Year Groups

In Mathematics, we are exploring pictographs and tally marks and continue to build on the children’s number knowledge. We have also focused on creating simple repeating patterns using sound, actions, objects and nature. The children are exposed to a wide range of engaging open ended resources that support the learning in these areas.

Mathematics is all around us. Mathematics is numbers, counting, patterns and much more. Everything in our world involves mathematics. Learning these skills helps us solve everyday problems and organise our lives, whether we are playing a game, drawing a picture or role-playing in the home corner, we use maths skills to do these tasks. We have observed many children transferring their mathematical knowledge to their independent play both indoors and outdoors.

Our morning routine includes mathematics, such as; counting the number of children in class and finding the correct number on the big number line. As our Nursery community grows, we regularly update the class pictograph, which is a purposeful resource providing problem-solving opportunities such as, ‘comparing groups of objects, more or less.’ This week we read the story, ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar,’ written by Eric Carle, and played a fun and active game hunting for fruit and sorting it into groups on a large-scale pictograph. At the end of the school day, the children love to sing the ‘Goodbye Song’ and use their hands to clap and tap a simple repeating rhythm pattern to accompany the song. Learning Mathematics in Nursery is fun!

What makes a triangle a triangle? Do all rectangles look the same? Kindergarten have been exploring shapes and their properties over the past few weeks. This has been such an exciting learning ____ for children.

We know that Maths is everywhere but the learners were truly astonished to see that their environment consists of so many shapes. They began to notice shapes everywhere. The learners play with 3D and 2D shapes everyday in their play in Kindergarten and have actually been exploring these shapes since they were infants however we began to draw attention to their names and attributes and the children began using this mathematical language naturally in their play.

On top of building and constructing with shape in our play, we examined and identified the 2D faces that 3D shapes have. We constructed our own 3D shapes using magnatiles and polydrons. The learners were amazed to see that 6 flat squares could be transformed into a cube. Before we knew it they had built all sorts of fantastic 3D shapes- pyramids, prisms, cuboids and shapes with names so tricky that even their teachers didn't know what they were called. We read the story 'Mouse House' explored shapes pictures. The children made their own shape pictures and showed their creativity and innovation. We played 'Guess the Shape' games and some of us even sang songs about shape.

In Year 1, we have been having a lot of fun learning about 2D and 3D shapes as part of our current Mathematics unit. This has led to some wonderful, authentic engagements as the learners have explored shapes in the environment around them. The children are developing a strong understanding of the properties of shapes through hands-on activities, such as making models out of clay and toothpicks, and devising tests to see if a shape slides, rolls or stacks. It has been great to see them applying their knowledge of shapes in our current ‘Sharing the Planet’ unit. They have incorporated geometric shapes into the logos and posters they have made for being ‘Earth Rangers’ and created fantastic patterns on their recycled wrapping paper in Art. We are very excited about the upcoming Sustainable Christmas Fair next Thursday and the learners can’t wait to share their learning with parents!

Mathematics in Year 2 is all about exploring and understanding concepts. Our hands-on approach makes learning this term’s number concepts of addition and subtraction fun and exciting. The team tries to take away the boring aspects and concentrate on using tangible manipulatives that create a different approach to learning facts. Making a rain cloud using paper chains for addition, demonstrating and using strategies such as ‘tidy tens’ and ‘number bonds’ that can then assist with both addition and subtraction, supports our learners to develop the skills they need when solving independent number problems. Participating with a range of problem solving and reasoning questions also aids and develops the learners in being able to recognise the understanding of what they need to do in order to solve numerical problems. It is not always about getting the right answer, but being able to explain how you got your answer. We then can see mistakes and go through the strategies used to enhance their learning. Our current strand of measurement has seen inquiries whereby learners have been measuring puddles, using their knowledge of capacity. They have also used the playground to accurately measure equipment using metres and centimetres. Throughout the semester we continually revisit and learn various strategies to develop and build on foundational knowledge.

How fast is the speed of light? How big is Singapore? What time does the clock say? These were some of the questions learners have been asking in our Measurement Unit in term 2. It has been so much fun and practical. We have been getting our hands on clocks and rulers and understanding more about the world around us.

An example of an exciting activity was one where teachers taped random shapes to the floor. Learners had to inquire, collaborate and have fun exploring. You would be surprised that many children learn, for the first time, that the ruler begins at 0 and we use ‘cm’ and not ‘inches’! It’s a very rewarding time as teachers get to see many ‘light bulb’ moments.

The last part of this unit is finding the area of a shape. This is always a favourite because it involves a lot of grid paper and creating shapes! Finding the area of their name is always popular!

We asked our Year 4 learners for their thoughts about Maths. Here are some of their responses.

"Maths is fun! I think Maths is really important as you can work out things like how much cake and pizza you need to buy for a birthday party. I invited 8 people to my party I planned out how much food my Mum should buy. "

"I think Maths is important because I like working out how to spend my money. I need addition and subtraction strategies for that!"

"I like Maths, but I think people need balance in their lives. I like reading too. Actually, my reading helps my Maths when I do word problems."

"I love Maths! My dad says it is the 'Language of the Universe'. I think he means that although we all speak different languages, we can all communicate through Maths. Maths unites us."

"Maths is important to me. I love playing card games and I use Maths strategies when I play. I usually beat my parents now!"

"I love patterns. I think Maths is all about looking for patterns - patterns with numbers, patterns with shapes, patterns in nature. Patterns are all around us."

"I really enjoy Maths. I love solving problems and figuring out puzzles. It's fun to do with others, but I like working alone too."

"Maths can be challenging for me, but I like it when I build on what I have learned before. This makes me more confident to try new things. "

"We are learning about 'Time' at the moment. I think it is important to be able to read clocks and calendars. You don't want to miss your Christmas holiday flight, do you?"

Thank you for your comments Year 4! It is great to hear how you are relating your Maths learning to everyday life.

Data, measuring, collecting, recording and interpreting are some of the skills that Year 5 have been applying as they inquire into How Scientific Inquiry helps us to investigate changing states of Matter. This unit of inquiry is an authentic opportunity for a connection to Data Handling in Mathematics.

Learners have developed their understanding of line graphs and how these are used to tell a story or present scientific findings in a visual way. When carrying out scientific investigations learners are required to observe and record their results. Line graphs help to communicate these in a way that they can be interpreted and understood. Learner discussions about their graphs have helped to develop new understandings and make generalisations about the results of their investigations.

In order for graphs to be valid and be interpreted accurately, they must be presented effectively. Learners are able to present their line graphs on paper and are also learning to use google sheets. They are always amazed at how their data can be easily manipulated and presented so quickly in different ways.