Making memories
Intent statement for Mathematics:
Through our teaching of a rich, balanced and progressive mathematics curriculum at Fairmead, we intend to:
Our teaching of maths is built around the NCETM’s 5 big ideas:
Lessons are broken down into small connected steps that gradually unfold the concept.
Representations used in lessons expose the mathematical structure being taught.
Children are expected to convince themselves and others of their ideas, articulating them coherently using correct mathematical language.
Quick and efficient recall of facts and procedures and the flexibility to move between different contexts and representations.
Teachers represent the concept being taught in more than one way to draw attention to critical aspects, and to develop deep and holistic understanding.
Learners interact with mathematical ideas through our interpretation of the connected model:
Concrete - Pictorial - Abstract - Language – Sensory (C-P-A-L-S):
A range of representations for every concept.
Each is linked, and the interactions between representations are explicitly demonstrated. Manipulatives form the bedrock of understanding across all phases. Progressing from one representation to another is not a goal – deep understanding is built through moving flexibly between them. Our calculation policy acts as a toolkit to support this.
. . .
Our learners regularly meet:
Misconceptions:
Misconceptions are tackled head-on. Common misconceptions are planned for and confronted. Classes also use mathematically clumsy characters who always make mistakes and, when the teacher presents them with a completed problem, children become used to appraising their characters’ erroneous solutions.
Maths struggle:
Getting ‘stuck’ is embraced. Children learn skills to independently ‘unstick’ themselves through intensive modelling of the stuck rubric.