Mathematics

Talking about Maths

Looking for ways to further help support your child's Mathematics understanding at home? 

Regardless of their age, help strengthen your child's mathematical reasoning and understanding by engaging in talk. Some ways to keep the talk engaged and focused while you support your child include: 

1. Revoice - Repeat what you heard your child say, then ask for clarification e.g. So you are saying it's an odd number? 
2. Repeat/Restate- Ask your child to restate your reasoning e.g. Can you repeat what I said in your own words? 
3. Reason - Ask your child to apply his or her own reasoning to someone else's reasoning. e.g. Do you agree or disagree? Tell me why. 
4. Adding on - Prompt your child to participate further e.g. What more would you add to that? 
5. Think time - Wait several sounds (try five) to give your child time to think e.g. Take some time to think. You may be surprised by how hard it is to stay silent in that time!

In a recent issue from the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS), Dr Simon Lindsay and James Giannopoulos suggest ways families can engage in mathematics from an early age. These include: 

1. ‘Comparing objects and describing which is longer, shorter, heavier or holds less.
2. Playing with and describing two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional objects.
3. Describing where things are positioned, for example, north, outside, behind, opposite.
4. Describing, copying, and extending patterns found in everyday situations.
5. Using time-words to describe points in time, events and routines (including days, months, seasons and celebrations).
6. Comparing and talking about the duration of everyday events and the sequence in which they occur.
7. Saying number names forward in sequence to 10 (and eventually to 20 and beyond).
8. Using numbers to describe and compare collections.
9. Using perceptual and conceptual subitising (recognising quantities based on visual patterns), counting and matching to compare the number of items in one collection with another.
10. Showing different ways to make a total (at first with models and small numbers).
11. Matching number names, symbols and quantities up to 10’ (Phillipson, Gervasoni & Sullivan 2017).

Dan Finkle (from Maths for Love) shares advice on how you can engage in productive conversations with your child when faced with a mathematical problem. 

Activities to engage in at home