Teach-Primary-Issue-19.8

www.teachwire.net | 51 SA T S S P E C I A L and use it in context to show what it may look like. For instance, if a class is told that sum means that they need to add,they may struggle with a question like this: The sum of two numbers is 47. One of the numbers is 20. What is the other number? What can you do? Ensure that children know what key vocabulary means and how it might be used in the different contexts by showing different examples. Test technique Encourage children to complete the easier questions first and to come back to any that they may be struggling with. This will both help to keep their confidence up and will avoid them spending too long on a question that they may just not know how to answer. What can you do? Try completing a ‘walking-talking mock’ and modelling your thinking aloud as you complete a section of a test paper. You could also encourage children to flick through the test paper before they start and see which questions they feel confident with. Working backwards There are often questions in the reasoning paper that involve being presented with an answer and having to work backwards to find the starting number. This can catch children out if they are unfamiliar with the process. What can you do? Model a structure for solving this question type, such as writing out the operations in order and then reversing them underneath. TP substantially less than 355. If children can estimate approximately what an answer should be, they are then more likely to spot where an answer is obviously too big or too small. What can you do? Provide children with word problems where an estimated answer is given. Ask children to discuss whether the estimation is accurate or not and to justify their thinking. Alternative representations Sometimes, the most confident mathematicians can be thrown by something as simple as questions being presented in different formats. For instance, solving 450 - 30 is a reasonably simple question, but if it is presented in a way that children are not as familiar with (for example, _____ = 450 - 30, 450 - _____ = 30 or _____ + 30 = 450), they may struggle to find the answer. What can you do? Ensure that you use expose your class to a range of different representations and that they are given an opportunity to become familiar with them. You may show them a selection of different calculations and ask them to find the ones that have the same answer, or to discuss which one may be the odd one out. Vocabulary in context Introduce and use key vocabulary that children are likely to encounter (such as sum , difference and product ) ‘Not to scale’ – Remind pupils that this means they cannot use a ruler or protractor. Show working – Use any space around the question, and remember that marks are sometimes awarded for methods. Convert values to the same format – Practise this when ordering, comparing, adding or subtracting (particularly with units of measure or fractions, decimals and percentages). 3 TOP T I PS “Real success in maths depends on broader skills, such as spotting patterns” Sarah Farrell is a KS2 teacher in Bristol who makes and shares resources online. tinyurl.com/tp-SarahFarrell @SarahFarrellKS2