Natural Maths and the Big Ideas

  • Posted by:Ann Baker

We have regularly receive queries about which Natural Maths resources match the Big Ideas in Number so we thought we had better address this as we know trusting the count, place value and multiplicative thinking are current imperatives.

Trusting the Count

Trusting the count takes time to develop and is dependent on the development of strong number sense.

Students need lots of experiences not just with rote counting but also with purposeful counting. Many students arrive at school not knowing why we count or what we count and what numbers actually mean when applied to counting.

Until recently the importance of visual strategies and the role that subitizing and finger gnosis play not only in laying the foundations for number but also in the development of whole-part thinking that is the basis of place value, multiplicative thinking and fractions was somewhat vague. With this in mind, we have developed the following resources:

Place Value

I think we all know that we rush through place value as we try to keep up with the demands of the Australian Curriculum Mathematics and we all experience dismay when our students have place value gaps, misconceptions and only surface knowledge even to a hundred.

It’s also quite scary to find students in Year 4 who do not understand teen numbers. We have several products that address this and are currently working on a new place value resource that builds on Hattie’s imperative that you should know thy impact.

We hope to have this available for fourth term. Resources available:

Multiplicative Thinking

Multiplicative thinking has many facets which include strategies, representations and contexts.

We have a new package of teaching resources that cover this topic comprehensively. You can purchase it as. a whole, or use the components separately when you see a need for a particular aspect that needs attention. The material is also set within the context of an inquiry that will enable you to show where the students started from and where they have reached in their exploration of multiplicative thinking.

A bit of a sales pitch I guess, but we wanted to be clear about how our products support your work in the three key numeracy areas: trusting the count, place value and multiplicative thinking.