Introducing Numicon into year page of 5 Introducing Numicon into Year Before using Numicon Shapes in your teaching, give children time to explore Numicon Shapes for themselves. To help you get started we have suggested a sequence of activities for all the children. These activities refer to the teaching materials in our first two core kits: Firm Foundations and Kit. Assessing children s progress and knowing when to move them on is always a concern, but watching what they do and listening to what they say as they work with these activities will help you to assess their understanding. For example, when they meet the Numicon Teaching Programme, children may not call the Numicon Shapes by number names, or connect them with numerals, so watching out for when children do this will help your assessment of their number understanding. Most children in Year will complete these activities in two or three weeks, and will be ready to move on to the work in Kit, if some children need longer then it is important to give them more time. We find that all children they enjoy revisiting earlier activities independently, even when they are working on later ideas in their maths lessons. Copyright Numicon Ltd 00. All rights reserved
Introducing Numicon into year page of 5 Getting to know the Numicon Shapes Key mathematical ideas: Pattern, Shape a Getting to know the Numicon Shapes Aim: To explore the Numicon Shapes Activity Cover the board Put out a Baseboard and a basket of mixed Shapes (include more and -shapes), for children to use to fill the Baseboard. photo Encourage children to begin to identify Numicon Shapes by touch. Children take Shapes one by one from the Feely Bag to cover the Baseboard. As they start to fill the Baseboard children will need to feel for the correct Shape to fit the gaps that are left. Make Shapes available for children to use in role play. Put Numicon Shapes in a water tray for children to fish out with nets. Put Numicon Shapes in a sand tray for children to dig out. photo Put Numicon Shapes on a magnetic board for children to rearrange. photo Display the Numicon Number Line so children can begin to notice the Increase the challenge by limiting the range of Shapes used (particularly the s and s). on, in, turn over, turn round, big, small, same size, same shape Put Numicon Shapes in a water tray for children to fish out with nets. Put Numicon Shapes in a sand tray for children to dig out. Puzzles involving children having to look carefully at and rotate shapes, e.g. one-piece inset puzzles, multiple-piece inset puzzles where several pieces are fitted into a shape; geometric shape puzzles such as shape posting boxes. Puzzles where shapes are fitted together to make another geometric shape. BINDF/v/0/09. Copyright Numicon Ltd 009. All right reserved. BINDF_ACTIVITIES.indd 0/0/009 0: Refer to: card a, Activity, Cover the board This activity can be completed by children working alone or played as a game, with up to 6 children working in pairs, taking turns to place Numicon Shapes on the Baseboard. Ordering Watch for children s strategies for covering the Baseboard Do they work systematically or by trial and error? Are they beginning to recognise properties of a Shape by touch? Do they rotate and flip over the Shapes to fill the spaces? Listen for the language children are using to describe the Shapes Are they using number names? Play first with no restrictions and then extend with challenges such as: Can the Baseboard be covered without using any orange Shapes? Can it be covered with one or two colours? Can it be covered using two of each shape? Children can also set other challenges for each other to work on. Key mathematical ideas: Order, Comparison 4b Learning to put the Numicon Shapes in order Aim: To be confident in knowing the order of the Numicon Shapes Activity Swaps Activity Which one is missing?. Arranges Shape -0 in order, ask children to close their eyes and then swap the positions of two of the Shapes. Increase the difficulty of Activity by closing up the line of Shapes before asking the children to open their eyes and find the missing shape.. Ask children to point to the Shapes that have been swapped and then to move them back to their correct positions. photo As an addition to above ask children to say which Shapes they are going to move and where they are going to move them to. Activity Fill the gap Watch for children who are able to order the Shapes independently, and which way round they place the Shapes. Listen for the language they use to describe the position of the Shapes, and what has happened in the Swaps Game. Listen out for children using the word pattern. For both Activities and ask children to describe the missing Shape. They may use the number name or describe it by colour. Cut out card Numicon Shapes and glue them to clothes pegs. Ask Children to order them on a washing line. photo 4. Arrange Numicon -0 Shapes in order. Have another set scattered on a table nearby. Ask children to close their eyes; remove one of the Shapes from the ordered set. photo. Ask children to find the Shape from the scattered set that is needed to fill the gap. photo 4 Reinforce language of size, order and position. Prepare large laminated pictures of Numicon Shapes 0. With a group of 0 children give out 9 of the Shapes pictures. Ask children to line up in the order of the Number picture they are holding. The Tenth child stands in the place of the missing number. Repeat the activity holding back a different number picture each time. Spot the difference cards. Missing pictures in sequencing activities. Pictures with one missing feature. Practice a variety of sequencing and ordering activities from previous cards. BINDF/v/0/09. Copyright Numicon Ltd 009. All right reserved. BINDF_ACTIVITIES.indd 8 0/0/009 0: Refer to: card 4b, Activity, Swaps Before moving on to the above activity try the following whole class activity, which can be played with the whole class using Numicon Shapes on a magnet board, or on the Numicon Whiteboard Software. First ask the children for suggestions about how the Shapes might be put in order of size then ask them to help decide which is the smallest, which is the largest, which Shape might come next, after, Copyright Numicon Ltd 00. All rights reserved before or between, which are bigger or smaller. Ask children how they know the answers to these questions and what they notice that helps them decide how to put the Shapes in order of size? When children are ordering the Shapes confidently, play the Swaps games as a whole class. Children can then work in pairs to play Swaps and the other games on this card. Children can work in pairs to put a set of Shapes -5 into the Feely Bag and a second set in order on their table. One child removes a Shape from the ordered row, leaving a gap, another child feels in the bag to find the missing Shape. This can be repeated with a set of five higher value Shapes, e.g. 4-8 or a larger set of Shapes, e.g. -0. The gap can also be closed to present a greater challenge to children s understanding of order.
Introducing Numicon into year page of 5 Patterns Giving the Numicon Shapes their number names 6a Key mathematical ideas: Pattern Getting to know the Numicon Shapes and patterns Aim: To learn the patterns of the Shapes (working initially from -4 increasing gradually up to 0) Knowing the patterns of all the Numicon Shapes is essential for success with Numicon. Children will need to repeat the activities on this card routinely, even after progressing to some of the later activities. Activity Make a pattern Activity Find the shape. Check by fitting the Shape over the Pegs. photo. Have ready Shapes -4 in order, a Baseboard and a basket of Pegs.. Repeat with other Shapes, until children can arrange Pegs into Numicon Shape patterns quickly and confidently.. Use the Pegs to make one of the Numicon Patterns and ask children to find the corresponding Shape.. Encourage children to check by placing the Shape on top of the Pegs. photo. Pick up a Shape, ask children to look at it carefully and then to arrange Pegs on the Baseboard into the pattern of the Shape. photo Note: Some children initially find it easier to work with one colour of Peg. Show children a Shape and then hide it. Can they arrange Pegs into the Shape pattern from memory? check, pattern, the same, different, bigger, smaller, more, fewer Play games involving children arranging beanbags into Numicon Patterns on the playground. Puzzles where shapes have to be matched. Laying the table in the role play home corner. Arranging themselves into a circle, into groups, etc. Arranging small-world apparatus, e.g. furniture in the dolls house, farm animals on a farm playmat. Collage activities. BINDF/v/0/09. Copyright Numicon Ltd 009. All right reserved. BINDF_ACTIVITIES.indd 0/0/009 0: Refer to: card 6a, Activity, Make a pattern This activity can be completed by children working alone or played as a game, with up to 6 children working in pairs. Copyright Numicon Ltd 00. All rights reserved Watch for children matching a Numicon Shape to a Numicon Pattern confidently without counting. Vary colours used for building the Patterns to assess whether children are just matching by colour, or whether they have moved on to looking at the Pattern. Building Numicon Patterns helps children to know the cardinal value of each number and to visualise The better children s ability to build and identify Numicon Patterns, the more readily they will learn to calculate. So keep revisiting these Pattern activities almost daily until children are able to build all the Numicon Patterns without counting. Use opportunities that arise during the day as well as alongside other activities in maths lessons. For more ideas look at Foundation Kit Cards 6b, 8b, 9a and 9b. Use the Spinner with the Pattern Overlay (see photocopy masters) to select and build the Patterns. Put one Shape in the Feely Bag, identify the Pattern purely by touch and make it with the Pegs. Key mathematical ideas: Counting 6b Giving the Shapes their number names Aim: To give number names to the Numicon Shapes, to count objects one to one Activity Count the holes and fill the holes. Have ready Numicon Shapes -0, Pegs and other objects to be counted. You will need to refer to the Display Number Line.. Point to the -shape and ask again: if this is two, what is this? (pointing to the -shape). Continue until children have said the number name for each Shape.. Children choose Shapes, count the holes,say the number, and then find it on the Number Line. 4. Continue to point to different Shapes each time asking the appropriate question. Sometimes point to the Shape before, rather than the next one in the sequence.. Ask children to choose a Shape and count one Peg at a time into each hole. photo Continue to practise the activity until children are able to name all the Shapes confidently. 4. Ask children to find the Shape on the Number Line and say the number name. 5. Repeat this activity often using other objects as well as Pegs. Ask children to estimate how many objects they need to fill the Shape. Activity If this is one, what s this? Giving the Shapes number names. Ask children to put Shapes -0 in order, starting with the smallest. Children count out collections of small objects and check their count by putting them into the holes in the corresponding Numicon Shape. When can confidently name the Shapes they can move on to activities where they are labelling each Shape with a numeral, without counting the holes! Ask children to compare two Shapes saying which has more holes and which has fewer holes. Create displays about different numbers, including Numicon Shapes. Sing the number songs from Numicon at the Seaside and do the activities accompanying each number.. Point to the -shape and say: If this is, what is this? (pointing to the -shape). photo how many, more, number names, enough, less, fewer, not enough, match, find Shapes painted on the playground, encourage children to count PE equipment onto the Shapes, e.g. 5 bean bags onto the 5-shape, etc. Find opportunities to count every day, remembering to find the last number in the count on the Numicon Display Number Line, e.g. How many children are here today? How many paintbrushes do we need? Refer to Activity Cards a and b for ideas. Sing counting songs and rhymes. Look at counting books, read counting stories. BINDF/v/0/09. Copyright Numicon Ltd 009. All right reserved. BINDF_ACTIVITIES.indd Watch and listen for children s who say each number name as they put a Peg in each hole. Are children counting accurately, with - correspondence? Listen for children calling the Shapes by their number names. 0/0/009 0: Refer to: card 6b, Activity, Count the holes and fill the holes. Children can work in pairs to do these activities. You can also demonstrate to the whole class using Numicon Shapes on a magnet board, or on the Numicon Whiteboard Software.
Introducing Numicon into year page 4 of 5 Subtraction 0a Key mathematical ideas: Aim: To relate addition to combining two or more Shapes, to use the language of addition Activity Numicon towers. Children take turns to feel in the Bag and take out two Shapes.. Have ready Baseboard, Fact Overlays, Numicon Shapes and Pegs.. Children put the Shapes together, say what number has been made and pick up the equivalent Shape to check. The Shapes are returned to the Feely Bag and play continues. photo. Put an Overlay on the Baseboard and ask the children what they notice about it.. Children match Shapes on to the Overlay, thus making different combinations of the number featured. photo 4. Children fill the Shape showing the whole number with Pegs and place one of the combinations on top. Children continue to build the tower with Pegs and Shapes until all the combinations are used. photo 5. Ask children to describe each combination used for each layer of the tower, e.g. for the 4-tower two and two, three and one, one and one and one and one, etc. Activity Feel and make. Have ready Shapes and Numeral Cards -0 (Photocopy Master 4) in order and a Feely Bag containing two each of Shapes -5. same way, different way, find, make, same number, the same as, talk about, explain, put together Can the children say from looking at a combination of two or more Shapes what number has been made? Use opportunities to encourage children to connect addition situations and their work with Numicon, e.g. three children are listening to a story, another child joins them, illustrate by combining the -shape and -shape. Ask questions such as If we had four biscuits and five more biscuits, how many would we have altogether? Encourage children to solve this using Make up addition stories and illustrate these with Draw a target (five concentric circles) on the playground, each circle labelled with Numicon Shapes -5. Children have two quoits each to throw at the target; and then calculate their score (have Numicon Shapes to hand so if children need to they can physically combine these to work out their scores). Watch for children confidently matching the addition story to the action and imagery. Listen for their using the language of addition in their stories (altogether, more, makes, adds, put together). Remind children that instead of counting how many altogether they can find the relevant Numicon Shapes and put them together to see the total. BINDF/v/0/09. Copyright Numicon Ltd 009. All right reserved. BINDF_ACTIVITIES.indd 9 0/0/009 0: Refer to: card 0a, This section will give you ideas on addition problems and stories. Copyright Numicon Ltd 00. All rights reserved Children can work independently to make up and illustrate their own addition stories. Practice addition using the activities on card 0b children to find different combinations of Shapes that equal another. Put together combinations of Shapes, challenge children to find the one Shape that matches these combinations. Key mathematical ideas: Counting 6b Giving the Shapes their number names Aim: To give number names to the Numicon Shapes, to count objects one to one Activity Count the holes and fill the holes. Have ready Numicon Shapes -0, Pegs and other objects to be counted. You will need to refer to the Display Number Line.. Point to the -shape and ask again: if this is two, what is this? (pointing to the -shape). Continue until children have said the number name for each Shape.. Children choose Shapes, count the holes,say the number, and then find it on the Number Line. 4. Continue to point to different Shapes each time asking the appropriate question. Sometimes point to the Shape before, rather than the next one in the sequence.. Ask children to choose a Shape and count one Peg at a time into each hole. photo Continue to practise the activity until children are able to name all the Shapes confidently. 4. Ask children to find the Shape on the Number Line and say the number name. 5. Repeat this activity often using other objects as well as Pegs. Ask children to estimate how many objects they need to fill the Shape. Activity If this is one, what s this? Giving the Shapes number names. Ask children to put Shapes -0 in order, starting with the smallest. Children count out collections of small objects and check their count by putting them into the holes in the corresponding Numicon Shape. Ask children to compare two Shapes saying which has more holes and which has fewer holes. Create displays about different numbers, including Numicon Shapes. Children can work independently to make up and illustrate their own take away subtraction stories. Sing the number songs from Numicon at the Seaside and do the activities accompanying each number.. Point to the -shape and say: If this is, what is this? (pointing to the -shape). photo how many, more, number names, enough, less, fewer, not enough, match, find Shapes painted on the playground, encourage children to count PE equipment onto the Shapes, e.g. 5 bean bags onto the 5-shape, etc. Find opportunities to count every day, remembering to find the last number in the count on the Numicon Display Number Line, e.g. How many children are here today? How many paintbrushes do we need? Refer to Activity Cards a and b for ideas. Sing counting songs and rhymes. Look at counting books, read counting stories. BINDF/v/0/09. Copyright Numicon Ltd 009. All right reserved. BINDF_ACTIVITIES.indd Watch for children confidently matching the take away subtraction story to the action and imagery. Look for the ways in which children show take away by hiding a number of holes in the Shape they are starting with. Have they learnt that it is easier to leave a recognisable pattern? Listen for children using the language of subtraction in their stories (take away, leaves, start with, fewer, less). 0/0/009 0: Refer to: card a, This section will give you ideas on subtraction problems and stories. Practice using the subtraction activities on Cards a and b independently. children to cover part of a Shape and find the Shape that is left.
Introducing Numicon into year page 5 of 5 Subtraction 0a Key mathematical ideas: Aim: To relate addition to combining two or more Shapes, to use the language of addition Activity Numicon towers. Children take turns to feel in the Bag and take out two Shapes.. Have ready Baseboard, Fact Overlays, Numicon Shapes and Pegs.. Children put the Shapes together, say what number has been made and pick up the equivalent Shape to check. The Shapes are returned to the Feely Bag and play continues. photo. Put an Overlay on the Baseboard and ask the children what they notice about it.. Children match Shapes on to the Overlay, thus making different combinations of the number featured. photo 4. Children fill the Shape showing the whole number with Pegs and place one of the combinations on top. Children continue to build the tower with Pegs and Shapes until all the combinations are used. photo 5. Ask children to describe each combination used for each layer of the tower, e.g. for the 4-tower two and two, three and one, one and one and one and one, etc. Activity Feel and make. Have ready Shapes and Numeral Cards -0 (Photocopy Master 4) in order and a Feely Bag containing two each of Shapes -5. same way, different way, find, make, same number, the same as, talk about, explain, put together Can the children say from looking at a combination of two or more Shapes what number has been made? Use opportunities to encourage children to connect addition situations and their work with Numicon, e.g. three children are listening to a story, another child joins them, illustrate by combining the -shape and -shape. Ask questions such as If we had four biscuits and five more biscuits, how many would we have altogether? Encourage children to solve this using Make up addition stories and illustrate these with Draw a target (five concentric circles) on the playground, each circle labelled with Numicon Shapes -5. Children have two quoits each to throw at the target; and then calculate their score (have Numicon Shapes to hand so if children need to they can physically combine these to work out their scores). Remind children that instead of counting how many altogether they can find the relevant Numicon Shapes and put them together to see the total. when a smaller Numicon Shape is put on top of a larger one. Refer to the Using Numicon section for ideas on subtraction problems and stories. Watch for children confidently comparing two Shapes and expressing the difference as a number without counting the holes. Listen for children describing what they see using language of difference (compare, say, difference, fewer, difference between). Can they express what they see as a whole subtraction sentence e.g. the difference between seven and three is four? Children can work independently on the activities. BINDF/v/0/09. Copyright Numicon Ltd 009. All right reserved. BINDF_ACTIVITIES.indd 9 0/0/009 0: Refer to: card a, Introduce the idea of difference in discussion. Talk about the idea of comparing things, choose pictures of two animals and talk about similarities and differences. Then show the children two Shapes and talk about the differences in colour and size. Draw children s attention to the difference in size that can be seen Copyright Numicon Ltd 00. All rights reserved Make and use a class pictogram or bar chart, explore and compare different categories using language of comparison and difference.