Algebra

[rionatheprincess]

I need another information from all of you . Currently my daughter is in year-4 and I am teaching her different topic of 11+ Maths. And I am struggling because I don't have any proper books except CGP. But in the CGP books there are only one or two pages about a specific topic ( not very detailed). Need some help regarding that. Which book I can buy ? Thanks in advance.

[Guest55]

Most of this is not in level 5 work .... and only VERY simple stuff is in 'level 6'. I'm concerned a book will go into too much detail ...

[mystery]

Have you found out yet about the test(s) your child will sit? If it is gl assessment, then I would suggest that you get maths text books which cover level 4 and level 5 in the old national curriculum if you think it will not all be covered at school. Only some very basic beginnings of algebra would be needed for a gl paper.

[berks_mum]

Without revealing exam specific contents(late sitters all round the year), some algebra questions did appear in this year's exam.

OP, in my hunt for textbooks I was recommended Galore Park textbooks used by many indie schools. However, as this was too late for me I didn't buy them so cannot comment on how helpful they are. They look good though. I have now ordered English Reading 9-11 workbook to help DD with comprehension. Will comment more on it when we actually work through it.

[loobylou]

I think that there are lots of questions that as adults we would usually use algebra for but that it is not needed at 11+ because there are always alternative routes to the answers. My dd sat the 11+ 18 months ago now so it's hard for me to remember the details but there were quite a few questions based on (for example) a set number of balls and how many would be each colour given certain criteria. When I saw the question I was trying to teach her how to do it in an algebraic way (bad idea - a) I'm a rubbish teacher and b) dd can't bear my trying to teach her anything anyway!) but her tutor said that we absolutely shouldn't. If I remember rightly the tutor said that those questions should be done in more of a trial and error way (ie try with a best guess number and then work up or down depending on your answers) and dd got that very quickly. She did really well in her exams and definitely didn't use algebra.
She is now at a selective school and doing year 7 maths and the algebra they have started doing remains more basic than the algebra that I was trying to get her to understand.
I would worry that, unless your child is an absolute maths genius (and there are some out there), teaching them too much too complicated too young might impact on their ability to understand simpler maths problems....

[mystery]

If The Trafford school that the op is interested in uses test papers produced by gl, they should buy the 8 familiarisation papers in maths produced by gl and look at the level of algebra a small proportion of the questions require.

It is also worth finding out what kind of percentage of the questions one needs to get right to pass. If it is around 50 per cent or so it may be perfectly possible to pass by guessing the algebra questions, if there are any that year.

[Martin_Procter]

I think that there are lots of questions that as adults we would usually use algebra for but that it is not needed at 11+ because there are always alternative routes to the answers. My dd sat the 11+ 18 months ago now so it's hard for me to remember the details but there were quite a few questions based on (for example) a set number of balls and how many would be each colour given certain criteria. When I saw the question I was trying to teach her how to do it in an algebraic way (bad idea - a) I'm a rubbish teacher and b) dd can't bear my trying to teach her anything anyway!) but her tutor said that we absolutely shouldn't. If I remember rightly the tutor said that those questions should be done in more of a trial and error way (ie try with a best guess number and then work up or down depending on your answers) and dd got that very quickly. She did really well in her exams and definitely didn't use algebra.
She is now at a selective school and doing year 7 maths and the algebra they have started doing remains more basic than the algebra that I was trying to get her to understand.
I would worry that, unless your child is an absolute maths genius (and there are some out there), teaching them too much too complicated too young might impact on their ability to understand simpler maths problems....

My twopenn'th on this subject: Loobylou has identified the issue clearly. There is little formal algebra in the 11 pluses, even for very selective schools. But there are many questions in the more difficult 11 plus exams where algebra would help. Furthermore (and this is I think the crucial point) many of the tougher questions towards the end of the papers can be solved using the same skills as formal algebra requires, without using formal algebra.

That said, I do understand loobylou's tutor shying away from teaching algebra; it can be counterproductive for young children.

[rionatheprincess]

Thank you very much for your support and help. Actually I have no idea about 11+ exam. I found the maths syllabus of 11 + exam in this website.
[Edited by moderator] ..... I am not sure whether this is the correct one to follow. Anyway your guidance helped me a lot.
Thanks once again to all of you.

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[mystery]

Rionatheprincess, you need to find out more about the tests for the schools you are considering if you are wanting to do some relevant preparation. Have you tried the trafford section?

[moved]

Algebra with two variables is easily taught to mixed ability year 6 classes. Have a look at NRICH.

I've taught this concept across various schools in London and all children understood - not difficult to understand but do use resources that make it clear.

I would recommend NRICH for most of OPs needs. There are teacher guides that are not designed for subject specialists. My teaching staff use a great many of the resources and have found them to be highly effective.