double digit addition year 3

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fatbananas
Posts: 1411
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:03 pm

double digit addition year 3

Post by fatbananas »

Hope someone can help me with this one.

DS's homework (year 3) this weekend was a sheet of double digit addition, eg, 39+61= and variations on this eg ?+69=84. I have no idea whether this was supposed to be done as a mental maths exercise or numberlines or what. He has already had a 'numberlines' homework, so not sure it was testing that. He did the questions mentally and was fairly good at them but would, on occasion, forget to add units or would sometimes have trouble holding it all in his head when 'bridging through' a 10s number. He would, say, know that he had to bounce down 6 to get to the 10s number but would lose his tread when trying to remember how many more to bounce down if, say, he was supposed to bounce down 9 in total, ie, on 56, bounce down 6 to get to 50 and then should bounce down another 3 to have subtracted 9 altogether.

God! Hope I've made sense with all that! My question is, should the average/ above-average year 3s be doing that kind of sum mentally yet, or are they still in the practising stage for that kind of question? Don't know whether to really focus on those kind of sums with him for a while, or whether to keep going through our multi-topiced maths workbook. He got a level 3 in the end of KS1 SATS but maths is not his strongest subject and I want to iron out any glitches before we hit 11+ territory.

Sorry, very long-winded post for simple question :oops: :roll: !
Seize the day ... before it seizes you.
push-pull-mum
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:52 pm

Re: double digit addition year 3

Post by push-pull-mum »

My son had almost exactly the same homework last weekend. He did them more or less mentally (he talked himself through them) and the method he used was to count up in tens - keep that number in his head - and then 'counted on' to add on the units.

Does that make sense?

He 'apparently' got 3a in SATs in the summer but Maths teaching in the school generally is a bit hit and miss. When he was 'bored' the other day I got him to try a Bond book (age 7-8) - he had never heard of 2/3 of the things in it. :?
mystery
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Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: double digit addition year 3

Post by mystery »

There are several different ways he could have been expected to do this sum. Unless the teacher wrote down an example neither he nor you would know. If the teacher had set the homework as practice of a particular method well ............... they should have said so, and it's annoying if your child did the homework the wrong way as a result. It's a teacher who can't put themselves into someone else's shoes. We get this sometimes and sometimes not depending on who the teacher is. The trouble is that many schools don't have a maths scheme with a textbook so you can't look in the textbook to see what they've just done, the classwork exercise book doesn't come home either, and the teacher clearly thinks that you and the child are mind-readers.

I'd ask the teacher each time what the homework was supposed to be about and can he/she put the required method (if there is one) or the words "any method" if it doesn't. If this happens repeatedly, well, it depends how you are feeling. With maths there are a million and one different methods you could use so if the homework is intended to be consolidation of a particular method it should say so. I'd return it undone each time with a question for the teacher, and do some homework from your Bond books instead.

I can associate too with the high NC grades and the lack of knowledge of vast areas of the maths syllabus. They are probably giving you a grade that your son can attain in certain aspects of the maths NC but not all.

You have all the same concerns as me!!
fatbananas
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Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:03 pm

Re: double digit addition year 3

Post by fatbananas »

Thanks Pushpullmum. Perhaps that's what he should've done, started with the lower figure and counted on until he reached the higher figure. He does seem to find it easier to bridge through the tens going up (like when you add) than going down, so think will do some of that this week. Maths is not my hot topic either so I feel slightly out of my depth even trying to help him with his primary maths! I'm sure my methods are not the most efficient.

I didn't know KS1 SATS gave out more than a straightforward '3'. They don't give you any more detail than a '3' at DS's school but perhaps they keep the specific grade to themselves? Do you think I could ask them? I doubt, very much, that he'd've been a 3a though!!

That's a good idea, Mystery, about asking the teacher to write on the top of the homework sheet what technique they've been working on that week. We've got a parents' evening next week, so I'll bring it up then.

Thank you both :)
Seize the day ... before it seizes you.
push-pull-mum
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:52 pm

Re: double digit addition year 3

Post by push-pull-mum »

fatbananas wrote:I didn't know KS1 SATS gave out more than a straightforward '3'. They don't give you any more detail than a '3' at DS's school but perhaps they keep the specific grade to themselves? Do you think I could ask them? I doubt, very much, that he'd've been a 3a though!!

That's a good idea, Mystery, about asking the teacher to write on the top of the homework sheet what technique they've been working on that week. We've got a parents' evening next week, so I'll bring it up then.

Thank you both :)
Yes, thanks, Mystery - that is a good idea - especially as old fogies like me often start getting their kids to use outdates methods which then just confuse them.

Re the KS1 SATs - yes, it suprised me too. DD (4 years ago) just got straight 3s and the teacher said that they didn't break them down into sub sections - but when she got into Year 6 and they showed me her targets they had a breakdown of subsections d.ating back to the end of Year 2.

If you're worried, I'd ask, fatbananas, but children progress at such different rates in KS2 I don't think it actually makes much difference.
fatbananas
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Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:03 pm

Re: double digit addition year 3

Post by fatbananas »

We get told what sets they will be put in next week at the parents' evening, so I guess that will be some kind of indication. I'm not so much worried, as want to keep on top of things. I want to control as much of the lead-up and preparation process as I can, so we're not overly-panicking at the end, whilst not being allowed to actually physically take the 11+ exam myself :twisted: :lol:
Seize the day ... before it seizes you.
push-pull-mum
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:52 pm

Re: double digit addition year 3

Post by push-pull-mum »

fatbananas wrote: whilst not being allowed to actually physically take the 11+ exam myself :twisted: :lol:
Oh, wouldn't that be so much less stressful? :lol:
Brian
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 2:16 pm

Re: double digit addition year 3

Post by Brian »

I would do double addition adding as follows

(61+39) you could borrow the 1 over to make it 60+40

or in a different sum like 38+45 you could 38+40 1st to get 78 then add the 5 (8+5=13) to get 83

Its easier to add from left to right in your head than the other way.

Hope this helps

Brian
staypositive
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Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 10:14 pm

Re: double digit addition year 3

Post by staypositive »

Another way though longer might be to add the units together first and then add the tens and total the two.

61+39.
Add the ones first 9+1 = 10
And then the tens 60+ 30 = 90
yoyo123
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Location: East Kent

Re: double digit addition year 3

Post by yoyo123 »

In year 3 I would say 60+ 30 = 90 ; 1 +9 = 10 ; 90 + 10 = 100
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