Chapel Hill State School

Mathematics - Information for Parents

The Mathematics key learning area focuses on number, patterns and algebra, measurement, chance and data, and space.

The syllabus encourages students to develop the skills needed to think, reason and work mathematically, so that they may see connections and relationships across the areas of learning and in everyday situations.

Why learn mathematics?

All of the mathematics we deal with at school has its beginnings in the real world. Think of what you did today:

• selected a container to store food;
• went shopping;
• paid a bill;
• planned a route to work;
• decided when the car needed petrol;
• planned a holiday or trip;
• planted a garden; or
• predicted some winners.

Almost everything you do in real life involves the use of some form of mathematics. But mathematics does not involve only experiences in real situations. It is also a system of ideas which provides a powerful means of communicating information clearly and concisely.

Mathematics makes several important contributions to a quality education in years 1 to 7. It provides students with a range of skills and areas of understanding which are:

• associated with a wide definition of numeracy;
• necessary for present roles in society;
• required by other subject areas;
• useful in a wide range of post-year 7 situations and life roles;
• important as a basis for further study in mathematics;
• useful to a technological society;
• essential for communication; and
• historically significant.

Mathematics is derived from experience with events and with objects and their position in the world around us. It therefore has both numerical and spatial aspects.

Mathematics is more than a matter of correct (or incorrect) answers in arithmetic. It encourages students to question, discuss and experiment in a variety of ways in an attempt to come up with reasonable answers to problems they have encountered.

What will students be doing in mathematics?

It is expected that students will engage in a wide range of activities which include:

• estimating, and checking estimates, in practical situations involving numbers and measures;
• calculating quickly and accurately using mental strategies, pen-on-paper methods and calculators and choosing the best method to use in a given situation;
• communicating their mathematical reasoning to others in spoken and written forms and by using appropriate physical objects and drawings;
• measuring (using appropriate units) lengths, areas, volumes, angles and masses;
• comparing, measuring and constructing angles, plane shapes and common three-dimensional shapes, identifying shapes in the environment and investigating their properties;
• constructing and interpreting tables and graphs; and
• using a range of mathematical processes

(calculating, measuring, estimating, inferring, analysing ....) in order to solve problems.

Children learn in a variety of ways. Some learn best by handling materials. Some by watching others model an activity. Others learn best by working in a quiet corner thinking about things. For all students an opportunity to talk about what they are doingor have done helps to develop understanding.

Not only do children learn in different ways but sometimes there will be considerable variation in the time necessary for learning to occur. For example, some students will need to take more time than others in activities or in discussion. Given adequate motivation on the part of students, sufficient attention to the need for time and a variety of approaches, it is expected that the great majority of students will reach at least the level of proficiency needed for effective citizenship.

What learning activities will take place?

To cater for your child's way of learning, activities will be structured to include:

• working with materials in common use eg: blocks, counters, straws, building sticks and paper shapes;
• using technology including instruments to measure length, area, volume, mass and time;
• demonstrations of mathematical ideas, relationships and applications in practice can be carried out by teachers, individual students, group of students and visitors to the classroom;
• using pen-on-paper to write about mathematics can involve explaining ideas, drawing diagrams, recording calculations and manipulating symbols;
• using software programs; and
• discussion will occur between student and teacher, student and student and student

How can parents help?

Think for a moment about what you could teach your child every time you plant a garden, prepare a meal, play a sport, plan a holiday or party, take out a loan or read a timetable. You are demonstrating, in a very real way, that mathematics is part of everyday living. The mathematics used at home and at work (measurements and calculations) is an important part of the mathematics children learn at school.

Mathematics holds a natural fascination for children. Some of the ways parents can help foster and develop this and reinforce the child's school learning include:

• when shopping, ask students to compare prices and sizes in order to select the best buy;
• recording shopping items on a calculator and comparing with checkout totals;
• involving students with home improvement projects that include measuring;
• when cooking, ask students to estimate the amount of flour, volume of milk or length of cooking time;
• asking students to interpret graphs used in newspapers, magazines, posters, charts and television;
• making available games and puzzles involving mathematics;
• including books on the lives of famous mathematicians or mathematical discoveries as part of the family's reference collection;
• allowing students to read and interpret road maps during family trips;
• asking students to check answers and explain how they worked out answers to mathematical problems;
• taking part in counting activities with younger children and using terms such as first, second ………tenth; and
• spending a few minutes each day asking some number facts and revising those that are not known.

Parents and other caregivers share the “real world” of mathematics with their children. Parents, whether they realise it or not, are experts at applying mathematics to everyday situations.

How is learning assessed?

Assessment involves a decision by the teacher about how well your child understands and applies mathematics. While pen-on-paper tests still have a part to play in assessment they are but one of a range of procedures a teacher will use on a daily or regular basis.
Assessment has two purposes. One is to inform students, teachers and parents about the level of student achievement. The other is to provide teachers with information necessary to plan further learning.

Should students enjoy learning?

It is important that students demonstrate confidence, persistence, co-operation, initiative, creativity and a positive reaction to the usefulness and applicability of mathematics.

If a variety of approaches to teaching is used and if all students are faced with appropriate challenges towards further learning then it can be expected that students will participate willingly in, and even enjoy, learning mathematics.

As a parent or caregiver you can help your child gain a sense of satisfaction by engaging in the types of supportive actions suggested in this pamphlet and by being positive about the usefulness and applicability of mathematics.

Learning about Length and Measurement

From an early age, your child is taught about length and measurement in the classroom. You can share experiences in your home to help improve their numeracy skills. Explain to your child that the length of something is the distance between two points. You and your child can measure the length of objects using different items as measuring units e.g. hands, fingers, feet,

straws, paperclips, ice cream sticks or even pencils. Here are a few ways you can explore length with your child:

• during daily activities, take the opportunity to ask your child to compare lengths of different objects, or line up objects, such as shoes, from longest to shortest
• remember to keep asking questions using language such as which object is shorter, longer, lower, wider or thicker?
• encourage your child to compare the heights of people in your family or objects in your home. You and your child could create a height chart and discuss your findings
• provide experiences and opportunities for your child to estimate length and get them to verify their estimations as your child learns about metres and other standard units of measuring such as centimetres, you can encourage discussion on estimating the lengths of various objects.

If you would like more information to assist your child visit www.education.qld.gov.au/parents/map/

Learning about Volume and Capacity

In the classroom, your child will hear terms such as ‘volume’ and ‘capacity’.
Volume is the amount of space taken up by a container, a solid object or the contents of a container. The amount a container is capable of holding is its capacity. While your child does not need to know the difference between these terms in the early years of schooling, here are a few ways you can help improve your child’s understanding of volume and capacity:

• gather some empty containers, plastic if possible, of different shapes and sizes and give your child opportunities to pour water and sand into the containers
• ask questions to get your child talking about what they are doing and discovering. You can encourage this by asking questions such as ”which container will hold more?” and asking them to predict the outcome
• encourage your child to compare the volume of containers, using a variety of objects e.g. spoons, lids and cups. You can ask your child to estimate "how many cups it will take to fill this container” and "will it take more cups or more spoons to fill this container?”

Experimenting and talking about volume and capacity will help your child’s literacy and numeracy skills. For more information, visit: www.education.qld.gov.au/parents/map/