Free Y2 maths worksheet from mathsblog.co.uk

Many children find it harder to count back than count on. This is quite a simple page as it does not involve counting back through a whole ten. Sometimes children will count back using their fingers. Hopefully as confidence grows they will be able to see some answers straight away, eg Count back 5 from 46 is 41 because they have remembered that 6 - 5 is 1.

Count back (Pg 1)

News from mathsblog.co.uk

Balls to end SATs?

For the first time Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, has hinted that there might to be an end to SAT tests as we know them for our 11 year olds.

On the telly today he told Andrew Marr,

“The current system is not set in stone. We are looking currently at a way in which we could assess progress child by child with individual level tests where the tests would be chosen in a way which was right for the child, rather than everybody doing the same test on the same day. For 2009, we are going to do the same kind of tests as in previous years before the problems with ETS, but for the long term I am really keen to get this right, to listen.”

After this summer’s fiasco then it must be applauded that he is considering alternatives, but, of course, there is every chance that we end up with something even more bureaucratic, if that’s possible. We will wait and see!

Free maths worksheets from mathsblog.co.uk

Just a quick tidy up from a couple of worksheets sent up last term, involving adding one and two to single digit numbers.Could be useful for those really lacking in confidence with their early numberwork.

adding 1 to a single digit

adding 2 to a single digit

Free maths worksheet from mathsblog.co.uk: investigating numbers

Here is a follow up to a simple number investigation using 3 boxes and some buttons. It looks at how many different ways 10 buttons can be placed in 3 boxes.

Much the best way to do this is practically and it is a suitable activity for children much older than Year 1. It allows for the making of rules eg can I put all ten buttons in one box and leave the others empty? it also encourages logical thinking and careful recording to ensure that the same combination is not repeated.

Free Y1 maths worksheet; investigating numbers

What influences children’s achievement by the age of 10?
Well that’s something we would all like to know, but a recent study from the University of London, published in the journal ‘Science’, suggests that there are a number of crucial factors, including:
1. the education of the child’s mother
2. playing word and number games at home
3. going to a good pre-school nursery or primary school
A good home learning environment is crucial and this is often created by mother’s who have a good educational background themselves – a fairly obvious statement I would think.
However, there are plenty of cases where a mother’s lower level of education is more than made up for by creating a good home learning environment. Reading stories, singing nursery rhymes and playing games involving shape and space are all factors.
Professor Melhuish goes on to say,
“The results indicated that home learning environment, pre-school effectiveness and primary school effectiveness all make separate, significant impacts.”
So go on, get the board games out and spend a great afternoon playing and talking with your children – it does them good!

Hope you have all had a pleasant summer holiday, even if the weather has not been brilliant.

Here is a nice little starter for all those 10/11 year olds going back to school next week. Oh well, just think of all the peace and quiet at home during the day!

Free maths worksheet: Wordsearch make 24

As the summer is about to begin I will be having a few days off blogging and will return for the new school term with loads more free worksheets, info etc.

I have just been informed that the URBrainy site is up and running. This is a brand new site providing maths material for the Early Years - children between the age of 3 and 5.

To start with they have launched an excellent selection of free maths worksheets and they will soon be coming up with a whole load more, together with some fantastic games. Well worth keeping an eye on over the coming months.

It can be found at:

URBrainy.com

Jim and the Beanstalk (Puffin Picture Books)This is a rewrite of the famous Jack tale by Raymond Briggs. Just like Jack, Jim wakes up to find a tall plant growing outside his house. He climbs up to the top where there is a huge house. A very old giant lives in the house – not the nasty sort of giant in the traditional tale, but an unhappy one who no longer eats three boys on toast for breakfast! Jim gets the giant some large glasses, giant false teeth and a very red wig!

The ending is lovely and there is some great mathematical language in this book, mainly to do with size and shape. Perfect for 3 to 5 years old.

Why not take your child through an imaginary climb up the beanstalk to meet the giant?

Well, it is certainly getting towards the end of term so I think we can afford to spare some time with some simple number searches and games.

The square has numbers and the four rules signs. just search across, down or diagonally to find number sentences that make 12. They could be addition, subtraction, division or multiplication.

Free maths worksheet: Number search - Make 12