Maths by Month – June (updated 2020)

The final month of the school year is almost upon us, and as usual, this heralds the last installment in this year’s 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, we have continued to roll out our latest series of posts entitled Dear Family. Each of these posts focuses on a specific maths topic, and provide practical suggestions as to how families can support their child’s learning, along with providing tried and tested 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,  3-D objects, number sentences and equations, money and chance. Some of these topics also feature in the plans for this coming month (see below). The next Dear Family posts, currently in development, will focus on the topics of time, patterns and lines and angles.

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

Book lists not finalised yet? Please consider Operation Maths, Number Facts, Bua na Cainte, Exploring Spelling, Let’s Talk Literacy, Explore with Me and My Learner ID. Click on the links for more information and to view sample pages from each program and/or contact your local Edco reps for samples.

Operation Maths for Junior Infants to Sixth Class:

• Junior Infants: will be reinforcing their understanding of the numbers 0-5 via the topic of money.
• Senior Infants: Further Counting and Numeration, Comparing and Ordering and Combining and Partitioning of numbers to 10; patterns (different arrays of the same number, colour patterns, number patterns, odd and even numbers); time (one-hour intervals).
• First Class: Weight; Patterns; 3-D objects (in particular, connecting their understanding of 3-D objects to their understanding of 2-D shapes)
• Second Class:  More Place Value to 199; Area; Lines and Angles (revisiting half turns and quarter turns)
• Third to sixth classes: Operation Maths 3-6 is specifically structured so that the programme can be completed by the end of May, thus covering all of the topics in advance of the standardised testing.
  Depending on your own specific school circumstances, you may find yourself looking for inspiration to fill the maths lessons from now until the end of month. Whether you’re an Operation Maths user or not, there are a whole suite of suitable ideas on this blog post.

Operation Maths users can also access custom-made digital resources to support these topics. To access these resources, log into your account at www.edcolearning.ie, select the At School Book/Pupil’s Book for your class level. Then you can either:

• Navigate to the relevant page in the book and click on the hyperlink to open up the specific activity for that page in a new tab.
• Click on the Edco Resources icon (on book cover image on left-hand side) to open the list of all the digital resources associated with that book.

Other suggestions for June:

• Maths outside: typically this is the time of the year when teachers are bringing their classes outdoors for learning. Since the children are at home, longing to get into the outdoors, why not encourage them to safely do some of these activities, with their families, while on their outdoor walks.
  • Outdoor Classroom Day 2020 was officially celebrated on May 21. If you missed this day, you can still access their resources with suggestions for all subject areas, including maths, https://outdoorclassroomday.com/.
  • Maths Around Us activity ideas in your Operation Maths book and/or the the Maths Around Us videos accessible at https://www.edcolearning.ie/
  • For more ideas, check out this post Maths fun in the sun

Maths by Month – April (updated 2020)

A new month is just around the corner, 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.

This installment, however, is coinciding with a very turbulent and uncertain time in national and global history, as teachers and families around the country explore how best to continue to support children’s 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 first post in the Dear Family series focuses on the topic of weight, which all of the classes from third to sixth are likely to encounter in their Operation Maths books this month. Please feel free to share this post with members of your school community, whether Operation Maths users or not.

Operation Maths for Junior Infants to Sixth Class:

• Junior Infants: Ordinal numbers (first, last), 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; Capacity
• First Class: Time (hours, half hours and the calendar), 2-D shapes/Fractions (halves), Operations (addition and subtraction without renaming).
• Second Class: 2-D shapes, Capacity and 3-D objects and Angles
• Third class: Weight and Multiplication & Division
• Fourth class: Weight and Multiplication
• Fifth class: Weight, Number Theory and Rules and Properties
• Sixth class: Weight, Percentages and Rules and Properties

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 April:

• April Fool! There are 125 sheep and 5 dogs in a flock. How old is the shepherd? Would your students spot straight away that this is unsolvable or will they try to calculate an answer? Take a look at how some of Robert Kaplinsky’s students tried to attack this.
• Anthony from Mashup Math also has a selection of April Fool’s Day puzzles available from his blog, which could be shared with students at home.

Maths by Month – March (updated 2020)

Welcome to the March installment in this series of posts designed to explore the Operation Maths topics on a month-by-month basis, giving teachers greater insights into the concepts at hand, when they are most relevant.

While each monthly overview will specifically zone in on the Operation Maths topics for that particular month, the information and suggestions will be relevant to ALL primary teachers, whether they are Operation Maths users or not.

Pssst! The Edco Primary Publications launches for 2020 will be taking place around the country during March and April. As well as launching their new programmes, Litriú an Lae and My Learner ID, they will also be showcasing Explore with Me, Let’s Talk Literacy, Bua na Cainte, Operation Maths, Number Facts and other Edco publications. Click on the link above for more information and to register.

Operation Maths for Junior Infants to Sixth Class:

• Junior Infants: Representing and Interpreting Data (week 1), exploring aspects of Shape and Space via 2D shapes, 3D objects and spatial awareness (week 2), and developing an understanding of the concept of Time via sequencing of familiar daily events and the days of the week (week 3).
• Senior Infants: Length, Analysis of Number (Numeration) looking at the number ten; Comparing and Ordering and Combining and Partitioning amounts to up to ten. They will also further consolidate their understanding of Pattern (Algebra) and graphs (Representing and Interpreting Data) via linked activities.
• First Class: Length, Operations (addition and subtraction without renaming) and Fractions.
• Second Class: Operations (addition, without and with renaming, and subtraction without and with renaming, the latter of which is new content while the other material will be revision of first class work); Length (including the formal introduction of the centimeter as a standard unit of measure). 

• Third class: Area, Multiplication & Division and Symmetry
• Fourth class: Money, Area and Symmetry
• Fifth class: Area, Addition & Subtraction and Directed Numbers
• Sixth class: Money, Directed Numbers and Area

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 March:

• Engineer’s Week runs from 29th Feb to 6th March. There are obvious connections between Maths and Engineering, a fact which is being celebrated by the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) movement globally. Click on the link above to access lots of ideas to help you organise fun challenges that create a positive awareness and spark enthusiasm about the engineering profession in young people.
  • Of the STEM areas, coding is one of the most exciting, not least of all to kids! And Operation Maths is the only Irish maths programme that has integrated coding activities via the Scratch Lessons for Operation Maths 3-6. Check out the scratch lessons that are included in the Operation Maths digital resources via your TRB or edcolearning.ie
  • For infants, the Aistear Themes are an ideal way to explore STEM using a thematic focus; consult the Junior and Senior Infants TRB for the monthly Aistear suggestions.
  • For some more primary-focused STEM activities, check out the links below:
    • https://thestemlaboratory.com/kindergarten-stem-activities/
    • https://www.playdoughtoplato.com/stem-activities-for-kids/
    • https://www.stem.org.uk/resources/elibrary/resource/31235/primary-school-activity-booklet
    • https://www.steampoweredfamily.com/education/free-stem-activities-for-the-classroom/
    • https://www.yearofengineering.gov.uk/school
• World Book Day is on the first Thursday of March, and while the primary resources accessible on the site are mainly literacy linked, there are numeracy ideas also, including “Not Another Maths Book” activity sheet. Other numeracy and literacy linked suggestions for this global celebration include:
  • Carry out a survey to find out the favourite books / authors of the children in your class. Or choose a page from a book. Work out the average number of words per sentence. Both of these are included among many other suggestions from Teaching Ideas for World Book Day.

Maths by Month – February (updated 2020)

Welcome to the February installment in this series of posts designed to explore the Operation Maths topics on a month-by-month basis, giving teachers greater insights into the concepts at hand, when they are most relevant.

While each monthly overview will specifically zone in on the Operation Maths topics for that particular month, the information and suggestions will be relevant to ALL primary teachers, whether they are Operation Maths users or not.

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

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 February:

• Lá ‘Le Bríde, is Saturday February 1st. The story of St. Bridgid’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 2020 Six Nations (against Scotland in the Aviva Stadium) is on Saturday 1st 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 1-8 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 Friday 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 25th 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.

Maths by Month – December (updated 2019)

Welcome to the fourth installment in this year’s series of posts designed to explore the Operation Maths topics on a month-by-month basis, giving teachers greater insights into the concepts at hand, when they are most relevant. While each monthly overview will specifically zone in on the Operation Maths topics for that particular month, the information and suggestions will be relevant to ALL primary teachers, whether they are Operation Maths users or not.

Operation Maths for Junior Infants to Sixth Class:

• Junior Infants: Analysis of Number (Numeration) looking at the number four
• Senior Infants: 3D Objects, Spatial Relations and Time (the days of the week).
• First Class: Money, Place Value within 20, Patterns and Capacity.
• Second Class: Time (the calendar) Place Value within 99 and Representing and Interpreting Data

• Third Class: Multiplication and Division, Time and Money
• Fourth Class: Fractions and Patterns & Sequences
• Fifth Class: Fractions and 3D Objects
• Sixth Class: Fractions  and 3D Objects

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 December:

• This year, Computer Science Education Week runs from 9-15 December, during which time, they are also encouraging everybody, young and old, to engage with their annual Hour of Code event.  Coding is the future! Computers are changing every industry on the planet. Every 21st-century student should have the opportunity to build technology. Click on the links above to access Hour of Code and other computer science activities for learners of all ages. Operation Maths users can also access the tailor-made Operation Maths Scratch lessons on https://edcolearning.ie 
• NRICH have recently launched their 2018 Primary Advent Calendar. They have lots of other Christmas-themed activities that can be accessed here: https://nrich.maths.org/public/search.php?search=christmas. They also have an Advent-themed sudoku challenge that some of the more-able senior class pupils might like to tackle.
• Mash-up Maths have a Christmas-themed 12 Days of Holiday Math Challenges. Suitable for 1st class up, it might be better to hide all the puzzle initially. Then, reveal just one line at a time and ask the children to record and justify all the possible solutions based on what they know at that point. As they move through each line, they can then justify why they should now discard certain options. This is a better way to engage all of the children in thinking mathematically, rather than it just becoming a race to the solution (which can often turn-off those less mathematically-inclined). For more of this type of problem sign up to the Mash-up Maths weekly newsletter, to receive lots of other themed maths puzzles and challenges like this Grinch-themed challenge.

• Interested in more Christmas-themed maths problems? From Dec 1-24 the German Maths Society posts a daily problem (in English) on its online Advent Calendar. There are 3 levels of difficulty, 4th class to adults.