Marvellous Maths Continued !

 

You would have seen a few posts ago how Tautoru maths programme is evolving. 

This week in Tautoru we have been focusing on our number knowledge and problem solving strategies.  Our number knowledge is so important as it also has a big impact on what strategies we can use when we are problem solving. 

Number Talks are short, focused discussions that build maths number knowledge and encourage flexible thinking. These are usually maths problems or rich tasks that are open ended to allow for a range of skills, knowledge and strategies to be used.  These sessions encourage students to share their thinking out loud, fostering a deeper understanding of numbers and operations.   We have the perfect opportunity to work across year groups ad we all learn something new from each other.   

Talk Moves is another phrase that you might hear as part of our maths programme.   These are the ways in which we communicate our ideas and solve problems.  We use such things as rephrasing, reasoning, and building on others’ ideas—students are learning to communicate their strategies clearly and respectfully.   Together, Number Talks and Talk Moves are helping out Tautoru students make sense of maths by developing flexible thinking, boosting confidence, and creating a collaborative maths classroom.   Everyone has an important part to play.  

Part of our maths programme is have the freedom to use materials to explain thinking.  We can draw our thinking or write down a process or equation.   

We can use place value blocks, counters, number lines, hundreds boards.  These can all be used in a variety of ways.  Here are some examples below. 

Love of Learning - Literacy

Last term we completed our assessment for our structured literacy teaching and we have certainly hit the ground running.  We are beginning to see some exciting progress across reading and writing where students are beginning to apply some of the spelling patterns and decoding strategies in Reading and Writing.  

We are utilising a range of strategies throughout our ‘60 mins a day’ where students are able to practise and master different skills.

You might look at a simple task and wonder what teacher decisions are possibly at play with such a simple task.    

We got outdoors in the sun on Tuesday to practise our spelling, decoding and handwriting skills using chalk on the concrete.   Students completed a word chain with this week's BSLA focus.  

A BSLA word chain is grounded in scientific principles of how the brain processes language, especially in the early stages of reading. It targets phonemic awareness, a strong predictor of later reading success, by having learners actively manipulate sounds in a sequence of connected words.

Practicing word chains repeatedly helps consolidate the grapheme-phoneme correspondences.

They strengthen the ability to process and recall sound patterns, which supports decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling).

Children learn how changing one sound alters the entire word meaning, promoting flexible thinking about language.

This is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.

In a word chain activity, students are typically asked to change one sound in a word to create a new word (e.g., "cat" → "bat" → "bit" → "big"). This develops the brain’s capacity to focus on discrete phonemes.

Our students practise word chains in their writing books daily.  This time we are also practising using chalk.  

There is a range of material that describes the benefits of using chalk as a medium for writing or handwriting.  In a nutshell, chalk gives students the opportunity to ‘master’ that correct grip needed for handwriting automaticity.  It also gives sensory feedback that helps with muscle memory and letter formation.  

If you would like to learn more about our Better Start to Literacy Approach please come along to our BSLA Parent Workshop on Wednesday 07 April at 3.15pm or 5.00pm. 

Maths - The Magic Within Rich Maths Tasks.

 

Rich maths tasks are a big part of our maths programmes and are important for several key reasons. These tasks are designed to engage students in meaningful, challenging, and thought-provoking learning experiences that help build a strong foundation in mathematics. 

So what is a rich maths task ?  

Rich maths tasks are tasks designed to be flexible and open-ended.  They have the ability to lead to many different maths ideas and pathways and they enable us to explore a range of concepts and strategies.  They are what we call 'Low floor, high ceiling".   They are accessible for a range of ages, stages and mixed abilities. 

These tasks encourage students to engage with mathematics in a deeper way. They allow students to start thinking more critically about numbers, patterns, and mathematical relationships.  These tasks require them to problem-solve, explore multiple strategies, and reflect on their thinking in a collective way. They create many great opportunities to develop oral language skills through having to articulate their flexible thinking or questioning to understand more.  

Being able to talk through a problem solving processes really does make our brains grow !! 

Here are some examples of our word problems for our end of term learning celebration:

1.  There are 44 kids.   We have 11 apples.  How would we need to cut them so that each kid has an equal share ?  (What fraction of a whole is each kid going to get?)

2.  We have small groups of 6 kids.  We have a cookie each and 36 jellybeans.  How many will each kid get ?

3.  We have made mousetraps.  (1 piece of toast with cheese) They are cut into 1/4s.  We have 44 1/4s.  How many slices of bread do we need ? 

How would our numbers change if we had 1/2s ? 

We used pictures to describe our thinking.

We used concrete materials - counters to help us with our equal sharing. 

We used our multiplication and division knowledge.

 

Celebrations in Tautoru

We are so lucky to have a rich and diverse community.  We have over 15 different cultures and ethnicities in Tautoru. We have had the pleasure this week of whānau sharing their experiences around Eid al-Fitr .  Eid al-Fitr is an important celebration for our Muslim whānau. The theme for Eid is unity.  This celebration reinforces the values of peace, generosity, and compassion.  Eid al-Fitr is not only a celebration of the end of Ramadan but also a time to reflect on personal growth, forgiveness, and renewed faith. It’s a reminder of the power of community, the importance of charity, and the blessings of life itself.  

We love to learn about our cultures and ethnicities that make up our Tautoru whānau.  

“Eid is celebrated when we can see the new moon in the sky.”   

Te Hikoi o Te Kura o Whetūkairangi

 Tonight we had the pleasure of learning more about the beautiful place we can call ‘home’.  

Our Worser Bay Hikoi is a chance to learn about the significant places that surround Worser Bay School. We visited the locations and learnt about the associated history as we went. We started at Churchill Park following the path and walkways up to the top of the hill where Oruaiti Pā once stood.  

We heard the stories of Kupe and his voyage to Aotearoa.  We learnt about Kupe’s great adventures following ‘Te Wheke o Muturangi’ out into Raukawa Moana.  John shared his knowledge and stories linking to many other locations too.  

Our desire is for our children to leave Worser Bay knowing the rich kōrero and history associated with our place. We hope to pass on this knowledge so they can then share this as well as pūrākau like that of the great Ngake and Whātaitai. 

How fortunate we are to be able to look out and see the exact place where Ngake smashed out of Te Whanganui a Tara into the great Moana !

Check out this beautiful pūrākau written by Ben Ngaia.  

 

This special version of the Ngake and Whātaitai pūrākau is a traditional story told from the perspective of the Kahui Maunga people.  These two taniwha inhabited Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington Harbour, long before the ancestral migrations. The story tells how the shape and landscape of Wellington, its harbour and the Lower Hutt area came about because of the actions of Ngake and Whātaitai. Long ago, Te Whanganui a Tara was an enclosed lake, but Ngake forced his way out into the sea by battering through the clenched teeth of the fish of Maui to allow the fish to breathe. Whātaitai was washed down the throat of the fish, causing it to cough, and Whātaitai and three morsels flew out. The morsels became islands in the harbour, but Whātaitai was stranded and grew weak and died, becoming part of the land around the harbour.”

At Worser Bay School we feel a deep connection to the land, sea and sky. Our Pou also connect us to pūrākau and kōrero tuku iho gifted to us by Te Ātiawa, Mana Whenua.  The 3 Pou stand on our school site to acknowledge this rich kōrero and to acknowledge those who came before. 

Come up and see what connections you can make.

Imaginations Gone Wild !!

We are so excited to share with you the wonderful world existing in our Imaginations. Our imagination helps our students grow, explore, and express themselves through visual art. Imagination is a powerful tool for children, and when combined with art, it leads to endless creativity and more learning!  

We created a special and unique species that combined the best parts of our favourite animals.  We used a mixed media process to create these masterpieces.  Here are some photos of our process.  Lots of effort went into these works of art and they will be up soon in time for our celebration of learning.  

Why is Imagination Important in Art?

Imagination helps our students think beyond what they see into exploring new ideas. It allows them to create their own stories, characters, and worlds with just a few colors, shapes, and lines. When we encourage our students to use their imagination in art, we are helping them think creatively, coming up with their own ideas. They can think of new things that don't even exist yet, like unicorns in space or underwater machines!

This kind of thinking helps them solve problems in unique ways.  The imagination helps students express emotions in a fun way.  When children use their imagination in art, they feel proud of their work. It’s not about making something perfect; it’s about creating something that’s uniquely theirs.  This boosts their self-esteem and encourages them to take risks and trying new things. 

To learn more about trying new things please see Carl and Beth's Pos Ed Parent Workshop Information.  

How Does Imagination Help Learning?

Imagination isn’t just about making pretty pictures – it’s also about developing important skills. 

When children use their imagination in art, they are:

• Figuring out how to turn an idea into a visual.  

• Practising problem-solving, which they can use in other areas of life.

• Improving fine motor skills through activities like coloring, cutting, and painting as these help develop hand-eye coordination and control, which are important for writing and other daily tasks.

• Talking about their artwork which helps children use new words and expand their vocabulary. 

• Describing their ideas and sharing stories.

We were also inspired by the picture book:

"Noah's Ark is jam-packed but there's still an enormous queue of animals

waiting to board. So Noah asks his friend Sam Jam Balu to take the other ark.

Sam Jam Balu is not ready for the hip-hopping hippos, burrowing flumps and

candy-striped camels with comical humps !"

The Magical World of Maths

This term we have been focusing on strengthening our number knowledge especially around place value.  

This is a key component of Phase 1 in the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum.   We have been using a range of materials and resources to help develop and consolidate our knowledge of the ‘base 10’ structure.   Base 10 is all about how we can assign place value to numbers.  Place value is a fundamental concept in maths because it forms the basis for understanding how numbers work and how they are structured.    

Here are some examples from this week about how we can draw and describe our understanding of place value. 

Once we have an understanding of place value and how numbers are made up, structured and sequenced we are able to use this knowledge, applying into to a range of different problem solving tasks.

What does the NZ Refreshed Curriculum say ?

"By the end of phase 1, students know that our number system is base 10, with ten digit symbols. The place value of a digit in a number depends on its position; as we move to the left, each column is worth ten times more, with zero used as a placeholder. Students know that they can subitise (recognise without counting) patterns to support estimations and calculations. They know that numbers can be partitioned and recombined in different ways. Addition is putting parts together to find a total or whole. Subtraction takes parts away from a whole; it is also the difference between numbers. Multiplication and division involve recognising and working with equal groups and how many are in each group, the number of groups, and the total amount. "

How can you help at home ? 

We have been using lots of videos and songs to help us understand our place value and number knowledge concepts. Here are some examples that you can use at home too.

Online Place Value Blocks 

Place Value Manipulatives