Early Number Maths Workshop

Aims of the workshop:

• Explain early number concepts.• Share ideas and activities that you

can do at home.

Attitudes towards maths

The most effective support that you as parents can give is to be

enthusiastic and excited by maths.

Did you feel that maths was a challenge? What impact do you

think this may have on your child?

Making Connections

Practical: Maths through playLanguage: Ask questions & use a range of

mathematical vocabulary. Using Text/ Images: Encourage your child to use their

fingers, draw pictures, use a number line/ 100 square to work out problems.

Use symbols + - =

Lack of language & understanding in maths can be a

serious factor in low attainers.

Common vocabulary issues in maths:

• more/less, most/least, few/fewer, greater/greatest, next, after, before, between

• How many more/ less..?

To begin with children...• Learn to say number names in order.• Count how many objects there actually

are.• Need to know that the last number they

count tells us how many there are.• Learn they have the same amount of

objects whether they are in a straight line or grouped together.

Counting in the Early Years

• We need to teach children how to count objects accurately.

• Point to or move objects

Children need to count objects in different positions, not just in a

straight line.

Can you count the letters in your name?

How many times can you bounce the ball? Hop on one leg?

Can you match the 3 knives with the 3 forks?

How many objects are hiding in the box?

• .

How many bricks have you used in your tower?

Dropping pennies in a tin and counting the sounds

How many steps to get to the front door?

Can you put a candle on each cake?

How many wheels on your car?

What is 3?

• NominalNumbers that name.

• CardinalNumbers that tell us how many. e.g. 6 eggs in a box

• Ordinal Numbers to tell us positions. e.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd

• MeasurementNumbers that tell us age, price, weight.

Recognising Numbers

Look at children’s age, birthday cards, brothers and sisters ages.

Find numbers on pages in books.

Number hunts indoors and outdoors.

Play Number bingo.

Look at numbers on clock faces

Play snakes and ladders

Dice patterns

Subitising

Finger patterns

Numbers on telephones and tills.

Recognising Numbers

• Spot numbers all around on the walk to school.

• Numbers at the supermarket.

• Focus on ‘0’ and what it means- blast off rockets.

Writing numbers

In paint, water, glitter, with chalk, play dough, different pens,

materials

Tricky Numbers• Teen numbers - particularly 12, 13, 15

• Ty numbers - 20 is often misread as 12 or ‘twenteen’• Numbers with 1 unit - get mixed up with teen numbers

Counting

• Counting is a child’s first experience of number and maths.

• Learning to count can support understanding of the number system.

• It’s one tool for building up calculation strategies.

• Counting backwards is no more difficult than counting forwards.

• Our maths lessons all begin with counting.

Alphabetland

The new number names are: A, B, C, D,.. You must not translate these number

names into banned number names one, two, three,

Count with me…Can you count from L to T?Can you count back from G?Can you count back from P?Can you count in Bs?

Alphabetland

Say the letter that comes after…BHOSay the letter that comes before…KSO

Alphabetland

How many fingers on one hand? (thumbs count)How many fingers do you have altogether?C + DB + EK - BE + EG - DE + F

Breaking the Chain

• Children can often say the number sequence from beginning to end, but ‘breaking the chain’ is more difficult.

Common errors

• 10, 20, 30……70, 80, 90, 20• 20, 90, 80….(rather than 20, 19, 18..)

• 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 20…

Number facts

• Learning key number facts will help your child progress in maths. It means they don’t have to count everything!

• These known facts can then be used to find other, more difficult, facts.

Number bonds to 10 e.g. 6+4=10

Number bonds to 20e.g. 16+4=20

First number facts

What else do you know?

If 6 + 4 = 10then we know…..4 + 6 = 1010 – 6 = 410 – 4 = 640 + 60 = 100100 – 40 = 60400 + 600 = 1000

7 + 3 = 10

First number facts

Doubles of numbers up to 10 e.g. 4+4=8

Halves of even numbers up to 20e.g. half of 8 is 4

8÷2=4

How do we learn?

• Visual• Aural• Kinaesthetic•Written• Pattern

What can you do to help your child with their maths?• Count regularly – in different steps, count

objects, by rote, groups objects, forwards and backwards, break the chain

• Play lots of games with your child• CookingGo to the shops and count out the fruit, pay for

small amounts etc.• Spot numbers out and about

Useful websites

www.ictgames.co.ukwww.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertimewww.mathszone.co.ukwww.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1