Understanding Mathematics Mastery at St. Matthew's School

1. What is Mathematics Mastery? A guide for parents and carers 2017-18

2. Objectives: -Explain and demonstrate how mathematics is taught in St Matthew’s C of E Infant School -Understand what is meant by 'Mastery' in mathematics. -Identify how fluency impacts upon achieving mastery. -Increase confidence and understanding in supporting your child at home.

3. What is “Mathematics Mastery?” Mathematics Mastery programme: -is a whole school approach to teaching mathematics. It aims to: -raise achievement for all pupils and to close the attainment gap. -deepen pupils’ conceptual understanding of key mathematical concepts

4. Core belief: • Success in mathematics is possible for every child, whatever their background or prior attainment. • Mistakes are an opportunity to develop. • Mathematical ability is not innate, and is increased through effort. Effort means being resilient and not giving up easily. • Every child should achieve a strong foundation in mathematics, with no child left behind.

5. Negative perceptions of mathematics • If children hear ‘I can’t do maths’ from parents, teachers, friends they begin to believe it isn’t important. • People become less embarrassed about their lack of maths skills, as it seems to be acceptable to say that they are ‘rubbish at maths’.

6. Mathematics Mastery Curriculum • Fewer topics but greater depth • Developing an understanding about numbers and its place value through the use of objects and pictures before abstract numbers and letters (see sheet about concrete, pictorial and abstract approach) • Problem solving is central • Embedded Learning • Slower and richer pace • Focus on reasoning

7. Multiple representations Concrete Demonstrating depth Pictorial Abstract one 1

8. KeyPrinciples Conceptual understanding Pupils deepen their understanding by representing concepts using objects and pictures, making connections between different representations and thinking about what different representations stress and ignore. Mathematical thinking Pupils deepen their understanding by giving an examples, by sorting or comparing, or by looking for patterns and rules in the representations they are exploring problems with. Mathematical thinking Pupils deepen their understanding by giving an example, by sorting or comparing, or by looking for patterns and rules in the representations they are exploring problems with. Conceptual understanding Conceptual understanding Mathematical problem solving Mathematical problem solving Mathematical thinking Mathematical thinking Language and communication Language and communication Pupils deepen their understanding by explaining, creating problems, justifying and proving using mathematical language. This acts as a scaffold for their thinking deepening their understanding further.

9. What does it look like in the classroom? • 5 structured lessons per week • 10-15min Maths Meeting every day

11. How will children’s work be recorded? • Task sheets • Children’s Maths Books • Videos • Photographs

12. Pleasedo … • Play (maths) with your child • There are opportunities for impromptu learning in games with real people that you can't get from an iPad or DS! • Let your child win or be better than you sometimes! Otherwise all they learn is that you are better at maths than them. • Recognise that there is more than one way of doing calculations – You may have learned one method, but children are actively encouraged to seek out alternative methods in school and choose one which works for them, no matter how long winded. • Be an actor! – Get excited about maths and your child will get excited too. • Talk to your child about their learning, what they learn in their maths lessons each day. • Use every opportunity to ask your child questions and to explain their reasoning to you. • GROWTH MINDSET – everyone of us can master mathematics given the opportunity. • Think and talk like a mathematician

13. Please try not to … • Don't expect them to understand after you've explained it once. – It is normal for a child to 'get it' one day, and then in a different context not know how to find an answer

14. Websites to use for practising fluency and other resources • Oxford Owl Maths website • Family maths toolkit website • Top Marks website • Maths is fun website • Free numicon resources • Nrich website

15. Resources on school website • http://www.stmatthewsinfantscobham.co.uk • Calculation policy • Progression in calculation • Pitch and expectations

16. Time to go and explore Mathematics Mastery • Rabbits Parents, please go to Rabbits Class. • Otters and Badgers Parents, please stay in the hall.

17. Talk Task • Year 1, Unit 1, Lesson 6: Doubles within 10 Task: You will be practising doubling different amounts. Key learning: To find double an amount up to five Instructions: • Split into pairs. Each pair has a set of digit cards 0-5. • Decide who is going to be pupil A and pupil B in your pair. • Pupil A picks a card and holds up that many fingers. • Pupil B mirrors Pupil A by holding up the same number of fingers. • Both pupils take the same amount of cubes as the fingers they are holding up and form them into a block. They check their blocks are equal in length, then join them together. • They count the total number of fingers and total number of cubes in the block and state the double.

18. The big picture:

19. Transitions • Watch the following video: (3min) • https://toolkit.mathematicsmastery.org/community/videos/transitions-videos(Ark Conway)

20. What are concreteresources? Bead strings Bar models 100 grids Fraction towers Number lines Shapes Cuisenaire rods Dienes blocks Multilink cubes

21. Part-part whole and number bonds

22. Independent Task • Year 1, Unit 1, Lesson 6: Doubles within 10 Task: You will be representing doubles. Key learning: To find double an amount up to five. Star words: double, equal, equal parts, whole Instructions: • Pick a digit card from 0-5. • Draw that number of spots on one ladybird’s wing and then fold the ladybird in half to double the spots. • Complete a part-whole model for each ladybird. Can you also represent the doubles using cubes or other concrete manipulatives. • Talk about what you have done using the star words throughout this task. – e.g. This ladybird has four spots on each wing. One part is four. The other part is four. The whole is eight. Double four is eight. Adapting and differentiating: • Questions to prompt pupils to connect concepts: ⇒ Can you make a ladybird with an even number of dots in total if one part is odd? What if the parts are even? ⇒ If the ladybird has a total of 8 dots, how many dots will it have on each wing? 2. Depth for all • Pupils represent and explain doubling with different concrete manipulatives. • Pupils draw their own contextualised representations of doubles (these could be linked to stories).

23. Maths Meetings • Watch the following video: (5min) • https://toolkit.mathematicsmastery.org/classroom-planning/maths-meetings(Ark Conway)

24. How can you help at home? • Fluency is key e.g. number facts , including subtraction facts as well, doubles and halves, skip counting , times tables • Other activities can include e.g. practise writing number formation, match words to numbers • Going shopping: talk about the cost of items and how the cost changes if you buy two items instead of one. Let your child count out the coins when paying and discuss the change you get back. Use coins to explore addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. • Follow a recipe: work together to find out the quantities needed, ask your child to weigh the ingredients, discuss how you’d halve or double the recipe and discuss the ratio of ingredients. • Cooking and shopping with your child, getting them to weigh ingredients, using language such as “more” and “less/fewer”. • Talk about the weather forecast: is today's temperature higher or lower than yesterday’s? What do the numbers mean? • Planning an outing: discuss how long it takes to get to the park, and so work out what time you need to leave the house. Discuss what shapes you see when you get there. • Look for maths around you e.g. discuss numbers all around you: door numbers, bus numbers-> encourage your child to predict what number will come next in a sequence of door numbers – are they odd or even? • Telling the time, discussing the days of the week, talking about money or the coins needed to pay for items, how long things take to cook.