Bruce Moody Maths PD

This week we have been lucky to have Bruce Moody in our school. Bruce is been teaching maths for many years and is very experienced. We had a staff meeting with Brue and these are my notes:

• Money problems (when more advanced in a problem) as beans and unifix are in 1's
• Condensation view eg 96 is a HUGE number to start as 96 ones but then working in 10's or $10 is only 9 groups of 10 and 6 ones.
• One problem phrased many ways 
• Spray and walk away (give the problem and let them work on it)
• Meaningful problems and materials 
• Giving space to solve problems with others 
• Transparency lense: maths equipment and glass window- use what works and doesn't get in the way like fine motor counters 
• Counters- too hard to pick up, too individual 
• Use unifix instead (4) or big objects like chairs with gaps, touch chair for 1-10 counting
• Talk to the person next to you rather than appealing to teacher 
• Finger patterns are really important - 1 more and face them to yourself rather than teacher.
• Blocks- 5 blocks, and 1 more ( numbers together in chunks then they are ready to learn number bonds , concrete materials.
• Mixed block colours
• Turn hands around to yourself to see 7 on fingers rather than turn away 
• Counting on only for 2 weeks, counting back not important. 
• Counting on-start at large numbers  
• Repeated and building over and over 5 and 2 is 7, 5+2 is 7 then as number story. 
• If they can do "10 and " they can count on
• Place value - year 2
• Basic facts to 10 is vital
• Money in money box ( $21) + 3$ ( margarine container out of sight and larger numbers so they can't go back to 1) then give more so they know when to stop. ( counting on) 

Yesterday Bruce took my higher maths group in a place value session- Jellybean Shop.  He used beans, film canisters, numeracy project money and a modelling book (kids names around the edges where they sat).

1. The students were first asked to guess how many beans they thought were in each container. They each had their own idea 4-9 )when he shook a cannister. 
2. He then asked them to count how many and they all came up with 10.
3. He then wrote a number in his book and they had to get them many beans and put them in front of themselves. If they did it quickly he paid them $1. 
4. The students all grabbed 24 beans in 1's (none took the containers of 10's) showing their thinking is still in ones.
5. He said no one could have money as they were too slow. Then he wrote a new number 36 and they had to get that many quickly. Bellah was the only one who grabbed 3 canisters and 6 beans (showing that she is thinking in 10's -Place value)
6. They repeated this process after Bruce made a big deal of Bellah getting them quickly and getting paid until slowly each child was getting the canisters and then the ones. 
7. Bruce said a next step would be to repeat this lesson again with them. He said then to have a variation of equipment so each child has something different to count and then lastly try with money. 

Bruce also suggested using the beads frame with a backing board on it to focus young children's eyes and then get them imaging and listening to the beads shifted. 

We have a teacher only day next term with Bruce also.