Hi everyone,
Last year Prim-Ed sent me the Maths Box for my senior classes and they continue to be a huge hit with my class. We have a problem solving afternoon each week where they can work with a partner to solve the problem solving cards and my class really enjoy it.
We also have the Infants Maths Box in the infant classroom and it is proving to be a hit with the teacher and pupils.
The Infants Maths Box contains 4 copies of each card so it is ideal for pair work and group work. It also works well in a multi class setting where 1st class pupils can work with the infant classes, they can revise their work while also guiding the infants classes.
Before you introduce the cards to your class, take some time to organise some maths resources that can be used with each card. Children can copy and extend patterns with concrete materials so it saves you creating your own pattern cards for the children to use. I would create some small maths packs that contain concrete materials that match the cards. The cards are colour coded per strand so you could colour code the concrete materials to match.
Two key resources when using these Maths Box cards are clothes pegs and coloured counters, the children use the pegs or counters to identify the correct answers to some activities. If you are using See Saw, Class Dojo or another e-portfolio you could take a picture of these activities and add them to the individual files, it’s an ideal form of assessment.
The Maths Box cards are also ideal to engage in discussion around the maths topics. While language is key in the Ready Set Go activities, this can be continued and developed further through the use of the Maths Cards. There is a set of cards specific to spatial awareness and these are ideal for developing maths language and pair work.
The teachers manual is an ideal resource to support the Maths Cards in your class, it contains specific lesson plans, ideals for differentiation and assessment along with more activities to support each topic. The kit also contains a tracking sheet so that you can track the cards your class have used, ideal for the assessment folder.
The Early Years Maths Box has cards across the strands that can be used to consolidate topics in your classroom. By having multiple copies of each card children are encouraged to work together whether with a partner or in a group. These cards are also ideal for a station teaching approach in your classroom. More information on these cards can be found on the Prim Ed site.
A.M.
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