Maths
Inspire Maths
At St James, we use the Inspire Maths Scheme in Years 1 - 5.
Inspire Maths builds firm foundations and a deep understanding of mathematical concepts through a concrete-pictorial-abstract approach, emphasising mastery to help children become confident and independent mathematicians.
Inspire Maths uses accessible pupil textbooks which introduce concepts in a highly scaffolded way, enabling all our children to develop critical thinking skills, make mathematical connections and become confident mathematicians A wealth of activities develop fluency, build mathematical confidence and lead towards a greater depth of understanding.
Inspire is beneficial for the children in the following ways;
- It builds on concepts, helping the children to deepen their understanding.
- There are mastery questions throughout, to challenge the children appropriately.
- It encourages a Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract approach to Maths, ensuring that children are able to apply the taught concept in a variety of ways.
White Rose Maths
In Reception and Year 6 children use the scheme White Rose.
White Rose is beneficial for the children in the following ways;
- It recaps on the previous year’s learning, to ensure any gaps or misconceptions can be addressed
- It builds on concepts, helping the children to deepen their understanding.
- There are mastery questions throughout, to challenge the children appropriately.
- It encourages a Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract approach to Maths, ensuring that children are able to apply the taught concept in a variety of ways.
You can also follow along with your child’s learning via the following link. Through this, you can recap the learning we have done at school and embed their understanding further.
https://whiterosemaths.com/homelearning/
CPA
Both Inspire Maths and White Rose build firm foundations and a deep understanding of mathematical concepts through a concrete-pictorial-abstract approach.
The CPA approach builds on children’s existing knowledge by introducing abstract concepts in a concrete and tangible way. It involves moving from concrete materials, to pictorial representations, to abstract symbols and problems. The CPA framework is so established in Singapore maths teaching that the Ministry of Education will not approve any teaching materials that do not use the approach.
Concrete step of CPA
Concrete is the “doing” stage. During this stage, students use concrete objects to model problems. Unlike traditional maths teaching methods where teachers demonstrate how to solve a problem, the CPA approach brings concepts to life by allowing children to experience and handle physical (concrete) objects. With the CPA framework, every abstract concept is first introduced using physical, interactive concrete materials.
For example, if a problem involves adding pieces of fruit, children can first handle actual fruit. From there, they can progress to handling abstract counters or cubes, which represent the fruit..
Pictorial step of CPA
Pictorial is the “seeing” stage. Here, visual representations of concrete objects are used to model problems. This stage encourages children to make a mental connection between the physical object they just handled and the abstract pictures, diagrams or models that represent the objects from the problem.
Building or drawing a model makes it easier for children to grasp difficult abstract concepts (for example, fractions). Simply put, it helps students visualise abstract problems and make them more accessible.
Abstract step of CPA
Abstract is the “symbolic” stage, where children use abstract symbols to model problems. Students will not progress to this stage until they have demonstrated that they have a solid understanding of the concrete and pictorial stages of the problem. The abstract stage involves the teacher introducing abstract concepts (for example, mathematical symbols). Children are introduced to the concept at a symbolic level, using only numbers, notation, and mathematical symbols (for example, +, –, x, /) to indicate addition, multiplication or division.
Parent Support
The Powerpoint presentation here helps provide an understand our approach to teaching and learning in Maths.
Oxford Owl Maths – help for parents supporting their children with mathematics
The materials below and the links within this text are from Oxford Owl Maths and are free for parents to access. These resources are designed to support you with your children’s maths throughout their primary years. You’ll find a whole host of activities, simple ideas, top tips and eBooks to help your child with their maths at home.
There are lots of ways to help to build your child’s confidence in maths. There are many fun games and activities you can do with your child that practise maths skills. Most children love playing games and it’s an easy way to support their learning.
On Oxford Owl Maths, you’ll also find advice from educational experts on what your child is learning at school and how to make maths fun at home.
Oxford Owl guidance for parents with Maths in school
Oxford Press Parent Support Counting Objects
Oxford Press Parent Support Addition Lines
Oxford Press Parent Support Subtraction
Oxford Press Parent Support Timestables
Oxford Press Parent Support Multiplication
Oxford Press Parent Support Division
Oxford Press Parent Support Calculating Fractions
Here are some other links from Oxford Owl, which provide strategies to support Inspire at home.
Counting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeDoxbf_yac
Addition - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjE0ILtx7-0
Subtraction - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqc3TSloOLQ
Number bonds - https://youtu.be/_6xBXJK7zR0
Maths Mastery
We also use a Draw, Prove, Explain approach in our Maths Journals, focusing on children’s deeper understanding of the process by which they answer a question.
Draw a variety of ways to solve the problem.
Prove that you are correct.
Explain the most effective process to reach the answer
We celebrated World Maths Day in style this term!
