Games you could play to help Dominoes playing properly, playing snap by counting the dots and much more! Card games playing snap, adding or subtracting the numbers... Counting shells or pebbles from the beach and then using them to make patterns Games that involve dice and turn taking such as Frustration, Junior Monopoly, Sorry... Copper counting how much money can they save in coppers and then count it What s the time Mr Wolf? And other old number games And if you can think of any others, then do let us know and we ll share them on the school website! Email head@trumacar.lancs.sch.uk or let the Classteacher know. How we do Mental Calculations in Reception- Year 2 A Guide for Parents
Counting Counting is important so that children learn the order of numbers and where numbers are in relation to other numbers. Counting forwards and backwards sets a foundation for early addition and subtraction. Counting in different steps supports children on the early steps to multiplication and division. Using a number track, number line or 100 square when counting, helps the children to see and recognise the number they are saying and also to see where that number appears in relation to the other numbers. It is important for children to know, for example, how close 10 is to 7 and how far 10 is away from 97. Ideas: Practise counting in ones with your child forwards and backwards. Start with 0 first and then start from different numbers, e.g. starting on 13 count forwards or starting from 45 count backwards Practise counting forwards in twos, fives or tens from 0 at first, then beginning at any number up to 20, up to 30. In Year 1, begin counting in threes and in Year 2 begin counting in fours Practise counting backwards in twos or fives from numbers up to 50 and in tens from numbers up to 100. Year 2 can extend to over 100. Once children have had practice in finding multiplication facts using their fingers, we then want them to be able to remember these facts and recall them instantly. Here are some activities to help children remember and recall multiplication facts: Counting and chanting tables in different ways as a rap, singing, different voices (squeaky, deep, whisper etc) Having a fact of the day or facts of the week, e.g. all week ask the same fact...what s 5 times 2? - or a few facts such as a times table being asked at different times, e.g. ask 4x2 at breakfast and 6x2 at teatime Play dominoes where the answer on one domino matches the question on another domino Roll 2 dice and multiply the 2 numbers. You could cover the numbers on 1 dice with 2, 5 and 10 and then add another number (3, 4) when they are ready Together, make some multiplication fact cards and then ask children to match the multiplication fact card with an answer. So 1 card would have 3x5 and another would have 15 etc As with addition and subtraction, multiplication facts are always written horizontally.
Multiplication Addition and Subtraction Early multiplication skills begin in reception with counting in different steps. Practise counting in twos or tens and then in fives, then in Year 1 move onto counting in threes and in Year 2 counting in fours Learning and recalling multiplication tables begins in Year 2. Children in Year 2 are still encouraged to count in twos, fives and tens, and also learn to count in threes and fours. A strategy to help your child learn multiplication tables facts from counting is to say or show them a multiplication fact such as: 6 x 2 Ask them to put up six fingers and count across the six fingers in twos 6 lots of 2 is 12 Also with 7 x 10, ask them to put up 7 fingers and count across their fingers in tens so 7 lots of 10 is 70 It is important for them to know that 10x7 will give the same answer as 7x10 and they can both be worked out by putting 7 fingers up and counting in tens. Children in Year 1 are expected to know the 2, 5 and 10 times table facts and in Year 2 they must know their 3 and 4 times tables facts as well. Of course, they can learn other times tables facts too so keep encouraging them! Very early addition and subtraction begins with finding one more or one less than a number and then two more or two less than a number. Children can use a number track, number line or 100 square to do this. You could ask your child to put their finger on a number on the number track or number line and then get them to point to the number that is One more than One less than Two more than Two less than etc Children can use this method of counting on and counting back to add and subtract other numbers. Reception children could be asked to use a number track to find examples such as: Make a hop of 5 spaces on the number track. Now hop 4 more. What number are you on now? Start on 10 and hop back 3. What number are you on now?
In Year 1 and Year 2, children learn to read number sentences and use number lines and number squares to count on and count back to solve them. For example, 15 + 3 = The answer is 18 and you could encourage your child to write 15 + 3 = 18. The same would go for 18 6 = So the answer would be 12 and we would write 18-6 = 12. Another method of adding is to partition the numbers into parts, add the parts and then recombine them to find the total. So if we look at, 45 + 13 This could be written in parts: 40 + 5 and 10 + 3 Add the tens together: 40 + 10 = 50 Add the ones together: 5 + 3 = 8 Recombine the numbers to give the total: 50 + 8 = 58 Addition and subtraction sentences are always presented horizontally: 45 + 13 = 58 and not vertically. 45 +13 Some children may use number lines that will have all the numbers marked on but we encourage children to start using one with only some of the numbers marked on when they are ready.
Using the 100 square helps children to recognise that adding 9 is the same as adding 10 and taking 1 off. Also that subtracting 9 is the same as subtracting 10 and adding 1 on. When children recognise this, they can then add or subtract 9 mentally because they can visualise what s happening. Adding or subtracting 19, 29, 39 etc is similar. Children can then add (or subtract) the nearest multiple of 10 (20, 30, 40 etc) and then adjust it by 1 as needed. Again this pattern can be seen in the 100 square. Also using the 100 square, children can soon see the pattern for adding 11, 21, 31 etc. By using a 100 square the children can see the numbers and how they are in a pattern and start to visualise them mentally when working in their day-today maths. During Year 2 children will begin to use empty number lines. An empty number line is simply a blank line where children can put the numbers on they are working with. It does not have to be drawn exactly with a ruler, just a rough line, as straight as possible. We can use an empty number line to work out 45 + 13 = Start by marking 45 on the number line. Count on 10 and then count on 3. The answer is 58 We can use the empty number line for subtraction also 22 7 = Start by marking 22 on the number line and then get them to move to the nearest multiple of 10, in this case 20. How many have you moved? 2 How many more do you need to move? 5 Where have you ended up? 15 So, 22 7 = 15
The number line can also be used to subtract by counting up from the smaller number to the larger. 22-17= Start by marking zero and the two numbers on the number line. We want to take 17 away from 22, so we first of all cross out the line up to 17. How many do we have left? Count up from 17 to the next multiple of 10, which is 20. Then count up from 20 to 22. So the answer is 5. This method is often used when finding the difference between two numbers, but it can be used for any subtraction calculation. Counting on and counting back is also useful when children are adding or subtracting 10 or multiples of 10. Children gain a better understanding of what is happening to the numbers if at first they use a 100 square. Using a 100 square, ask your child to add or subtract 10 to or from any number. Can they tell you what is happening to the number each time? The ones (units) will stay the same and the tens will increase or decrease by 10. After some practice, children will soon be able to go down the columns to add 10 and up the columns to subtract 10. They need to find this out by counting along 10 first though. How can we use a 100 square to add 24 and 30? Start at 24 and count on in tens (down the column) 34, 44, 54. What about 87 50? Start at 87 and count back in tens *up the column) 77, 67, 57, 47, 37. Children can also use a number line to count on and back in multiples of 10. The 100 square is also useful when learning to add or subtract 9, 19, 29...or 11, 21, 31 Using a 100 square, ask your child to add or subtract 9 from different numbers. Can they tell you what is happening to the numbers each time? When adding 9, the tens increase by 10 and the ones (units) decrease by 1. The opposite happens when subtracting 9.
100 Square Children find counting past ten difficult when using a number sequence as they tend to drop down to the next ten rather than count from left to right. E.g. When adding 5 onto 77, children often count 78, 79, 80, 90, 89 Instead of left to right, and then to left of next row 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
Number tracks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Number lines