Maths by Month – February (updated 2021)

Welcome to the February installment of Maths by Month.

As we proceed with the current reality of distance learning, rest assured that Edco Primary Maths and the Operation Maths blog will continue to support teachers, schools and families, including:

• Dear Family, our ever-expanding series of posts, aimed at parents and families, supporting children’s mathematical development at home
• Digging Deeper, our series of posts, aimed at teachers, providing deeper insights into the underlying theory, approaches and pedagogies behind the various maths topics
• About Operation Maths posts, for teachers who want to find out more about the Operation Maths program itself.

HINT: To ensure you don’t miss out on any future blog-posts, please subscribe to the Operation Maths blog via email, on the top right hand of this page.
Another way to keep up to date an all new maths-related developments is to like/follow the Edco Primary Maths page on Facebook and/or Twitter 

Operation Maths for Junior Infants to Sixth Class:

• Junior Infants: Analysis of Number Comparing and Ordering and Combining and Partitioning amounts up to five.
• Senior Infants: Analysis of Number (Numeration) looking at the number nine; Comparing and Ordering and Combining and Partitioning amounts to up to nine.
• First Class: Representing and Interpreting Data, Place Value within 99, Counting and Numeration to 100 and exploring Pattern in repeated addition, and addition facts on the 100 square. The Operation Maths 100 square eManipulative will be invaluable for these latter activities.
• Second Class: Weight, Time (to quarter hours on an analogue clock and to half hours on a digital clock) and Estimation (how to estimate to total of addition calculations within 99). The development of keen estimation skills is very important throughout Operation Maths and work here will lay future foundations.
• Third class: Decimals, 3D Objects and Addition & Subtraction
• Fourth class: Length and Addition & Subtraction
• Fifth class: Fractions, Decimals & Percentages and Length
• Sixth class: Data and Length

To access lists of relevant links and online resources, navigate towards the end of the relevant Dear Family posts, for a whole suite of suggestions, organised into approximate class levels.

Don’t forget that integrated with your digital Operation Maths pupil books, are numerous custom-made digital resources to support each maths topic. Just click any of the hyperlinks while viewing the digital book to bring you direct to the relevant resource.

TIP! If there are any digital resources for a particular page, they will also be briefly given and described in the footer of that page (both print and digital books). 

HINT: If you are new to Operation Maths this year or have changed class level, be sure to check out the Quick Start Guide to the Operation Maths books and the companion Quick Start Guide to the Operation Maths Digital Resources. Don’t forget that Operation Maths also has you covered for planning whether you’re teaching a single class or multi-class. 

Other suggestions for February:

• Lá ‘Le Bríde, is Monday, February 1st. The story of St. Brigid’s Cloak could be used as springboard into a pattern activity, or a discussion on exponential growth with older students.
• Ireland’s first game in the 2021 Six Nations (against Wales in the Principality Stadium) is on Sunday 7th February. Some mathematical possibilities:
  • With older children, use the opportunity to explore the rugby union scoring system, and to identify what scores (up to 30, for example) are possible (how?) or impossible.
  • Calculate the number of games to be played; what if the competition had less or more teams, how many games would need to be played then?
  • Use the language of chance to discuss the possible outcomes for each nation in the competition and recognise that while it is impossible to predict the actual outcomes, we can use of knowledge of the teams performances to make informed predictions.
  • Calculate the dimensions of the pitch
  • Run a Fantasy Rugby League in your class
  • Make score predictions for each match and plot how these scores would be recorded on the Six Nations Table
• Storytelling Week runs from 30 January to 6 February. While this is primarily a UK based event, it does serve as a timely reminder of the rich role that mathematical stories can play in the early years.  For teachers of infants to second class, be sure to check out the Literacy suggestions within the Integration section of each short term plan in the TRB.
• Valentine’s Day is Sunday 14th February. Try out these themed problems  and challenges (suitable from first class up) from Mashup Math and, from the Routty Math Teacher, this selection of five Valentine’s Day-inspired starters, that are sure to engage your students and get them thinking critically about maths.
• Pancake (Shrove) Tuesday is Tuesday 16th February. Recipes naturally provide great opportunities for real world maths, for example identifying the measures and amounts required, adding the correct measures to the mix, adapting the recipes to suit more or less people, etc. For more maths-related activities check out these pancake problems.

We’re here to help! If you have any questions on Operation Maths, Number Facts or anything related to primary maths over the course of the school year, please PM or contact Edco Primary Maths via Facebook and/or Twitter