At Bunscoill Rhumsaa we use 'Power Maths' as the basis of our daily maths lessons. This is an exciting and inspiring class mastery approach, which has been recommended by the Department for Education in England.
Every lesson is divided into sections that involve plenty of discovery, sharing, thinking together, practice and reflection. Children are encouraged to solve problems each day through the use of concrete resources, pictorial representations and abstract thinking. Each child has their own Practice Book in which they answer questions and discuss their thinking with their teacher.
At the heart of this programme is the idea that all children can be successful mathematicians with the right mind-set. Children learn alongside five characters, each with different mathematical characteristics. These characters are:
A consistent structure for delivering a whole-class mastery approach in which no child is left behind. Each lesson follows the same format, which we will show in the following slides. Same-day interventions help us keep the class progressing together, so Power Maths provides plenty of support throughout the journey.
In Discover, appealing real-life scenarios stimulate curiosity, helping children to identify the maths problem and discover patterns and relationships for themselves. The concept is introduced logically using a Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract approach to help children to make connections and grasp concepts. Here in Share part a), children are shown the pictorial representation of place value counters alongside the more abstract method of short division. The Power Maths characters provide support and help children to develop a growth mindset by encouraging them to think, reason and reflect.
In Think together, the scaffolding is gradually reduced as children become more familiar with the mathematical concept. We encourage children to talk together to explain how they solve the problems. Throughout, maths language is used consistently to encourage all children to use the correct terms and feel comfortable with them.
This is continued in the Practice Books, where each question varies one small element to move children on in their thinking. Children complete intelligent practice independently, ending in a Reflect section where children reveal the depth of their understanding before moving on.
Children will be meeting mathematical models and representations which you might not yet be familiar with. Here are two examples: a part-whole model and a bar model. These models help children to visualise the problem and explain their working.
Children are encouraged to solve problems each day through the use of concrete resources, pictorial representations and abstract thinking (the C-P-A approach). This helps children tackle concepts in a tangible and more comfortable way.
C = Concrete. A familiar object that a child can manipulate to help bring the maths to life. Children make the connection between the number and the object. It could be cakes, cars or children!
P = Pictorial. This uses pictorial representations and diagrams of objects to ‘see’ what maths problems look like. This might be drawn counters which represent each child in the maths problem.
A = Abstract. The ultimate goal is for children to understand abstract mathematical concepts and symbols.