2.5 Literacy and numeracy strategies
Apply knowledge and understanding of effective teaching strategies to support students’ literacy and numeracy achievement.
Evidence:
I became aware when teaching many mathematical concepts that students found them abstract and difficult to understand e.g. money, time, place value etc. I read an online blog post entitled ' Activities to Undo Maths Misconceptions' which talked about the about the importance of making difficult mathematical concepts more concrete and visual. I was about to teach the maths concept of Money to Year 1 & 2's and decided to try the idea on the blog post designed to make coin values easier to understand. I have always discovered that money was a difficult concept for many students to grasp since their size did not always represent their monetary value. |
Evidence:
When learning about 2D shapes and 3D objects I used play dough as a fun learning tool for exploring shapes. Some students with poor special awareness found it difficult to visualise 3D objects when they couldn't actual "see' them. When they were given the opportunity to manipulate mould, create and then label their shapes they found it much easier.
Every time the students played with the play dough they created and discovered new ways of utilising the materials. One students created a 3-D house using 2-D shapes. She discovered that putting other shapes together can support, construct and make new shapes.
When learning about 2D shapes and 3D objects I used play dough as a fun learning tool for exploring shapes. Some students with poor special awareness found it difficult to visualise 3D objects when they couldn't actual "see' them. When they were given the opportunity to manipulate mould, create and then label their shapes they found it much easier.
Every time the students played with the play dough they created and discovered new ways of utilising the materials. One students created a 3-D house using 2-D shapes. She discovered that putting other shapes together can support, construct and make new shapes.
Evidence:
I love to ask Questions during Maths lessons. I try and structure my lessons so it includes explicit teaching at the beginning, an activity and then re-grouping again for a discussion at the end. During the discussion I like to ask questions about the students experiences. These questions can be broad or very specific, depending on the concept we are discussing.
When students explain their thinking and strategies, they reveal volumes about what they understand or misunderstand.
When describing their thinking and problem solving methods, students they have an opportunity to clarify their own ideas. As they listen to others' ideas, they learn to see things from different perspectives.
In the example below students were working on the concept of capacity. Capacity is a difficult concept for children to comprehend so in an attempt to move the concept from abstract to concrete we used water so we could actually 'see' it.
I love to ask Questions during Maths lessons. I try and structure my lessons so it includes explicit teaching at the beginning, an activity and then re-grouping again for a discussion at the end. During the discussion I like to ask questions about the students experiences. These questions can be broad or very specific, depending on the concept we are discussing.
- What did you discover?
- How did you discover that?
- How do you know that's right?
- Is this problem (activity, game, etc.) like another? How are they the same? How are they different?
- Did anyone do this in a different way?
When students explain their thinking and strategies, they reveal volumes about what they understand or misunderstand.
When describing their thinking and problem solving methods, students they have an opportunity to clarify their own ideas. As they listen to others' ideas, they learn to see things from different perspectives.
In the example below students were working on the concept of capacity. Capacity is a difficult concept for children to comprehend so in an attempt to move the concept from abstract to concrete we used water so we could actually 'see' it.