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MATHEMATICS |
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MATHEMATICS |
| This is a text only version of the booklet which was produced for Birmingham teachers in June 1997 |
1997 has been designated the "Year of Numeracy", the aim of which is to improve numeracy in Birmingham through its schools. One of its objectives is that parents are enabled to support their children's numeracy more effectively.
A group of Birmingham teachers has produced this pack to facilitate a partnership between home and school.
This pack sets out ideas for ways of involving parents through.
- paired maths/games
- parents' workshops
- maths afternoons
- curriculum evenings
- parents' courses
- maths clubs.
Other ways to encourage parents to support their child's numeracy include ..........
- parents' information meetings
- family maths competition/quiz
- holiday activity pack
- maths week
- suggesting games and publications for purchase (see bibliography at end).
World's End Infant and Nursery School
Background
Paired Maths has been running in one form or another at Cotteridge School since 1991. Infant children became involved about three years ago as more funding became available. After a short break last year, due to the poor state of the games Paired maths is now running again and hopefully will do so, for some years to come.
Pairing has been mainly parental and there has always been considerable interest. At the last count over seventy families were involved. When the games are not being used for parental pairing, they have been used in classrooms for peer pairing and also for Maths Fun weeks.
Paired Maths has always resulted in positive comments from parents. It also enables myself as maths co-ordinator to have contact with parents from both key stages on a regular basis. Often they will approach me with concerns for advice on additional things they can be doing at home.
Paired Maths has a great deal of benefits as I'm sure you will discover when you set up your own projects. My advice would be to start small and build up a bank of games and the numbers involved, slowly. It may seem like a lot of work at the start, but as each project develops there is less paper work to do and the parents become familiar with what is expected of them. I hope this booklet will help to limit the paper work that is involved.
ACTION PLAN FOR PARENTAL PAIRING AT COTTERIDGE
1. Approach the Head Teacher with the idea of setting up a project
2. Complete an Action Plan.
3. If necessary seek advice, guidance and support, internal (other interested staff) and external (advisers, schools already involved).
4. Draft outline plan of project.
First ideas
- - Who is to be involved
- - Aims and Objectives
- - Timing
- - Where? At home or school?
- - What do you need? Resources, which games?
- - How much is it going to cost? Probably the most important. Where do you envisage the money coming from? Parents Support Group, special project budget etc.
5. Approach the Head Teacher again with your draft outline plan and get the go ahead.
6. Inform governors and staff
7. Order your games.
- - shop around
- - big, bright games with simple instructions seem to be the most popular.
8. List your aims and objectives.
9. Parent's Role. What will you expect them to do?
10. Letter to Parents, informing them as much as possible what the project is about. Find out who and how many are interested.
11. Do the paper work, a register, signing out sheet, evaluation sheet.
12. Invite parents to a first meeting or workshop. Depending on how you organise it this could be the first week they chose a game.
13. Have Fun.
Sarah Brennan
At Oldknow we are keen to develop strategies to bring parents into school as we believe it's important to work together to achieve the best for our children. In attempting to work with parents in school we are aware that we must cater for two very generalised categories:
a) those who are keen to be involved in school, confident in talking to teachers and support the school in child learning.
b) those who would like to be involved but lack confidence and do not feel skilled enough.
Workshops
For some time now we have been running curriculum workshops in our Community Room. These take place once a month on a Wednesday morning from 9.00 am until approximately 10.15 am. Letters are sent out beforehand in English, Urdu and Bengali. (The majority of our childrenŐs first language is Punjabi/Urdu. We also have a growing number of Bengali and Arabic speaking children).
The workshops are led by the subject co-ordinator for whom classroom cover is provided with support from the Home School Liaison Teacher and the Community Worker who act as translator and interpreter into Punjabi/Urdu. Unfortunately we find it more difficult to offer the same standard of translation and interpreting service to Bengali and Arabic speaking parents.
Among the first workshops of the academic year we would offer Maths. The co-ordinator may begin by sharing information with parents on schemes of work, records and resources. There would then be a variety of practical maths activities. Children of parents who attend come and join us and work on the activities with their parents. It is therefore possible for the adults to take as active a role as they wish. Some prefer a more passive role of watching and encouraging their children.
At all the workshops tea, coffee and biscuits are available and there is a relaxed and informal atmosphere. Work produced during the workshops along with photographs, is displayed afterwards.
Chris Tanquee and Carole Fulwood
Last year we introduced a series of Book afternoons for year 3 classes followed by a series of Maths Fun Afternoons. We are repeating these with the current year 3. For Maths, each of the five classes has an afternoon when groups of children rotate around approximately 6 practical maths activities. To allow more space, two rooms are used with the class teacher in one and the Home School Liaison teacher in the other. There is usually a Community Worker and Classroom Assistant support. Parents join their own children and again it is possible for them to get involved as much as they wish. Some watch, some join in and others end up organising the group!
Carol Fulwood and Chris Tanquee - Oldknow Junior School
Maths Curriculum Evening at Bournville Junior School
Following a very successful evening to highlight reading in our school, we decided to hold a Maths open evening. We wanted to show how Maths was taught in our school today. We were well aware that many of our parents had bad memories of their own Maths lessons and we wanted to show how things have changed.
Although the date was set for March, we began making plans in September. Each year group was allocated a topic for display purposes: year three, number; year four, shape and space; year five data handling, statistics and probability and year six, measurement (itŐs a good idea to establish whoŐs doing what as early as possible - staff can then collect work for display over months rather than the last few days in sheer desperation!).
After Christmas I approached staff to see how they felt about running workshops in which both parents and children could participate to show the variety of Mathematics work that went on in our school. With their agreement I went away and prepared a programme of activities and went to look for volunteers.
A number of our classrooms go off the hall. These were used for activities. We set up display boards around the edge of the hall, allocating a bay to each year group. The variety and amount of the work collected for display was extensive. It depicted the whole range of work across Mathematics at Key Stage Two.
Around the hall, in each classroom, a different activity was taking place:-
One classroom was turned into a refreshment room where tea, coffee and biscuits were provided.
We began the evening with formal introductions from our head and went on to hearing Brian Wardle speak about Maths teaching in the city today. We kept this aspect of the evening to approximately fifteen minutes - we wanted the parents to gain hands-on experience of the activities their children undertake in the everyday life of maths at school. We did not want to turn the evening into a meeting.
The response we received was excellent and we would recommend that you undertake such a venture in your own school as a means of highlighting the profile and understanding of Mathematics teaching.
Carole Barnickle.
What is the Magic of Number?
It is a course designed to focus upon teaching students about the basic concepts behind number. The students study for a period of two hours per week over 15 weeks. A further period of 5 weeks can be added on to include an element of school placement. It is an active and largely practical course.
Who is it for?
The course has been written to cater for the needs of parents who wish to enhance their skills in maths when working with their children. Qualified classroom assistants may also find the course very useful.
Are there entry requirements?
No, just an interest in maths.
What does the course cover?
What does the school get?
Parents who attend become more interested in their childŐs learning and in particular their maths work. They can offer more constructive help both to their children and the school. Some become interested in voluntary work in the school.
How do we start a course?
For the course to be viable we need to recruit 15 students. The college works in partnership with the school, whereby the school recruits the parents and the college runs the courses.
Who do we contact?
Andy Pocock
School Liaison
524 Centre
South Birmingham College
0121 694 5070
SOUTH BIRMINGHAM COLLEGE
HOME LEARNING EARLY MATHS COURSE
A new course for parents of young children to support the Year of Numeracy initiative.
The underlying principles of the Home Learning course includes raising parentsŐ awareness of numeracy in everyday situations in the home and beyond. To explore ways parents can support childrenŐs learning through the playing and creating of games and activities using home resources.
As a result of attending the course parents gain in confidence, in group skills and in personal aspirations.
Who is it for?
How long will the course last?
10 weeks
2 hours each week.
Are there any exams?
No exams
No essays
What is the course about?
How maths in the classroom has changed.
The skills that lead to number work.
Creating games that encourage the skills.
Maths in everyday situations.
Maths in the wider environment.
What do you get on completion?
A nationally recognised certificate from the Open College Network.
Who do we contact?
Margaret Douglas
524 Centre
South Birmingham College
0121 694 5070
At Canterbury Cross we have been running a Maths Club for children in KS2. Each half term the children have taken part in a variety of games and activities related to a particular topic - eg number, shape, calculators. Recently the parents of the children in the club were invited to one of the sessions. They joined in with the activities that the children were doing - often working with their own son or daughter. We also organised a competition - parents against children, which resulted in a draw! Many of the activities were taken from books found in the bibliography of this pack.
There has usually been about 20 children each week at the club and 5 parents came to the first open meeting. We hope to build on this in the future.
Publications that may be of use in school or at home.
100 Ideas for Maths 5-7 Dave Kirby
7-11 Dave Kirby
Publisher: Collins Educational
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
Hammersmith
London
W6 8JB
Starting Games
Starting Algebra/Shape + Space
Starting Data Handling levels 1-3
Starting Number Skills
Starting Investigations
More Games
More Algebra/Shape + Space
More Data Handling levels 2-5
More Number Skills
More Investigations
Go further with Games
Go further with Algebra/Shape + Space
Go further with Data Handling levels 3-6
Go further with Number Skills
Go further with Investigations
Publisher: Spectrum Maths All by Dave Kirby
Collins Educational
Creative Maths 7-9
Creative Maths 9-11
Sports Maths 7-9
Sports Maths 9-11
Maths 5-7
7-9
9-11
Publisher: Folens Publishers
Apex Business Centre
Boscombe Road
Dunstable
LU5 4RL.
Using + Applying Algebra
Handling Data
Shape and Space
Number
Publisher: Heinemann Publishers (Oxford) Ltd
Halley Court
Jordan Hill
Oxford
OX2 8EJ
"Impact Maths" - home activity packs published by Blackwells.
BEAM (Be a Mathematician) publish many materials that may be of use in encouraging parental participation, especially
Parents and Primary Mathematics Ł19.50 ISBN 1 874099 57X
BEAM
Barnsbury Complex
Offord Road
London N1 1QH
Tel 0171-457-5535.
Parents in Partnership published CSS July 1995
Teacher Support
Martineau Centre
Balden Road
Harborne
Birmingham B32 2EH
0121 428 1167
Acknowledgements to:
Ann Boyle Canterbury Cross JI
Paul Hunt Canterbury Cross JI
Betty Lewis Worlds End Infants
Linda Cooke Worlds End Infants
Chris Tanquee Oldknow Junior
Carole Barnickle Bournville Junior
Rose Ware Welsh House Farm Primary
Daniel Fretwell William Cowper JI
Beryl Bateson Core Skills Project
Naomi Higgins Park Hill Primary
Andy Pocock South Birmingham College
Margaret Douglas South Birmingham College
Acknowldegements to:
Sarah Brennan Cotteridge JI School
Andrew Massey Broadmeadow Junior School
and Wilkes Green Junior School
for their contribution.
Copyright © 1997 [BASS]. All rights reserved.