Mathematics

This week’s focus strategies are:

Turnarounds refer to the commutative property of numbers in addition. The order in which numbers are added makes no difference to the answer. It does however make a difference to the ease of counting if the large number is used first. For example for 2 + 6 it is faster to turn the numbers around and count 2 on from 6.

Fact families encourage students to find pairs of numbers that add to a given total. For example the total of 5 can be made as 2 + 3, 1 + 4, 5 +0. From experience with fact families, the idea of equivalence can begin to emerge. Knowing that 3 + 2 will balance (is equivalent to) 1 + 4 lays important foundations for algebraic thinking. 

Sarah, Mathematics Leader