Prep Report

Wominjeka from the POD COMMUNITY - Katya, Elise, Carmen, Jo, Paula, Maja & Kim

Maths Learning Community Groups

Maths Learning Community groups are a highlight for many of the Preps as they continue to develop their number sense by investigating the numbers 1-10. They have represented these numbers with concrete materials, practised writing the digit and matched a collection of objects to an identified amount.

Fluid Maths groups are ability groups with students from across the cohort grouped by their next point of learning with a focus on number sense.

There are seven groups where students can experience a new group of peers, not necessarily from their homeroom.

All group names are Australian animals; ask your child which group they are in!

Concrete Materials amplify Math Activities

The Prep children are exposed to a variety of concrete materials during their weekly Maths Activity sessions to enhance the learning of maths concepts taught each week.

Concrete materials are physical objects that children can pick up and manipulate to help them understand the relationship between numbers and the number system, as well as relate concrete ideas to abstract ideas. The children benefit from making mathematical models, experimenting with concrete materials as they problem solve and learn by doing, rather than always listening, and watching.

During the last two weeks, the Prep students have used counters, unifix blocks and dice to engage in fun maths activities to visualise and understand the concept of addition. Other materials used during Maths Activities have included using geometric shapes, blocks, and teddies to make patterns. We also used playdough to make 3D shapes to help students visualise what these shapes look like.

Maths Brain Train

Students have been developing their ability to be independent in challenging themselves in their learning. In Maths Learning Community groups, each group have co-constructed a 'Maths Brain Train' to assist them in learning targeted skills and to further develop a deeper level of understanding. Each carriage works as a stepping stone to deeper learning. Students are encouraged to use the carriages to assist them when they are learning independently.

Kids' Voice

Students worked together to create an anchor chart about a topic they have been learning about in Maths. They have had some experience with addition this term and we used their words to create our addition poster. When students are practising their addition within the 'Brain Build' segment of our Learning Model, they can access and use the co-created anchor chart to spark further thinking and help them remember what they have learnt.

Students said that addition can be:

-"When you join two groups together".

-"When you count to make a bigger number".

-"1 banana and 2 bananas makes 3 bananas...addition!"

-"When two little groups become one big group."

-"When you put two numbers together and it makes a bigger number".

-"It makes the numbers get bigger".

-"5 and 2 is 7".