Maths by Month – May (updated 2020)

Maths by Month – May (updated 2020)

A new month is just upon us, and as usual, this heralds the latest installment in this series of posts designed to explore the Operation Maths topics on a month-by-month basis.

As teachers and families, around the country, continue to support children via distance learning, to contribute to this effort in some small way, we have launched a new series of posts entitled Dear Family. Each of these posts, will focus on a specific maths topic, and provide practical suggestions as to how families can support their child’s learning, as well as links to useful digital resources. We hope that, in some small way, they may prove to be beneficial, both now, and in the future.

The posts in the Dear Family series published to date, focused on the topics of weight, capacity, 2-D shapes and 3-D objects, some of which also feature in the plans for this coming month (see below). The next posts, currently in development, focus on the topics of number sentences and equations, money and chance.

Please feel free to share any of the Operation Maths blog posts with colleagues and members of your school community, whether they are Operation Maths users or not.

Operation Maths for Junior Infants to Sixth Class:

• Junior Infants: Weight, Capacity, and more exploration of Comparing and Ordering and Combining and Partitioning amounts to up to five
• Senior Infants: Further consolidation of amounts to up to ten via Counting and Numeration, Comparing and Ordering and Combining and Partitioning; Money
• First Class: Money, 2-D shapes and Operations (to include addition with renaming)
• Second Class:  Operations (addition & subtraction within 99, without and with renaming), Money and Place Value to 199.
• Third class: Capacity, Sequences & Number Sentences and Chance
• Fourth class: Capacity, Number Sentences and Chance
• Fifth class: Capacity, Number Sentences & Equations and Chance
• Sixth class: Capacity, Equations & Variables and Chance

Operation Maths users can also access a class specific, month-by-month list of relevant links and online resources via the Weblinks document, accessible on www.edcolearning.ie. 

1. Log into your edcolearning account
2. Click on the At School Book/Pupil’s Book for your class level.
3. Click on the Edco Resources icon (on book cover image on left-hand side)
4. Select Weblinks from list of categories and then click to download the document.

Also accessible on  www.edcolearning.ie.  are the custom-made digital resources to support these topics. These will all be viewable when you click on the Edco Resources icon as directed above.

Other suggestions for May:

• May the Fourth Be With You! International Star Wars Day (May the fourth) is almost here!
  • For any of the Star Wars fans in your class, why not try out this selection of themed puzzles and images from MashUp Math? And stay away from the dark side!
  • Another teacher has created a selection of attractive and free posters Star Wars that also promote a growth mindset to maths at the same time. To download yours, go to his blog here.
• Outdoor Classroom Day is May 21 2020. This global event encourages us to use the outdoors to teach, explore and learn. There are lots of resources with suggestions for all subject areas, including maths, https://outdoorclassroomday.com/. For more ideas for outdoor maths you could also check out:
  • the Maths Around Us activity ideas in your Operation Maths book
  • the Maths Around Us videos accessible at https://www.edcolearning.ie/
  • this post, Maths fun in the sun