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St Patrick's Catholic Primary School
Loving, Learning, Laughing
Home PageAt St Patrick's we use the White Rose Math program to develop your child’s learning. Below you will find a selection of resources that you might like to use to support your child on their math journey.
More resources and information can be found here - Parent Resources
Year 1
Year 1 Maths key area: number bonds
Number bonds are simply the pairs of numbers that make up a given number. For example, number bonds to 10 include 7 + 3 and 2 + 8.
By the end of Year 1 children are expected to know all the number bonds to 10 and all the number bonds to 20, and these are simple number facts that you can practise drilling at home.
Practice really does make perfect, so repeat, repeat, repeat – just like with times tables as they get older, number bonds are something children should know automatically without thinking or working out. You can help by testing them with some quick-fire number bond questions. Ask your child to think of as many as they can in a given time, either writing them down or shouting out.
It’s easy for them to use their hands for number bonds to 10: if they hold out both their hands and separate with a gap between any two fingers, they can see that the number of fingers on one side of the split + that on the other = 10. Revisit the activity once every few weeks.
Year 1 Maths key area: counting in multiples of 2s, 5s, and 10s
In Year 1, the foundations for times tables are put in place, as children learn to count in 2s, 5s, and 10s.
At home, use visual prompts for number sequences, so they really understand what the numbers mean, and don’t just learn by rote.
So, for instance, for 2s have pairs of socks lined up, and get them to count along the row in 2s, finding out how many individual socks there are together.
For 5s they could draw around their hands, cut out and line up, counting the fingers; 10s can be pairs of hands.
Using 2p, 5p, and 10p coins is another great way to make counting more real.
Year 1 Maths key area: count forwards and backwards to 100
By the end of Year 1, children should be familiar with all numbers up to 100. It’s harder than it sounds, as your child has to understand place value (i.e. the value of each digit in a number – units, tens, hundreds and so on).
You can support them by playing ‘guess the number’: think of a number between 0 and 100 and encourage your child to ask questions to get to it (for example, “Is it bigger than 30?” “Does it have five 10s in it?”) Guess their numbers too!
Also, count everything! It sounds obvious but it really makes a difference: count steps, count cars when you go for a walk, count houses as you drive, count the cutlery.
Year 1 Maths key area: understand and interpret mathematical calculations
It's likely that your child will already be able to tell you what a + and a - sign mean.
In Year 1 they start to write out calculations formally using mathematical symbols, and should have an understanding of what each symbol represents.
Many children thrive on learning through play, so ask them to roll a die twice and add those two numbers together, using the proper symbols. You can also make Bingo cards with addition calculations on and ask them to place the numbers that are the answers on top.
Have plenty of tangible objects for them to visualise the calculations with, too – anything works, from buttons and toys to raisins or chocolate buttons!
Year 2
Year 2 Maths key area: Maths story problems
Using number skills to solve problems in ‘real life’ is a key focus in Year 2, and it’s a really easy skill for children to practise with you at home. Schools refer to 'real life' problems as story or word problems.
Start by writing out some problems to work through together, for example:
Tom had 12 toy cars, then bought 14 more. How many toy cars does Tom have altogether now?
Depending on your child’s ability, use larger numbers if appropriate. By the end of Year 2, the aim is for children to be able to add and subtract numbers up to 100.
Show them how to underline the important and relevant parts of the word problem, and point out that some details can be ignored.
For example, in the problem above, underline: 12, 14, and the word ‘altogether’ (as this word usually suggests addition). Ask them to then write out the calculation as a number sentence (i.e. 12 +14 = ) then rewrite it to make it easier by putting the largest number first (always something we teach for addition success), so 14 + 12 =.
Once you’ve practised on some questions you’ve written, have them write their own story problems, too – they can make them as silly as they like!
Year 2 Maths key area: money, money, money!
Money is the perfect tool for your maths teaching at home, as it’s a tangible, real-life resource that you’re likely to already have (here's hoping, anyway...).
One focus in Year 2 is for children to learn how to make one amount in various ways. For this you’ll need a small purse (or a few if you have them) and some coins.
Ask your child to make amounts in at least two different ways using coins and put them in the purse(s). You can make it harder by adding rules, for instance “use only silver coins to make 30p in two different ways.”
My key advice for money maths is for children to use cash as much as possible in real life, for example at local shops, school fairs and so on. You could also set up shop at home: most children love role play, so spend a morning establishing a pretend shop with them and then play at selling and buying, taking it in turns to be the shopkeeper and the customer.
Year 2 Maths key area: mental maths
Children in Year 2 are encouraged to develop faster skills when it comes to mental calculations and other number knowledge. For instance, they should learn to: recognise odd and even numbers, add and subtract 10 and multiples of 10 (for example, 3 + 10, 24 - 20) and multiply by 2, 5, and 10 "in their heads".
Every day, try to fit in a five-minute mental maths burst. You can incorporate mental maths work into other maths homework tasks, too – for example, if you're working on addition word problems, ask your child to solve a similar word problem to ones you’ve practised in their head (just keep the numbers smaller and the calculations simpler).
Year 2 Maths key area: understanding the properties of shapes
The national curriculum suggests that Year 2 pupils should handle and name a wide variety of common 2D and 3D shapes, including quadrilaterals and polygons and cuboids, prisms and cones.
They also need to learn to identify the properties of each 2D and 3D shape (number of sides, number of faces, number of corners), compare and sort shapes on the basis of their properties, and use space and shapes vocabulary (such as sides, edges, vertices and faces) precisely.
To support them at home, ask your child to draw, with a ruler, all the 2D shapes they know. Using our shape and shapes resources, assess what others they know too and how clearly they can describe them.
Then – the fun bit – go on a shape walk. Search around the house for shapes, noting them down as they go. Teaching children to recognise shapes in their environment can add an element of motivation to understanding them.
If they're ready to move on to 3D shapes, download some nets of shapes and get making!