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Primary Mathematics resources
Mathematics is fun! Get ideas about how to stimulate
pupils' imagination by playing and using games in mathematics
lessons.
Mathematics as a curriculum-taught subject has been getting a rough deal. There's a huge gap in the number of students who go on to study mathematics in higher education. Perhaps by looking at teaching methods and the use of resources at the primary end of the mathematics learning experience, a few practical gems can be teased out to provide a basis for exploring numeracy in new, exciting and beneficial ways.
Using your imagination
Children are far more likely to remember the innovative rather than
the mundane, so a teacher's imagination can be vital if pupils are expected
to engage well with a subject. Teachers should aim to get across to students
the fact that numbers are everywhere, and relate to pretty much everything,
whether dealing with time, quantity, weight or sound. In this way classroom
teaching methods can be built on by applying traditional matheatics subjects to
a variety of topics. Ideally, mathematics lessons should be a chance for pupils
to engage with technical and inventive skills by linking the subject with a
wide range of oral, written and even physical activities. At Key Stages 1 and
2, this is particularly important as younger children — mainly those aged
3 to 7 (Key Stage 1) — will still be grappling with their oral and mental
abilities to work with numbers and shapes, and to decipher specific patterns
and calculations.
Learning through play
There can often be a tendency for teachers to over-explain topics in
class and to dominate discussions, so that a child's ability to grasp
certain methods of calculating problems is stifled. Teaching mathematics at
foundation and primary level should be fun. Stories, puzzles and written or
mental games could all feature in any numeracy session. Websites like Teaching Ideas
suggest numerous ways in which tasks can be set, and resources used for
mathematics at all levels. Many of these can be adapted right across the
National Curriculum.
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Beat the teacher — try this group activity as an alternative to general worksheets. Teachers can ask quite difficult questions covering a range of mathematics topics. If the children get the answer right they get one point. If they get it wrong, the teacher gains a point. The first to score five gets a permanent point on a scoreboard. This is a great way to motivate pupils and to further develop their mathematics skills by recapping on what has been learnt in previous lessons.
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Detective trails — this activity adds a physical element to mathematics learning. It involves Key Stage 2 level pupils using mathematics tools like compasses, rulers and string to solve questions set around the school grounds. A great way to take learning out of the classroom, teachers can invent a scenario such as the theft of a school trophy, with children divided into groups according to set questions. Each answer can be used to crack a code to form a word revealing the whereabouts of the 'stolen' item.
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Dressing by numbers — this fun activity for Key Stage 1 involves pupils making simple cuttings of a person on brown paper. The cuttings are reproduced four times. Paper doll clothes — shirts, skirts, hats, etc. — can be made to fit the dolls and then laid out in sets of four. Written on each piece of the four-piece outfit should be the facts in a numerical family, i.e. 2+4=6, 4+2=6, 6-2=4, 6-4=2. Children can make as many mathematics facts as they wish as all the clothes will be laid on a table for students to dress up.
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Who wants to be a mathematician? Basing mathematics lessons on TV shows is another good way to instigate active group participation in problem solving. In this game children can sit at tables, while the teacher selects a child to play by setting a 'first one to answer' question. Once in the hotseat, the pupil will answer a stream of mathematics questions on anything from algebra to fractions and beyond. If the contestant gets the answer wrong, another child gets the chance to sit up front. However, each child gets two lifelines where they can 'ask the audience' or 'phone a friend'. This is an excellent way for children to develop their mental speed as answers are strictly timed.
Mathematics across the curriculum
Mathematics activities can also extend to other school departments and
can be cross-referenced with other subjects. The following ideas are all
suitable for primary levels and can be adapted for use in subjects including
art, citizenship, science, drama and languages:
- perform a dance routine about mathematics and counting
- make a display of different objects that weigh 1 kilogram
- print a set of table mats or coasters with mathematics puzzles on them
- make a mathematics dictionary with illustrations (useful as a whole-school resource)
- teach a mathematics subject in a different language
As easy as ICT
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) might sound a bit
daunting, particularly when the aim is to link it with teaching mathematics at
primary level. However, when put into the context of DVDs, CD-ROMs,
PlayStations, web pages and touch-screen ticket machines — all of which
come under the ICT umbrella — perhaps some creative thinking can come out
of the different types of resources and software that can be used to solve
various mathematics problems. ICT at primary level should basically cover five
main areas:
- learning from feedback
- observing patterns
- exploring data
- teaching the computer (through pupil-designed activities)
- developing visual imagery
At Ysgol Frongoch, a primary school in North Wales, teacher David Baugh organised a school trip in which children visited a quarry as part of a project to look at the impact of human beings on the environment. Once back at school they developed an online spreadsheet to reflect the results. 'When children are actively engaged in the creation process', explains David, 'their ability to gather, manipulate and present information becomes second nature'.
Many multimedia resources are free, although for Government-funded nursery, primary and secondary schools, money is set aside for equipment in the form of Electronic Learning Credits (eLCs). This can cover resources like digital videos and software. The British Educational and Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) offers free publications and downloads aimed at helping teachers and teaching assistants at primary and secondary level on some of the best ways to use ICT in the classroom.
Linking ICT with mathematics or any other subject can develop students' interest and understanding of ICT in a way that straightforward use of PCs might limit. Special calculators can be used with overhead projectors to teach children the basic key functions as an addition to their methods of using jottings or mental mathematics to find answers to problems.
Electronic whiteboards also mean that teachers can be at the centre of things and can ask pupils to flash the results of a mathematics problem up onto the board from their keypads. This allows the whole class to be at the same point of a lesson and to discuss their methods and outcomes. This is especially effective when playing number games with shapes and patterns or designing a graph by using collected data as children can relate the visual outcome of each exercise with the answers to the problems they have tackled.
For the Government's information about the National Numeracy Strategy, see the Standards Site.
Useful links
The following websites allow pupils to brush up on mathematics
revision methods or to complete their homework. They can also provide teachers
and teaching assistants with various classroom ideas relating to specific
mathematics topics as well as other subjects in the National Curriculum.
- learn.co.uk —
revision and homework guides are available here for Key Stages 2 to AS level
students. Children can take part in practice exercises in subjects like number
estimation, mental arithmetic, space and measurement and handling data.
- The BBC's
revision website offers 'bitesize' revision guides for pre-schoolers to
over-16s. Children can ask the 'SOS' teacher specific mathematics
questions to help them with their homework.
- Blue
Web'n is an online directory of internet sites categorised by subject
and grade level with resources, lessons and activities. Surfers can tap into
international education websites, with activities including maps skills and
historical timelines.
- HomeWork
Elephant — this site has over 5 000 selected resources geared to
helping children with their homework problems in mathematics and all other
curriculum subjects. Games and activities are covered in algebra, trig,
geometry and practical science-based mathematics starting at Key Stage 1.
- Channel
4 Homework — primary and secondary school children can find
mathematics revision guides on the Channel 4 bumper website, which also has an
'Ask a question' page, a 'Get an answer' page and a
'Homework High' chat room with a Mathzone for interactive role-play
adventure games.
- Topmarks — mathematics games, the use
of interactive whiteboards, test papers and marking guidelines for teachers are
all available at this easy to use site.
- Ancient Egypt — the British Museum's excellent online exhibition gives children the chance to study Egyptian timelines, learn about timekeeping in an ancient Egyptian temple and take part in a 'time shuffling' challenge.
Don't forget you can also search for resources by
subject in TeacherNet's useful sites directory.
Last updated: 30 January 2007
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