Year 1 Maths: tips and targets?

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ourmaminhavana
Posts: 966
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:14 am

Year 1 Maths: tips and targets?

Post by ourmaminhavana »

As some of you will already know DD, 6, who seemed quite advanced with numbers before she went to school has been struggling ever since (probably when her teacher told her to stop using her fingers :evil: ). DD finds it difficult to relate mathematical ideas eg she can count to 100 in twos, but last night brought home a note saying that whilst she could double 1-5 and 10 she couldn't double 6, 7, 8 and 9. Is she supposed to be able to do that at this stage (Year 1)and how do I explain it to her? I'm going to try saying go up with your twos whilst recording them on your fingers under the desk until you reach the number she wants doubling, but clearly there must be better strategies!! I tried Googling, admittedly it was late last night, but couldn't find anything which told me what they were supposed to be able to do when...
I've found some great online interactive resources eg interactive number lines, number bonds etc and a doubling game (that only went up to 5! :roll: ) but I wondered if anyone had any tips in how to explain basic ideas so that she can relate them. IMHO she's quite intelligent, but has no idea re maths! For example, I tried explaining that 8 was one more than 7 so there were two so it would be two more than 2x7 OK, Ok, writing it down I can see why she'd be completely lost!! :lol: This morning we cheated as she has a good memory so I just told her to remember that 2 x 6 = 12 and 2x7= 14. Not good practice I know, but I was desperate!!
Any tips or suggestions for resources gratefully received. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say which ones I've found already?
Edit: have just found Ann and Addem's dartboard!! My main query is really about explaining very basic maths concepts.
scarlett
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Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

Re: Year 1 Maths: tips and targets?

Post by scarlett »

I've found over the years that I must be way behind the times when it comes to teaching maths to my dc....schools now seem to have a different way of doing things which I always feel is more complicated but following a chat with DS2 lovely teacher this year ( and a teaching session on the white board just for me :oops: ) I was was told it was so children learn place value and each step correctly...or something.

Anyway, perhaps it would be best as DD is young to ask her teacher how they would teach double 7 etc and then you can follow the same format and find the same sort of maths questions online. I'm not sure how they learn double odd numbers. Is it just by learning by rote ? or is there a special way ? Maths boffins needed !

I do want to say though, don't worry about your DD...She will be fine and you don't want it all to become a chore. I was desperately worried about my DS at this stage ( and further on ) constantly being told he was a dimmy yet not being given any solid advice as to what I could do to help. I just gave up with collaboration with the school and did my own thing...he's a lot less stressed and more confident and the same with DD ..I've been told there's a problem with her sentence structures when writing and she was getting het up , crying that she was rubbish at writing and refusing to write any Christmas thank you letters which she used to love doing...I've had to back off ( partly due to prioritising DS2 11 plus work ) and I've just read with her and that's done the trick..she's less anxious and although her writing may not have improved she' s back leaving notes for the Magic Golden Squirrel who lives outside her window. :D

Perhaps also ask why she isn't allowed to use fingers at 6 ? I still do sometimes ( not in public ) is it to learn the concepts ? I think you need to have a chat with the teacher...play some fun games at home and tell her she's doing great :D
ourmaminhavana
Posts: 966
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:14 am

Re: Year 1 Maths: tips and targets?

Post by ourmaminhavana »

Thanks Scarlet. You're always so reassuring. :)
That's great about your whiteboard lesson! Yes, I would normally ask the teacher as I certainly don't want to confuse her further. I did ask the teacher about the use of fingers some time ago and it was something about being in the top set so maybe now she's been moved down she can start again!!
At the moment I'm actually reluctant to ask if possible.
Things have improved a lot and DD is doing fabulously well with her reading. It sounds from the forum as if I'm doing masses at home but that's just masses of worrying, not work with DD and even that has lessened considerably now that DD seems happier at school!! I'd just like to help her have the same breakthough and enlightenment with her numeracy as she has with her literacy. :)
scarlett
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Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

Re: Year 1 Maths: tips and targets?

Post by scarlett »

I'm no expert and so can only advise according to my own experiences..but I have found that when one of mine is improving at something they tend to fall behind on the other things almost as if they can only concentrate on one thing ( mine are male though :P ) so perhaps if you have worked on her reading there's little resources left in her for the maths too. Also, maths is just practice really and I'm sure if you keep on with the fun games at home it will suddenly all click. Another tip for boosting confidence which worked for mine was giving them quite simple stuff so they scored 100 % and were then chuffed to bits whilst you declare how they can do it after all !
fatbananas
Posts: 1411
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:03 pm

Re: Year 1 Maths: tips and targets?

Post by fatbananas »

I did counting with raisins and, when desperate, smarties with my DS, when trying to do doubles - 2 columns of them. Start with 1 in each column, so double 1 you can see is 2 and so on and stopped as soon as it looked like overload. I also took loads of photos. Each photo had a number of fruit - 1 apple, 2 bananas, 3 pears, 4 oranges 5, apples and so on up to 10 and then I printed out 2 copies of the photos and laid those in two columns (I was just trying to show him, in a physical way, that double means two of a number. He could see there were, say, 3 pears, but if he could see there were two lots of 3 pears, or double lot of 3 pears, then he could count that there were 6. Once he'd finally got that double meant that there were 2 of a number, I then taught him the doubles by rote, so that he was quicker.

I don't know if that was a good method, but I thought showing him something physical and less abstract was the way to go with him and it worked after a couple of sessions, trying to express it in raisins, smarties and photos of fruit!!

The whole counting on fingers thing. I wonder how confident the teacher is about maths. It is always possible to say 'that's a good technique counting on your fingers; can you try doing it this way and see what happens' or something that's going to seem less like your DD is doing something wrong and more expanding her maths skills.

I've been too slow with this post and have just read Scarlett's second post! I agree absolutely. Something that I've followed from Scarlett's advice to me in the past, is to take it back a notch and then build that particular skill up. Yesterday, my DS and I did a topic, beginning from year 2 principles. By the time he left the table 25 mins later, he was up to year 5 level (according to the levels on the workbooks) - just in that one topic and I'll probably need to go over it again, but he stuck at it, I think, because he found it easier at first and that gave him confidence to proceed.
Seize the day ... before it seizes you.
mystery
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Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Year 1 Maths: tips and targets?

Post by mystery »

OK doubling - here goes. Like you I don't know quite what is expected in year 1. Remembering back to DD1 I think at this point she knew them off by heart as well as being able to do it by adding ........ don't ask me when she learned them though. DD2 in year 1 knows some off by heart, but like yours does not remember 7, 8, 9 very often.

However she could work it out as she knows that doubling means having the same again. So if you have 4 biscuits and the biscuit fairy doubles them you get another 4, and 4 + 4 = 8.

Use lots of different methods:
- 100 square 7 + 7 - put finger on 7 and hop on 7 spaces to get to 14
- number line (ready drawn and numbered one as they can spend a whole year drawing their own at this stage) - use it the same way as the 100 square
- objects on 2 plates - put 7 on one plate, ask child to double it by putting the same amount on th eother plate then counting up
- drawing it out with a pen and paper - so 7 x 2 for example, child draws two circles and puts 7 spots in each circle and then counts up to get 14 - can either count the whole lot, or start by putting 7 in head and counting on another 7 to get to 14

etc etc
I think shortly after this they are aiming to move on to doubling double digit numbers. So first of all need to be able to "partition" e.g. 27 = 20 + 7
double 20 = 40, double 7 = 14.
Then add 20 + 14 by doing 20 + 10 +4. I remember DD1 doing that sometime in the last half of year 1, however sheseems to be doing it all again in year 3 like it's something new, so who knows what they do when.

Little whiteboard with a wipe-off pen is great - they seem happy scrawling their own workings that way as it seems less threatening than getting it wrong on paper.
ourmaminhavana
Posts: 966
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:14 am

Re: Year 1 Maths: tips and targets?

Post by ourmaminhavana »

Thanks very much for sharing all of those good ideas. Yes, I definitely think that building confidence is the key.
I suspect with DD the smarties method would go down particularly well, but we'd only be able to do it once! :lol:
Belinda
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Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2007 10:57 pm

Re: Year 1 Maths: tips and targets?

Post by Belinda »

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Last edited by Belinda on Thu Nov 01, 2012 3:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
fatbananas
Posts: 1411
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:03 pm

Re: Year 1 Maths: tips and targets?

Post by fatbananas »

Those smarties, yes. But there are always more smarties. :D
Seize the day ... before it seizes you.
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: Year 1 Maths: tips and targets?

Post by yoyo123 »

I use this person's games a lot..this one is for doubling

http://jenny.myzen.co.uk/T17.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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