Our focus in Maths is on comparison. We will be completing week 25 of the NCETM's mastering number programme:-
This week’s activities will provide experiences that help the children to develop an understanding of the magnitude of numbers. Previously, the children have reasoned about the size of numbers through comparing sets of objects and identifying which set has more or fewer. This week, they will focus on ordinality: considering where numbers to 10 are in relation to each other. Through practical activities and games, the children will reason about numbers and think carefully about which is more or less. They will use linear number tracks to play games that encourage them to compare numbers that are far apart, near and next to each other. (For example, 10 is a lot more than 2 but 5 is only 1 more than 4.)
The children will make connections between their experiences with counting 1-to-1 and subitising dice patterns, and the actions of rolling dice and moving themselves and puppets/soft toys along linear number tracks. Playing games where each equal space on a track is labelled with a different, sequential number will reinforce the order of numbers, and will begin to develop the children’s understanding of the rank order of numerical magnitude (the idea that numbers are getting bigger as we move along the track) and of the linear increase in the numbers (the idea that each number on the track is 1 more than the previous number and 1 less than the following number). Playing track games will also provide the children with practice in recognising numerals. These activities will give the children experience of counting on from different numbers and support them in continuing to develop their own ‘mental number lines’, a key building block for later mathematical knowledge.
The adults will model and reinforce the 1-to-1 nature of moving along a track, as well as ensuring that the children do not count the starting position. Language is a key focus this week, and the adults will model the language of ‘more than’, ‘fewer than’ (for countable objects), ‘less than’ (for positions on a number track) and ‘equal to’ to describe the relationships between numbers. ‘Less than’ is used instead of ‘fewer than’ when the focus is on each number’s position in the counting sequence.
Previously, the children will have had practical experience of comparing by looking at, and by ordering, practical equipment such as towers of interlocking cubes. They will have compared patterns of dots – e.g. on dice and 10-frames – and will have played games in which they had to consider equal and unequal amounts.
Early experiences of playing games on number tracks will support the children in developing their ‘mental number lines’ to include larger numbers in Key Stage 1. This will further support a developing sense of number. In Key Stage 2, the children will go on to compare multiple numbers, and to sequence them from the least to the most. An understanding of comparison will also help to develop their estimating skills by allowing the children to compare what they already know about quantity to an unknown amount.
Considering equal quantities will prepare the children for the meaning of the equals (=) symbol when it is introduced in Year 1.
In English we will be retelling the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, using a story map and dressing up and acting out the story. Our Art work will be linked to this as we will be making props for our acting and we will be drawing round Mr Mooney to make an enormous Giant! In the mud kitchen we will be making a Giant pie!
In Phonics we will be recapping previous set 2 sounds and learning 'ou.'