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Show an interest in your child’s school work
Expect your child to succeed
Share a positive attitude towards mathematics
with your child
Support your child’s interest in mathematics
Talk about mathematics and solving
problems
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Be prepared to discuss mathematical ideas
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Point out how mathematics is used every day
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Ask your child what they have learnt in
mathematics
Be positive about your child’s efforts and
encourage them to practise skills
Support the school’s mathematics program
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The most important thing you can do is to
take the time to discuss mathematical
thinking with your child and show how you
value your child as a learner of mathematics
1. Working Mathematically:
Students who feel confident about Working
Mathematically feel confident about themselves as
learners of mathematics.
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Encourage your child’s curiosity about the use of
numbers and measurements in the world around them
eg in the kitchen (measuring, digital timers, sharing,
fractions)
Listen to their many questions and ask your own
questions.
Play games together and discuss how mathematical
ideas can be used to play (in a board game work out
what die you may need to throw to land on / win)
2. Number:
 Count with your child whenever possible. Play
counting games while travelling in the car.
Remember to count forward and backwards
starting from different numbers.
 Look for numbers in your local area (eg house
numbers, prices, speed signs, Roman numerals)
 Number plate game: how many different
numbers can you make from the 3 digits
displayed on car in front of you
 Card games: addition or subtraction snap
3. Patterns and Algebra:
 Use a calculator to count by 1, 2, 3 and so on.
Press +2= then continue to press =, =, =
 Play ‘guess the next number’ or ‘guess my
rule’ games. This involves listing a set of
numbers that form a pattern eg 2, 5, 8, 11, ...
 Talk about the relationship between number
groups eg 2+1 = 3 and 1+2=3
 Play detective: work out the missing number
in a ‘code’ eg 3 + = 8
4. Data:
 Create a graph of your child’s
growth over time.
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Use tally marks to score in a game, or count
days to a special event.
Collect data relating to the child eg count up
books that have been read over a month
5. Measurement:
 Collect jars and containers of different sizes and
shapes. Sort them from smallest to largest
capacity then check by filling (great for in the
bath)
 Join your child in working out measurements for
cooking, building, craft or sewing
 Read and interpret timetables with
your child eg train, bus, TV guides.
 Encourage your child to estimate
how long it will take to perform a
common task eg minutes or seconds
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6. Space and Geometry:
Encourage your child to find shapes and objects
used in their environment eg in buildings, parks,
schools, shops. Why are some shapes and objects
used more than others?
Discuss 3 dimensional objects with your child
using their geometric names eg cone, cylinder,
cube, sphere, rectangular prism. Have a ‘shape
hunt’.
Identify symmetry in the environment. Sort
leaves and flowers on the basis of symmetry.
Find examples of tessellating shapes in the
community eg pavements, buildings.
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1. K-6 Mathematics Parent Support Document PDF (40 pages of ideas
and information)
http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/go/mathematics
2. TaLe: http://www.tale.edu.au
3. Curriculum support
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/primary/mathematics/index.htm
(with links to others below)
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4. Parents Count Too (downloads for all strands)
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5. Count Me In Too:
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6. New Australian Curriculum http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Home
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7. National Literacy and Numeracy Week http://www.nlnw.nsw.edu.au
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/primary/mathematics/numeracy/parents/index.htm
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/countmein/parents.html
BEFORE:
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Patterns and Algebra
Number
Space and Geometry
Measurement
Data
The Content Strands are now:
 Number and Algebra
 Measurement and Geometry
 Statistics and Probability
BEFORE:
Working Mathematically?
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Questioning
Reasoning
Applying Strategies
Communicating
Reflecting
NOW:
Proficiency Strands:
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Fluency
Reasoning
Understanding
Problem solving
 CONTENT
is what is
being taught
 PROFICIENCY
being taught
is how it is
BEFORE:
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Early Stage 1: Kindergarten
Stage 1: Years 1 and 2
Stage 2: Years 3 and 4
Stage 3: Years 5 and 6
NOW:
K-2: 5 to 8 years
3-6: 8 to 12 years
7-10: 12 to 15 years
11-12: 15 to 18 years
 English
 History
 Science