I was inspired a few weeks ago by a Twitter post I found that Mrs. Unsworth’s (@MrsUnsworthWTT) had previously shared about using a concrete hundreds chart to visualise skip counting. I really loved the way the students moved across the mat to show how they were counting. I thought this was an excellent way to…
Well it’s the start of a new year in Australian schools and this is a busy time for students and teachers. Apart from getting to know perhaps a new teacher or new classmates, students will also be getting ready for new learning. The first week or two at school are usually a time for teachers…
Last year I wrote a blog about Mental maths in action in response to a statement I often hear by both educators and parents: “If they just knew their times tables”. In my support to primary schools, I am regularly asked the question: What about times tables? or, How do I teach times tables? or,…
It’s back to school for Term 4 in NSW and for the first time probably all year, students may have some interesting holiday activities to share. Whether they stayed at home, played with cousins, went camping, visited the zoo, grandma’s, or a friend’s house, first day back often involves writing a recount. Well I thought…
MANSW’s (@MathsNSW) Primary and Middle years (PAM) committee hosted its first Teach Meet during September. The focus was on Successful ideas from online learning: What are you continuing? A number of teachers shared what they are doing in their classrooms and reflected on what new or different teaching strategies came from online learning. My blog…
In my last blog What’s your favourite maths game? I shared a few of my favourites and put the call out to my fellow educators to find out what some of your favourite maths games were. A huge thank you to all of those people who shared the games they love and games they have…
Last week during one of my webinars a teacher asked “what maths games do you recommend”? What a great question! My first response was anything with cards, dice or dominoes and I went straight to recommending Paul Swan’s work. His books have always been a staple in my mathematics classroom and his website is fantastic…
This weekend I visited Taronga Zoo in Sydney with my ten year old daughter. It was a lovely sunny day and was a great opportunity to go on an excursion, something that I know won’t be possible through school for a while. Apart from just enjoying wondering around and seeing all the animals, the zoo…
What are you kids doing these holidays? If they are anything like mine, they are often playing games on the computer. My two daughters love playing online games while Facetiming friends as they play at the same time. At first this seemed weird to this Generation Xer. I didn’t think it counted as ‘being social’…
“Children are always learning.” Rebecca Brooks, The myth of ‘catching up’ after Covid-19 As restrictions continue to ease in NSW, I have resumed some of my support and professional learning with primary schools via Zoom. One of the first things I have been reiterating to teachers is, don’t feel the pressure to ‘catch up’. My…