Early Number Maths
Workshop
Aims of the workshop:
•
•
Explain early number concepts.
Share ideas and activities that you can
do at home.
Attitudes towards maths
The most effective support that
you as parents can give is to be
enthusiastic and excited by maths.
Did you feel that maths was a
challenge? What impact do you
think this may have on your child?
Making Connections
Practical:
Maths through play
Language:
Ask questions & use a range of
mathematical vocabulary.
Using Text/ Images:
Encourage your child to use their fingers,
draw pictures, use a number line/ 100
square to work out problems.
Use symbols
+-=
Lack of language & understanding in
maths can be a serious factor in
low attainers.
Common vocabulary issues in maths:
• more/less, most/least, few/fewer,
greater/greatest, next, after, before,
between
• How many more/ less..?
To begin with children...
• Learn to say number names in order.
• Count how many objects there actually
are.
• Need to know that the last number
they count tells us how many there are.
• Learn they have the same amount of
objects whether they are in a straight
line or grouped together.
Counting in the Early Years
• We need to teach children how
to count objects accurately.
• Point to or move objects
Children need to count objects in
different positions, not just in a
straight line.
Can you count the letters in
your name?
How many times can you bounce
the ball? Hop on one leg?
Can you match the 3 knives
with the 3 forks?
How many objects are hiding in
the box?
• .
How many bricks have you used in
your tower?
Dropping pennies in a tin and
counting the sounds
How many steps to get to the
front door?
Can you put a candle on each
cake?
How many wheels on your car?
What is 3?
• Nominal
Numbers that name.
• Cardinal
Numbers that tell us how many. e.g. 6 eggs in a box
• Ordinal
Numbers to tell us positions. e.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd
• Measurement
Numbers that tell us age, price, weight.
Recognising Numbers
Look at children’s age, birthday
cards, brothers and sisters ages.
Find numbers on pages in books.
Number hunts indoors and
outdoors.
Play Number bingo.
Look at numbers on clock faces
Play snakes and ladders
Dice patterns
Finger patterns
Subitising
Numbers on telephones and tills.
Recognising Numbers
• Spot numbers all around on the walk
to school.
• Numbers at the supermarket.
• Focus on ‘0’ and what it means- blast
off rockets.
Writing numbers
In paint, water, glitter, with chalk,
play dough, different pens, materials
Tricky Numbers
• Teen numbers
- particularly 12, 13, 15
• Ty numbers
- 20 is often misread as 12 or
‘twenteen’
• Numbers with 1 unit
- get mixed up with teen numbers
Counting
• Counting is a child’s first experience of
number and maths.
• Learning to count can support
understanding of the number system.
• It’s one tool for building up calculation
strategies.
• Counting backwards is no more
difficult than counting forwards.
• Our maths lessons all begin with
counting.
Alphabetland
The new number names are: A, B, C, D,..
You must not translate these number
names into banned number names one,
two, three,
Count with me…
Can you count from L to T?
Can you count back from G?
Can you count back from P?
Can you count in Bs?
Alphabetland
Say the letter that comes after…
B
H
O
Say the letter that comes before…
K
S
O
Alphabetland
How many fingers on one hand? (thumbs count)
How many fingers do you have altogether?
C+D
B+E
K-B
E+E
G-D
E+F
Breaking the Chain
• Children can often say the number
sequence from beginning to end, but
‘breaking the chain’ is more difficult.
Common errors
• 10, 20, 30……70, 80, 90, 20
• 20, 90, 80….(rather than 20, 19, 18..)
• 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 20…
Number facts
• Learning key number facts will help your
child progress in maths. It means they
don’t have to count everything!
• These known facts can then be used to
find other, more difficult, facts.
First number facts
Number bonds to 10
e.g. 6+4=10
Number bonds to 20
e.g. 16+4=20
What else do you know?
If 6 + 4 = 10
then we know…..
4 + 6 = 10
10 – 6 = 4
10 – 4 = 6
40 + 60 = 100
100 – 40 = 60
400 + 600 = 1000
7 + 3 = 10
First number facts
Doubles of numbers up to 10
e.g. 4+4=8
Halves of even numbers up to 20
e.g. half of 8 is 4
8÷2=4
How do we learn?
• Visual
• Aural
• Kinaesthetic
• Written
• Pattern
What can you do to help your
child with their maths?
• Count regularly – in different steps, count
objects, by rote, groups objects, forwards and
backwards, break the chain
• Play lots of games with your child
• Cooking
Go to the shops and count out the fruit, pay for
small amounts etc.
• Spot numbers out and about
Useful websites
www.ictgames.co.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime
www.mathszone.co.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1