encourage children to talk about what they are doing or what they have done, and to listen to each other

• Use mathematical language with children and encourage them to use it as well

• Value children’s own spontaneous mathematical language, such as if they say “Mine’s a pointy one” to describe an angle

• Offer more precise ways of saying the same thing, such as replacing “It’s a round” with “It’s a circle” when replying to a child


Helping children to use correct mathematical language (2)

• Model language by describing what children are doing as you work alongside them

• Extend what children have said in different words; for example: “So you’ve shared these out – has everyone got the same number now?”

• Set up activities that encourage children to describe and explain what they encounter; for example: “Say what you can feel in the feely bag”

• Encourage children to compare one thing with another; for example: “How are the two shapes different?”

• Use stories, songs and rhymes• Use child-initiated learning as a context for developing

mathematical language


Taking part in role-play (1)

To ensure that children understand that mathematics is an enjoyable and useful tool for solving practical problems that arise during child-initiated activities, TAs could model the following play situations:

• Paying for an object in a shop using coins or notes, or by writing a cheque

• Weighing fruit and vegetables in a greengrocer’s shop, ringing each price into a till and telling the customer how much the items will cost altogether

• Looking for a bus number and then buying a bus ticket

• Looking up a telephone number and dialing it

• Reading a clock in a home corner and saying what may happen at the time shown


Taking part in role-play (2)

Also:

• Measuring for curtains, wallpaper or shelves in the home corner

• Weighing out ingredients for cooking

• Weighing a baby in a clinic, reading the dial and recording the measurement

• Counting out the right number of plates, knives and forks to lay the table in the home corner


Notes for the teacher

Learning objective for the lesson:

• Begin to relate addition to combining two groups of objects

Feedback notes:

• Hassan can count on from the first group of cubes

• Gemma and Jack know that you should count how many cubes there are altogether

• Asha counts each group of cubes separately but can’t get to the total number yet


Open and closed questions

What is this shape called?

Which one has straight edges?

How many corners has this one?

Which is round?

What can you tell me about this shape?

What can you say about the edges of this shape?

And the corners?

How are these two shapes different?

Closed questions Open questions


When children have difficulties

If children are having difficulties, you could ask:

• What have you done so far?

• What do you think you need to do next?

• Have you done anything like this before?

• Is there anything you could use to help you?


Challenging questions to ask

If children are having difficulties, you could ask:

• How many cubes do you think are in that tub?

• Are there enough biscuits for all of us?

• Why do the cylinders roll better than the cubes?


How would you tackle these calculations?

23 – 9

19p + 18p + 21p + 25p + 22p

4358 + 843 + 276


Counting and recognising numbers

• Say and use the number names in order in familiar contexts such as number rhymes, songs, stories, counting games and activities (first to 5, then 10, then 20 and beyond)

• Count reliably up to 10 everyday objects (first to 5, then to 10, then beyond) giving just one number name to each object. Recognise small numbers without counting

• Recognise numerals 1 to 9, then 0 and 10, then beyond 10


Counting skills (1)

• Knowing the number names in order

• Synchronising saying words and pointing

• Keeping track of objects counted

• Recognising that the number associated with the last object touched is the total


Counting skills (2)

• Recognising small numbers of objects without having to count them

• Counting things you cannot move or touch or see, or objects that move around

• Counting objects of very different sizes

• Recognising that if a group of objects already counted is rearranged then the number of them stays the same

• Counting out a number of objects from a larger set, knowing when to stop counting


The daily mathematics lesson

• Whole-class/group activity Oral work and mental calculation for the whole class to rehearse and

sharpen skills• Main part of the lesson Interactive teaching input and child activities including work as a whole

class, in groups, in pairs or as individuals which for Early Years Foundation Stage may be group activities over the morning or day

• Review and assessment of children’s learning All children involved Clearing up any misunderstandings and identifying progress Summarising the key learning points and what children should remember

and discussIdentify progress

Next steps


Language and mathematics

• Children talking and listening to each other and adults

• Adults listening to children's responses

• Different kinds of questioning


The role of the TA in the whole-class/group activity (1)

Being responsible for a small group of children to ensure they take part in the lesson by:

• encouraging them to join in counting activities

• encouraging them to concentrate and take part

• having a smaller version of the resource used by the teacher

• helping children to use resources such as ‘fan’ cards


The role of the TA in the whole-class/group activity (2)

Also:

• repeating discreetly questions the teacher asks and helping children find an answer

• encouraging those who lack confidence and are reluctant to join in

• alerting the teacher if a child has an answer

• observing children and making notes about their responses to questions

• if asked, working with a small group of children


The role of the TA in the video

• How did Angela support the children?

• What sort of questions did she use to encourage the children to think and work things out?

• What opportunities are there for the children to apply what they are learning?

• Why is it important for the TA to be involved in planning and review with the teacher?

• Why are the links between assessment, planning and learning so important?

• How did they keep the focus on learning in a play-based environment?


Working with a group

• How would you support children as they learn the key words?

• How would your role be different if you were supporting children in their self-chosen play activities around the classroom?


The TA’s role

…when working with a group:• Modelling how to use the key words• Encouraging children to say the key words together as a group• Encouraging children to demonstrate that they know what the

words mean• Reinforcing social skills such as taking turns and listening to

one another

…when children are engaged in self-chosen activities:• Playing alongside them, providing a running commentary on

their actions and where possible modelling the key words• Making sure they use correct vocabulary


Giving feedback

You could:

• mention any misunderstandings children had in relation to the work

• state how far the children got with the activity

• list what they found easy and/or hard

• mention a child who has done particularly well or who has found the work particularly difficult

foundation stage mathematics 07

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