The View

Mathematics

In our last newsletter, we included the family game ‘Just Gridding’ for ages 7 and up, in addition to our ‘Quick Curriculum Guides’ for Foundation to Level 2. This week we are bringing the Mathematics Curriculum to you in a ‘quick read’ format aimed at our middle school students. If you have ever wondered what your children are learning in Mathematics over the year then these guides will provide you with a great insight. Another fun game for the family is also included to provide opportunities for families to engage with their children in Mathematics at home.

 

FUN FACT #1: Back in a jiffy? You’d better be fast! A “jiffy” is an actual length of time, equal to about 1/100th of a second. 

 

FUN FACT #2: Baking is mathematical -- and delicious! To make the perfect sugar cookie, follow a simple ratio of 3:2:1, or 3 parts flour to 2 parts fat to 1 part sugar.

 

 

The ‘Quick Curriculum Guides’ below are based on the Australian Curriculum and were designed by Dr Paul Swan to provide an insight to parents about what is learnt in Mathematics in each year level. The guides provide details for an activity that can be done at home. Please keep in mind that children learn this curriculum over a whole year. Although we follow the Victorian Curriculum, the Australian Curriculum is almost identical.

In our last newsletter we included Foundation, Level 1 and Level 2. This week we have included guides for Level 3 and Level 4, and in our next newsletter we will cover Levels 5 and 6. We hope that you find these easy to use with your children when engaging with Mathematics at home. For more information please visit https://drpaulswan.com.au/.

 

LEVEL 3

 

LEVEL 4

 

Make Me Say 50

For this game, the parent picks an operation (+,-, x or) and a number e.g. +17, but doesn’t tell the student what they have picked. The student starts by guessing any number, and the parent tells the student what the answer would be if they performed this operation to the student’s choice of number. The student then refines the number they choose to have a second go, hopefully getting closer to making the parent say 50. The game continues until the student says the number that would make the parent say 50. Example using +17:

 

Student: 18

Parent: 35

Student: 26

Parent: 43

Student: 35

Parent: 52

Student: 33

Parent: 50! You got it!

 

If you wish to, record the student’s guesses and parent’s replies on paper as you go, allowing the student to reflect on previous turns. This is supposed to be a quick game to improve number fluency, so no written calculations are allowed! With practice, students can reach the target number in less turns. 

 

Variations

  1. Make the target number a larger/smaller number.
  2. Swap roles.
  3. Use a two-step operation e.g. x5-10. This increases the difficulty a fair amount. Just check before you start that it is possible to reach the target number using whole numbers only.

Have fun (doing Maths)

 

 

Keep an eye out for more Mathematics games and problem solving activities that the whole family can enjoy in the next newsletter, in additional to ‘Quick Curriculum Guides’ for Levels 5 & 6. If you would like to learn more about something specific in Mathematics, please email the office at rangeview.ps@education.vic.gov.au with ‘Attention: Vicki and Lee’ in the subject line and we will do our best to respond in the following newsletter.

 

Best wishes,

 

Lee Giddings and Vicki Tzimos