Mathematics INSET

Thank you to all the staff at Blandford St Mary for making the February INSET on mathematics a great success.  Teachers and teaching assistants used Haylock and Cockburn's connective model to identify effective teaching of mathematices (see below).  Staff were introduced to new intervention strategies to be used in the classroom (remember there are resources on the intervention documents page) and we also looked at mathematics games (links are on the games page). 

Maths and Enterprise Week

Many cross curricular links were made last week as part of Enterprise Week, especially with mathematics.  For example, Year R, 3 and 5 made some wonderful food, such as chocolate truffles and jam, and used their measuring skills.  Year 4 learnt about fairtrade products and used compass directions to find routes on a world map.  Year 6 used their understanding of nets to make 3D shapes, resulting in some wonderful trinket boxes. 
All of the classes carried out some excellent market research and used their data handling skills.  The activities showed how mathematics is an important part of everyday day and the children enjoyed using and applying their skills and understanding.  The money raised will be donated to Comic Relief.  Well done to everyone!
 Year 4 market research

  Year 6 designing a net

 Year 5 using measuring skills as part of making jam

Dancing Problems?

How many people were at the dance?

When they danced as couples one person was left over.
When they danced in threes one person was left over.
When they danced in fours one person was left over.
When they danced in fives one person was left over.

Researching Mathematics Provision

Recently children and teaching staff have used a research process known as the Nominal Group Technique to help identify how to children could do even better at maths.  As part of the research the the participants thought how children could improve at maths and then voted for the ideas that they thought were the most important. The results were enlightening and have been used to target additional support.
 

Displays

Some excellent displays have been made that celebrate children's learning and help support and enrich mathematics.  These 'learning walls' are regulary used and updated.

  Year One

 

 

Year Five

 

Reception

Cross Curricular Learning

In Year 3 the children enjoyed applying their mathematical skills as part of a 'Hansel and Gretel' topic.  They looked into how long it would take bread to be eaten when laid out on a path outside just as Hansel and Gretel did in the traditional story.  They collected the data and presented their findings in bar charts.  Well done Year 3.

Mathematics Enrichment Afternoon

Recently a group of Blandford St Mary Primary School children enjoyed a 'Mathematics Enrichment Afternoon' at the Blandford School.  Below you can see the impressive 3D map of Blandford and the surrounding area that children created.  They did so by reading maps and transferring the data onto pieces of card that were glued together.