Addition +

This term we have been looking at Addition. We have had so much fun learning different strategies in order to help us add. We have read lots of stories and played lots of fun games. Many of these activities are now in our math corner for us to practice using independently or hanging on display. 

To begin our addition journey first we talked about what "addition" is, then we had a discussion about how to recognise the language which tells us it's an addition sum. These are some key words we now recognise:

• plus
• add
• altogether
• total
• sum
• in all
• more
• and

We have learnt many strategies over the term like doubling, counting on, ten frames, tallies, number lines, using manipulatives, drawing pictures and using turn around facts. These strategies have given us alternative ways to practice adding and will come in handy as we start to develop our mental strategies. Have a look at some of the ways we have used these strategies in our classroom.

Our class strategy chart

 Soon we will be adding to this chart "What each strategy looks like in room 6"

Ten Frames

Ten frames are highly visual and are a simple graphic tool that allows us to "see numbers". Using ten frames allows us to easily see that 6 is one more than 5, 7 is less than 10 or that  8 can be made up of 5 and 3. We use our ten frames in rotations and during our warm up activities.

 

Drawing pictures 

We used the story of The Three Little Pigs in maths a few weeks ago. We cut out the pictures of the pigs in accordance to the number in the house then found out the total by adding the pigs together. Drawing pictures is a commonly used and popular strategy used by many students at any age. It develops students one-to-one correspondence and helps them organise their pictures in order to make counting quicker (groups/ rows of).

Using Manipulatives

  We use manipulatives such as counters to teach us one-to-one correspondence, ordinal numbers, and basic addition and subtraction.

Doubles 

Doubles help us understand what equal parts are and form a solid foundation for when we learn about near- doubles. We used our theme of fairy tales to create some doubles, fairies and dragons.

 Turn Around Facts

 We learnt that turn around facts are when we add the numbers in any order and the answer will not change (E.g. 7 + 3 is the same as 3 + 7) We did this by making 10's in different ways and used the fingers on the hands which we cut out, to help us.

Number lines

We have absolutely loved using number lines this term. First we used our number line to order numbers then we used them to add. We use number lines to connect the operations of addition and subtraction with measurement. Over time we will connect number lines with thermometers, clocks and rulers.