We understand, at St Martins, that children best understand maths when connections are made between four key representations, and we use the following model in all our maths training.
Our teaching of maths is underpinned by the interconnectedness of each representation – we provide children with images like Numicon, Cuisinaire and Base 10 to support their learning combined with the language and symbols of maths, alongside a contextually appropriate experience.
For example
Teaching fractions may include the use of Cuisenaire for a visual image; the written form of fractions; the language of division, numerator and denominator, and the context of sharing between groups of children at a party – what fraction do they each receive?
Images
Whilst your child will use many different resources in maths the following three are key across the school.
Cuisenaire Rods
Cuisenaire Rods allow children to explore the relationship between rods, without ascribing each rod a value. The use of the rods enables early understanding of number eg greater than less than; double and half; three times bigger; it also allows an understanding of algebra from an early age where children are happy to replace a letter for a digit eg Orange (O) is double Yellow (Y) – perhaps written as O x 2 = Y or O + O = Y.
Numicon
Numicon allows children to see the one more one less value of consecutive numbers; the odd/even pattern is obvious; the tiles can be overlaid so children can explore how many 2s are in 7 and the remainder can be easily seen. Numicon also allows exploration of equivalence further up the school where children can explore the relationship between halving and doubling in multiplication.
Diennes – Base 10 Apparatus
Children across the school use this image to support their understanding of our number system, exploring the multiplicative relationship between each place value – 1s, 10s, 100s, etc. Base 10 is valuable in giving children a sense of the size of a number so that where a number has identical digits eg 222, children understand that each 2 has a different value depending on the place it holds in the number.
