Maths
The GLA Vision:
A GLA Mathematician...
- can recall prior knowledge and use suitable technical vocabulary to articulate their explanations
- is able to talk effectively about their Maths and the strategies they have used in their mathematical processes
- is able to use different resources to support their learning and show resilience in their approaches
- loves Maths and is confident with reasoning, problem solving and thinking in different ways
- is fully equipped for the mathematical challenges of everyday life, preparing them for the world of work and have economic awareness.
We teach to the National Curriculum Mathematics programmes of study for KS1 and KS2.
Modelling - CPA
Concrete Stage:
This stage should always be used during the learning of new concepts or when building further onto learnt concepts for every child in the classroom. It involves the physical manipulation of objects to explore structure, find commonalities and rehearse the mathematics. When pupils are acting on the mathematics with the manipulatives they are also more likely to form the language to communicate concepts and ideas. This allows teachers to gain a greater understanding of where misconceptions lie and the depth of understanding a child exhibits. It also allows pupils to develop their ability to communicate mathematically and to reason.
Pictorial Stage:
This stage involves the use of images to represent the concrete situation enacted in the first stage. It can be pupils’ drawings of the resources they are acting on or a representation such as the bar model, number line or a graph. This stage acts as a ‘bridge’ to support pupils to make links between the concrete and the abstract and develops their ability to communicate and to represent their mathematics.
Abstract Stage:
This is the use of words and symbols to communicate mathematically. It is difficult for pupils to get to this stage without the other two stages working alongside. This is because words and symbols are abstractions. They do not necessarily represent a direct connection to the information. For example, a number is a symbol used to describe how many of something there are, but the symbol of a number, in itself, has little meaning. Why should a ‘5’ represent five any more than the digit ‘2’ stand for five? The other stages support pupils’ understanding of this stage.
The KS1 Maths Calculation Policy