Student Number: 2016 2671

Student Name: Joane Caponpon

Week 1: McIntosh, A. (2004). Mental computation: A strategies approach (pp. 4-10). TAS: University of
Tasmania.

McIntosh (2014) gives insight about what is mental computation, the importance of it and important
strategies that students need to acquire for solving basic facts and larger numbers. Mental computation
is the ability to calculate the exact numerical answers without any help. In order for students to develop
mental computation, they need to grasp the concept of number sense and conceptual understanding
first (McIntosh, 2014).

Being competent in mental computation is vital for students because it is used in daily our lives, it is the
easiest way of doing many calculations and an excellent way of learning how numbers works (McIntosh,
2014). I believe that if students are competent in their mental computation, they will be more confident
in solving larger numbers or harder problems (McIntosh, 2014). It is essential for teachers to create a
strong foundation in their students’ learning.

There are many strategies that McIntosh (2014) mentioned in this article, here is a list of them:

Strategies for basic facts (McIntosh, 2014):

Addition Example Thinking Strategy
Commutativity 2+6 I’ll do 6+2 instead
Counting on in ones 3+8 Select largest number (8) then count on to 9, 10, 11
Relate to known fact 9+3 10+3 is 13, so it is one less
Doubles and near doubles 6+7 6+6 is 12, so it is one more
Bridging 10 8+6 8 and 2 is 10, and 4 more makes 14
Subtraction
Counting back in one 9-2 9, 8, 7
Convert to addition 14-8 8 and what makes 14?
Doubles and near doubles 13-6 6+6 = 12, so it is 7
Multiplication
Commutativity 7x3 I can’t remember 7x3, so I’ll do 3x7 instead
Skip counting 4x5 5, 10, 15, 20, 25
Splitting into known parts 7x8 5x8 is 40 and 16 more makes 56
Division
Convert to multiplication 28/7 4x7 is 28
Repeated subtraction 18/3 18: 15, 12, 9, 6, 3, 0

Strategies for larger numbers (McIntosh, 2014):

• Change subtraction into addition:
63-58: 58 + ? = 63
• Adding/subtracting the second number in parts:
63 + 15: 63, 73, 78 (sometimes including counting on and back in tens and multiples of ten: 5 x 30: 30,
60, 90, 120, 150)
• Bridging tens/hundreds:
 Student Number: 2016 2671
Student Name: Joane Caponpon
45 – 8: 45, 40, 37
• Working from the left (tens first):
36 + 28: 50 + 14, 64
• Working from the right (units first):
36 + 28: 14 + 50, 64
• Using a mental form of the written algorithm:
36 + 28: 6 and 8 = 14, put down 4, carry the one, 3 and 2 and 1 make 6: 64.

How would I apply this in the classroom?

The reading has made me aware of how significant mental computations are in students’ learning. In a
classroom setting, I would apply the knowledge I gained through this reading by teaching my students
multiple strategies of solving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems. Also, there will
be a large poster that summarises each strategy to hang in the classroom, to remind students about
the strategies they can use.

Week 2: Marino, H. (2017). Trying a new approach to maths in prep. Prime Number, 32(2), 6-8.

Marino (2017) discusses their school’s new approach to maths. At the start of the year, the school
explored what it means to be a mathematician, the students were involved in open ended
investigations focusing on structure/patterning (Marino 2017). The reason behind the activities is to
stimulate the actions/ behaviours required in their mathematics session (Marino 2017). For example,
explaining their thinking, being in the learning pit, asking questions and generalising (Marino 2017).

The structure of the lesson consists of (Marino 2017):

• 5 minutes of daily review – Reviewing and discussing reflections from the day before, highlighting key
mathematical ideas.
• 20 minutes of exploring and describing quantities – It should link to number triad.
• 30 minutes of investigations – It will be based on the 4 operations.
• 5 minutes of reflection – Reflections are linked to the focus of the lesson – it can either be on the
number triad or from the open investigation.

Exploring and describing quantities

The purpose of this part of the lesson is to build children’s knowledge and understanding of quantities,
number names, numerals and number word sequences (Marino 2017).

Activity examples (Marino 2017):

1. Dominoes – turn one over, what do you see? Show this number on the bead string and vertical number
line. Who has the largest/smallest number?
2. Pick a specific number to focus on each lesson. How many ways can be bust/smash that number?
3. Take a handful of objects, estimate how many there are, arrange them on the table so we can see how
many there are (encourage not to count by 1’s).
4. Turn a card over, read the number, make a collection to show that number, peg this on the bead string.
What is 1 more/1less than this number?

Investigations
 Student Number: 2016 2671
Student Name: Joane Caponpon
During investigations, it is important for teachers to model the task so that students understand it
(Marino 2017). Investigations should focus heavily on the students’ ability to share their strategies –
collaborative/cooperative learning (Marino 2017). The teachers must be clear on their objectives so
that their questions will stem from it (Marino 2017).

Activities examples (Marino 2017):

1. There were 10 people on the bus. After 2 stops the bus was empty. How many people got off at each
stop? How many different possibilities are there?
2. I had 10 lollies, I gave some to my friend and I kept some for myself. How many lollies did I eat and how
many did I give to my friend?
3. On Saturday Anna and Ben went to the orchard to pick fresh apples. When they counted their apples,
they had 7 in total. How many did each person pick?

Reflection
Reflection can be linked to either the number triad or the investigation (Marino 2017). Here are
examples of reflection questions (Marino 2017):
• How did you solve the problem?
• How many different possibilities/ways did you discover?
• What do we know about 10?

How would I apply this into my classroom?

Marino has given me valuable insight into how I would structure my maths lesson. As a pre-service
teacher, this reading is important because it guides teachers to the optimum way of structuring their
maths class. The reading also provides activities and reflection questions that I will definitely use in my
classroom.

Week 2: Russo, J. (2017). Get your game on! Place that number. Prime Number, 32 (2), 4-5.

In this reading, Russo (2017) introduces a game called ‘Place that number’ that can be played during
math lessons. The game is suitable to Year 1 – Year 6.

How to play:
1. The teacher starts with ruling a large number-line (0-100) on a whiteboard and a smaller number-line
on a notepad.
2. A student rolls the dice and construct a two-digit number, one dice will represent the tens and the
other will represent the ones.
3. After consulting with the rest of the class, the student will then mark approximately where their number
belongs on the number-line. It is important to remind the student that they are not allowed to record
the actual number.
4. The teacher will use the smaller number line to record students’ answer with the actual number.
5. After the game, the students will evaluate their performance. Here are reflection questions:
§ What could they have done differently?
§ Were two particular numbers place too close together or too far apart?
§ Were any specific numbers placed in an appropriate position making the rest of the game very difficult?
If so, which numbers?
 Student Number: 2016 2671
Student Name: Joane Caponpon

In an Early Childhood Education context, I would modify this game by using one dice and getting the
students to place numbers on a number line ranging from 0-20.

Week 3: Siemon, D. (2010). A note on ‘common misunderstandings’. Prime Number, 25(1), 3-5.

Siemon (2010), provides a different perspective about common misunderstandings. The articles
highlight that students do not purposely form misconceptions (Siemon, 2010). Students make sense of
their experience on the basis of their prior knowledge or attend to in the moment – that is, on the basis
of what represents a ‘best fit’ (Siemon, 2010).

Siemon (2010) makes two significant considerations:

1. There is no such thing as misconceptions, just alternative conceptions.
Alternative conceptions give teachers a way of being able to explain the reasoning behind students’
thinking. This is often the first step of leading students to a more productive way of thinking.

2. Students’ errors may not automatically indicate misconceptions.

Students’ errors can mean that they hold different values and beliefs about the nature and purpose of
school mathematics. The example in the reading shows that the student can solve the problem, but his
teacher did not like it. “He knew his ‘old way of doing it (quotation division) would work but Mrs… didn’t
like that.”

Siemon (2010) mentioned Assessment for Common Misunderstandings (ACM) is a tool that teachers
can use to help identify student learning needs.

How would I apply this in the classroom?

This article provides great insight about how teachers should approach misconceptions/alternative
conceptions. I will definitely use the Assessment for Common Misunderstandings in my classroom to
identify my students’ learning needs in relation to ideas about Number. The article has helped me
understand that not all conceptions warrant intervention but all teachers have a responsibility to
identify and respond appropriately to them.

Week 4: Norris, K., & Swan, P. (2013). Make it count: Intentional teaching strategies to developing
counting skills K-2. Perth: A-Z Type. (pp. 4-10).

Norris and Swan (2015) talks about the different levels of counting: pre-counting, concrete counting,
abstract counting and strategic counting.

Pre-counting is typically before Kindy and early Kindy (Norris & Swan, 2015). In this stage, children are
able to perceptually subitise a small collection with a limit of 3-4, compare physical quantities where
one is at least twice the size of the other and count in sequence but may not be linked to the idea of
quantity (Norris & Swan, 2015).
 Student Number: 2016 2671
Student Name: Joane Caponpon
Concrete counting is an important stage in number development because it connects the ideas about
counting words (one, two, three) and quantity (more, less) (Norris & Swan, 2015). There are five
counting principles that children learn and observe (Norris & Swan, 2015):
1. Stable order – The counting numbers must always be said in the same order.
2. One-to-one correspondence – The act of counting each object in a set once, and only once with one
touch per object.
3. Cardinality – Every number is inclusive of every other number before it therefore the last number said
in the count indicates the size of the entire set.
4. Order irrelevance – The items can be counted in any order and the total will remain the same.
5. Abstraction – It is the understanding that we can count any collection of objects, whether tangible or
not.

In this stage, when students have learnt to count items first in a line then more complex arrangements,
students can then learn to count out (Norris & Swan, 2015).

Abstract counting is the stage where students can count objects that cannot be seen, heard, or felt
(Norris & Swan, 2015). Students in this stage know one less/more concept and realise that it is
reasonable to talk about numbers in abstract ways (Norris & Swan, 2015). When students are capable
of doing this, they have developed a ‘mental number line’. As students develop their mental number
line and memory, they will be more competent in performing the counting strategy ‘count on’ (Norris
& Swan, 2015). Count on is a very significant strategy because it indicates that the students are
beginning to do mental math (Norris & Swan, 2015).

In strategic counting, students can rely on pattern recognition and/or knowledge of part-part-whole
relationships (conceptual subitising) (Norris & Swan, 2015). Conceptual subitising is possible with much
higher numbers e.g. a student familiar with base 10 blocks could conceptually subitise 3 ‘longs’ and 2
‘minis’ as 32 (Norris & Swan, 2015).

The accumulation of arithmetic combinations developed through conceptual subitising and counting-
on, leads to the use of more complex non-counting-based strategies/derived fact strategies (Norris &
Swan, 2015). These include (Norris & Swan, 2015):
• Adding 10 – It is the knowledge of how only the tens digit is altered if ten is added to any number and
how to add single digit to a decade number without counting for example, 40 + 5 = 45.
• Bridging 10 – This is a method of adding two numbers whose total is greater than 10. A pre-requisite
for this strategy is the knowledge of number combinations that add to 10 (friends of 10).

How would I apply this in the classroom?

The knowledge I have gained from reading this article would definitely help me in my own classroom in
the future. I could use the diagram provided to map out the abilities of each of my students. Also, I
would consult the diagram to check if my activities are age-appropriate and achievable. The article also
talks about the Concrete-Representational-Abstract which guides teachers to use concrete materials
before moving onto mental representations and abstract counting. It has helped me realised that when
teaching strategies on counting, for the first time, it is important to use concrete materials to make
counting meaningful.
 Student Number: 2016 2671
Student Name: Joane Caponpon
Week 5: McDonough, A. (2016). Good concrete activity is good mental activity. Australia Primary
Mathematics Classroom, 21(1), 3-7.

Concrete materials can help focus on key mathematical ideas

Concrete materials help teachers to engage students in the lesson. From the example in the article,
McDonough (2016) talks about how concrete materials helps students articulate key mathematical
terms e.g. heavy and light. The concrete materials (paper bags with different things inside it) assisted
to think about key ideas of mass and measurement (McDonough, 2016). Choosing the ‘right’ materials,
the way it is presented and ensuring that all children have had equal hands-on physical experience is
vital (McDonough, 2016).

Lessons that incorporate concrete materials can stimulate children’s higher order thinking
To stimulate higher order thinking, teachers must pair the concrete materials with open-ended tasks
and specific questioning (McDonough, 2016). The article used an example about a lesson on repeating
patterns. The teacher stimulated students’ higher order thinking through asking questions such as
(McDonough, 2016):
• Tell us your pattern. Is that a repeating pattern?
• How many colours make up …’s pattern?
• Tell us his/her pattern. Is it a repeating pattern?
• Why is it not a repeating pattern?
• Where did it stop being the same?
• How could he/she make that a repeating pattern?

Teachers may need to intervene when students use concrete materials

It is quite tricky to know whether a teacher should or should not intervene when children are using
manipulatives (McDonough, 2016). The article provided two scenarios about intervening students that
use concrete materials (McDonough, 2016). The first student was left feeling lost/confused when the
teacher suggested to move on to a more abstract approach (McDonough, 2016). The student may have
felt that their drawing (drawing a crab with 10 legs rather than using bundles of 10 icy pole sticks and
loose ones) was more meaningful than the teacher’s suggestion which was too abstract (McDonough,
2016). The second student who used concrete materials as an automatic response – when they were
prompted to action a more complex strategy, they were able to do it (McDonough, 2016). The second
child used concrete materials as their safety net (McDonough, 2016).

How would I apply this in the classroom?

The article’s main point was the significance of concrete materials in a maths lesson. Concrete materials
increase student engagement, guides students into using the key mathematical terms, provides a
hands-on experience and stimulates higher order thinking (if appropriate questions are asked). In the
article, Ambrose (McDonough, 2016) provides three strategies that can be used if teachers encounter
a student similar to the second example.
1. When a child solves a problem but cannot explain how she did so, do not prompt them to use
manipulatives. Ask them to show you what they did, support them in explaining their thinking.
2. Encourage children to challenge themselves.
 Student Number: 2016 2671
Student Name: Joane Caponpon
3. If a student uses manipulatives, ask them to explain what they did without giving access to the
materials. Prompt the student to reflect on their actions – to imagine it. This practice will assist in
developing mental pictures of the materials e.g. blocks on which they might be able to use in the future.

Week 6: Russo, J. (2015). Surf’s up: An outline of an innovative framework for teaching mental
computation to students in early years of schooling. Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 20(2),
34-40.

Russo (2015) introduces a framework called SURF that can be definitely used in a classroom setting.
The reading provides strategies that can be taught to students, concepts that need to be developed
from Foundation to Year 2 and the framework.

Developing a framework is important because (Russo, 2015):

• It refines the teaching of mental computation strategies in school.
• Creates stronger links between what is being taught and the current learning needs of individual
students.
• Ensures that teachers have a shared understanding of particular mental computation.
• Places more emphasis in the curriculum on meta-cognition and acquisition of mathematical language.

SURF is a framework for teaching mental computation (Russo, 2015). It stands for Strategies,
Understanding, Reading and Fast Facts (Russo, 2015). Strategies goal is about learning and applying
mathematical strategies (Russo, 2015). Applying a strategy means ‘doing something’ to our directly
retrievable knowledge. Strategies that can be taught are (Russo, 2015):

1. Count on (counting forwards to 20 and then

2. Double doubles
100)
3. Count back (counting backwards from 20 and
4. Hope on (count on by 10’s then by 1’s)
then 100)
5. Count up (counting forwards to 20 and then
6. Number splitting (partition into 10’s, 1’s and then add)
100)
7. Near doubles 8. Difference method (being at the smaller number and bridge to
the next multiple of 10, count in multiples of 10 and use
friendly numbers until you reach the larger numbers)
9. Bridging through 10 (rainbow facts)

Understanding goal is about knowing how mathematics, especially number and algebra works (Russo,
2015). The key part of understanding is to know what factual knowledge to retrieve in a given context
and which strategy/strategies to apply to this knowledge in order to answer the question correctly
(Russo, 2015). Key ideas that could be introduced under the Understanding goal include (Russo, 2015):

1. Turnaround facts (commutative property) 2. Partitioning (into 10’s and 1’s)

 Student Number: 2016 2671
Student Name: Joane Caponpon

3. More than one way 4. Addition undoes subtraction; subtraction undoes

addition
5. Change the order (associative property) 6. Fractions
7. Estimating and checking

Reading goal within SURF is about students’ ability to understand and apply these complex codes as
well as understand how these symbols translate into everyday language (Russo, 2015). At a lower
primary level, the Reading goal involves recognising and interpreting the basic operators, equality and
inequality signs and numbers (Russo, 2015). Reading has a clear relationship with Understanding
(Russo, 2015).

Fast Facts goal is about learning simple mathematical patterns so that they can accurately retrieved
without computation (Russo, 2015). Another aspect of Fast Facts is to build students’ mathematical
processing speed (Russo, 2015). Here are some Fast Facts that can be introduced at Foundation to Year
2 (Russo, 2015):

1. Subitising 2. Doubling and halves

3. Counting forwards to 20 (and then 100) 4. Friendly numbers (i.e. adding a multiple of ten to
a single digit number, for example 50 + 7 = 57)
5. Counting backwards from 20 (and then 100) 6. Adding 10 and subtracting 10

7. Rainbow facts (i.e. number bonds equalling 10)8. Adding 10 and subtracting 10

Week 7: Gervasoni, A., & Sullivan, P. (2007). Assessing and teaching children who have difficulty learning
arithmetic. Educational & Child Psychology, 24(2), 40-53.

The article talks about students’ vulnerability in all mathematical domains (counting, place value,
addition and subtraction and multiplication and division) (Gervasoni & Sullivan, 2007). The research
found that students’ vulnerability was widely dispersed across all four domains (Gervasoni & Sullivan,
2007). It is worth noting that a higher proportion of Year 2 students were vulnerable in three or four
domains, this might be a reflection of the increasing complexity of mathematics curriculum that
students typically experience (Gervasoni & Sullivan, 2007).

How would I apply this in the classroom?

Research states that if many children are vulnerable in three or four domains, it indicates that students
have diverse learning needs. This calls for customised responses from teachers. It is highly likely that
teachers will need to create individual decisions about instructional approach for each child (Gervasoni
& Sullivan, 2007).

A theme that emerged in this literature is the need for instruction and learning experiences to closely
match children’s individual learning needs. There was a process mentioned in the readings, it was called
‘Zone of Proximal Development’. Zone of Proximal Development is the distance between the actual
 Student Number: 2016 2671
Student Name: Joane Caponpon
developmental level and the level of potential development with adult guidance (Gervasoni & Sullivan,
2007). Teachers/ peers need to work in collaboration with the vulnerable student.

Teachers can modify and adjust tasks to enable students who experience difficulty to engage
successfully in the learning opportunities. This means teachers are to prepare prompts and associated
resources, try to reduce the number of steps, make the task more concrete and simplify the language.

Lastly, teachers are required to provide rich challenging problems that stimulate higher order thinking.
The approaches mentioned in the reading is significant to consider when providing intervention
programs for children with arithmetic difficulties.

Week 8: Day, L., & Hurrell, D. (2015). An explanation for the use of arrays to promote the understanding
of mental strategies for multiplication. Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 20(1), 20-23.

Day and Hurrell (2015) states the importance of using arrays to foster the understanding of mental
strategies for multiplication. The article provides a variety of examples that demonstrates the benefits
of arrays in the primary classroom (Day & Hurrell, 2015). It is stated in the Australian Curriculum that
students should ‘recognise and represent multiplication as repeated addition, groups and arrays (Day
& Hurrell, 2015). The benefits of using arrays in primary classrooms include (Day & Hurrell, 2015):
• Arrays assists students to develop commutativity, which is vital, as it sharpen student’s mental
strategies. Students will have the ability to rotate an array and know that the product will be same. For
example, five lots of four gives the same total of four lots of five.
• Through the use of arrays, students will become more familiar with number families.
• Arrays can be extended into two-digit by one-digit multiplication which can be developed into two-by
two-digit multiplication.
• Arrays aids a strong instructional practice of moving from concrete to representational abstract.

How would I apply this in the classroom?

The knowledge I have gained from this reading will be applied into my classroom by using arrays in my
maths lesson (Year 2). Year 2’s are required to recognise and represent multiplication as repeated
addition, groups and arrays according to the Australian Curriculum. Upon doing more research on how
to incorporate arrays in Year 2, I have discovered a couple of games that involved arrays.

1. Candy Shop Arrays (https://www.education.com/game/candy-shop/) – By listening to the narrator,

students can find candy jars containing the correct multiplication array. To do so, they will count rows
and columns, gaining understanding of one-digit multiplication in the process.
2. Arrays Match – It is a memory style multiplication game. The cards will be faced down to start with and
students can turn two cards at the same time. If the arrays match, then they can keep the cards, if not,
the student has to turn it face down again.
3. Array War – To play this game, students need to work in pairs. First students are required to divide the
stack evenly, holding their stack down. When they are ready to start, they need to say ‘1,2,3 war!’ and
place down a card. Whoever has the largest value wins both cards. If the cards are equal, play again.
The winner will have the most cards in the end.
 Student Number: 2016 2671
Student Name: Joane Caponpon
Caterina Piraino

Counting: 3

Growth Point 3 in Counting indicates that the student can count by 1’s forwards and backwards from
various starting points between 1 and 100. The student shows understanding that tens and ones
structure inherent in number names for two digit numbers. The student can cite the order of the
decades and is able to bridge decades when counting forwards and backwards.

In order for the student to achieve Growth Point 4, they must count by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s to a given
target, from various starting point. The student must recognise that each word in a counting
sequence refers to all of the words up to and including itself, and each next word is either two, five
and ten larger than the previous word in both cardinal and sequence meanings.

Activities to help the student move from Growth Point 3 to Growth Point 4 in Counting.

• Count-off – Roll a ten-sided or twelve-sided die. Have the students start counting from the number
rolled, adding ten to the count each time up to the 90’s. Then count backwards by tens. Display a
hundred chart to the students. Have one student select a number from 1-9 on the hundred chart and
call out the number. Once the student calls out the selected number, the rest of the class continue to
locate each number after it has been called.

The key features of the activities are prompting the student to use visual images of collections, and
number charts and explore how subtraction and addition strategies help generate the next number in
the counting sequence.

Place Value: 1

Growth Point 1 in place value indicates that the student can read, write, interpret and order single
digit numbers. The student can comprehend the terms more or less and match numerals with
number names and collections. The student can also distinguish 6 and 9 and 2 and 5.

In order for the student to achieve Growth Point 2, they will need to interpret the place value and the
total value of each digit in a numeral. The student will need to know the difference between ‘teen’
and decade ‘ty’ number words. The student is required to demonstrate grouping collections using
tens and ones instead of a unitary concept.

Activities to help the student move from Growth Point 1 to Growth Point 2 in Place Value.

• Snap, tens and ones – Play Snap with a mix of numeral cards and picture cards showing tens and
ones.
• Bean stew – Roll a numeral die (0-9) and tens numeral die (1 ten – 9 tens). Put this number of loose
beans and bean sticks in the stewing pot. Name the number. Repeat three times. How many beans
are in the pot altogether?
 Student Number: 2016 2671
Student Name: Joane Caponpon

• In the middle (10-99) – Children work in groups of three. Each child randomly selects a numeral card
(10-99). Order the numerals from smallest to largest. Child with the middle numbers gets a point.

Addition and Subtraction: 1

Growth Point 1 in Addition and Subtraction indicates that the student can count all to find the total of
two collections. The student understands that collections can be partitioned and reformed.

In order for the student to achieve Growth Point 2, they must be able to develop mental images of
numbers and use the count-on strategy to solve addition tasks. When using the count-on strategy,
the student is required to demonstrate to count-on from the larger addend to solve addition tasks.

Activities to help the student move from Growth Point 1 to Growth Point 2 in Addition and
Subtraction.

• One screened collection – Make a collection of 6-12 objects and screen the collection. Ask the child to
visualise the collection and tell you how many there are. Add another collection of three to five
objects. How many altogether? Explain how you know.
• Count on three – Take two numerical dice (1-10). Children roll the two dice. If they can count on three
from one number to the next, they score a point. The first person with three points wins.
• Count on two – Randomly show children numeral card (12-20). Ask children to imagine there are that
many blocks behind the numeral card. Show two more blocks each time. Ask the children to count-on
to work out how many counters altogether.

Multiplication and Division: 1

Growth Point 1 in Multiplication and Division indicates that the student can recognise equal share and
understand the term ‘each’. In this Growth Point, the student can also identify the need to find a
total.

In order for the student to achieve Growth Point 2, the student is will need to use multiplicative
strategies to solve problems that involve multiple groups and to share collections into the same sized
groups. The student also needs to model skip counting and number facts to solve multiplicative
problems.

Activities to help the student move from Growth Point 1 to Growth Point 2 in Multiplication and
Division.

• What does the picture say? – Have a collection of pictures and arrays. The children write a story
about the picture.
• Can you share? In groups, each player takes a handful of unifix cubes. They put them on a table. If
they can share them evenly into groups, they score a point.
• 12 teddies at 4 tables – The children have 12 teddies and a mat with 4 ‘tables’. Say that the 12 teddies
all sat down in a restaurant with 4 tables. Discuss the different possibilities. Who has the same
number of teddies at each table?
 Student Number: 2016 2671
Student Name: Joane Caponpon
Mason Piccaro

Counting: 2

Growth Point 2 in Counting indicates that the student is can confidently count and demonstrate one-
to-one correspondence with a collection of approximately 20 objects. The student is able to
distinguish the objects counted with those yet to be counted and understands that the last number
spoken tells the cardinal number (how many are in a group).

In order for the student to achieve Growth Point 3, they need to understand the mathematical terms
used in counting such as before, after, forwards and backwards. The student should know the number
word sequence beyond 109 and understands the tens and ones structure inherent in number names
for two digit numbers.

Activities to help the student move from Growth Point 2 to Growth Point 3 in Counting.

• Pop-stick count – Children count a collection of pop-sticks (20-200). When a ten frame is formed, the
ten is grouped using a rubber band and moved to the left. When ten, tens are reached; they are
placed in a hundred bag and moved further to the left.
• Before and after bingo – The leader draws a number between 0-120. If a player has the number
before this number on his card, this number is covered with a counter. When the player completes a
horizontal, vertical or diagonal row, BINGO is called.
• Counting chart cover-up – Sticky labels of various shapes are used to cover up groups of numbers on
the 0-119 chart. Children are challenged to identify the missing numbers. Questions to ask: Which
numbers are missing? How did you know? What patterns did you use to work out the answers?

The key features of these activities are it extends the counting experiences beyond 100 and entails
students to count forwards and backwards.

Place Value: 1

Growth Point 1 in Place Value indicates that the student can read, write, interpret and order single
digit numbers. The student can comprehend the terms more or less and match numerals with
number names and collections. The student can also distinguish 6 and 9 and 2 and 5.

In order for the student to achieve Growth Point 2, they will need to interpret the place value and the
total value of each digit in a numeral. The student will need to know the difference between ‘teen’
and decade ‘ty’ number words. The student is required to demonstrate grouping collections using
tens and ones instead of a unitary concept.

Activities to help the student move from Growth Point 1 to Growth Point 2 in Place Value.

• Snap, tens and ones – Play Snap with a mix of numeral cards and picture cards showing tens and
ones.
 Student Number: 2016 2671
Student Name: Joane Caponpon

• Bean stew – Roll a numeral die (0-9) and tens numeral die (1 ten – 9 tens). Put this number of loose
beans and bean sticks in the stewing pot. Name the number. Repeat three times. How many beans
are in the pot altogether?
• In the middle (10-99) – Children work in groups of three. Each child randomly selects a numeral card
(10-99). Order the numerals from smallest to largest. Child with the middle numbers gets a point.

Addition and Subtraction: 2

Growth Point 2 in Addition and Subtraction indicates that the student is able to develop mental
images of numbers and use the count-on strategy to solve addition tasks. When using the count-on
strategy, the student is required to demonstrate to count-on from the larger addend to solve addition
tasks.

In order for the student to achieve Growth Point 3, they will use a variety of strategies to solve
subtraction problems such as counting back, other than modelling. When solving subtraction
problems, the student must only count the part of the number sequence (counting down to, counting
up to).

Activities to help the student to move from Growth Point 2 to Growth Point 3 in Addition and
Subtraction.

• Some went away! – Choose a scenario card. Select a number from 0-15 and place this many counter
on the scenario card. Hide the collection. Remove 3-5 counters and show the child. How many are still
hiding? How did you work it out? Tell a story about the scenario.
• Difference of three – Take a pack of numeral cards with several cards for each numeral (0-10). Shuffle
the pack. Play snap. Snap occurs when the difference between two numerals is three. For each snap,
ask the child to demonstrate counting back three to show the difference,
• Orange tree – Provide each pair of students with an outline of an orange tree and 20 counters.
Instruct the students to place the counters onto the tree. The students then ‘pick’ the oranges from
the tree by moving nominated numbers of counters away. Ask the students to determine how many
‘oranges’ are left on the tree and to record the number combinations.

Multiplication and Division: 2

Growth Point 2 in Multiplication and Division indicates that the student is able to use multiplicative
strategies to solve problems that involve multiple groups and to share collections into the same sized
groups. The student is able to model skip counting and number facts to solve multiplicative problems.

In order for the student to achieve Growth Point 3, they must be able to imagine the group as a ‘unit’
and can perform partial modelling. The student is also expected to use a variety of multiplicative
strategies to solve problems that involve multiple groups. When solving multiplication and division
problems, the student must apply skip counting and number facts to solve them.

Activities to help the student move from Growth Point 2 to Growth Point 3 in Multiplication and
Division.
 Student Number: 2016 2671
Student Name: Joane Caponpon

• How many chocolates? – You found that the box of chocolates you were given now has only three
left. How many chocolates did it have to start with? Write a story to explain how you worked out the
answer.
• Sharing lollies – At a party the lollies were shared. Each person got 3. How many people were at the
part and how many lollies were there altogether?
• Word Grid – Sets of different representations of multiplication or division situations on cards, such as
groups, arrays, the number and the calculation (e.g. 3x4). These can be used for concentration, snap
games, or on a grid that has some of the cards already shown.