Children\'s Mathematics

• may not know how to use their previous strategies


• are unable to make approximations (do not have a feel for larger numbers)


• cannot manipulate several steps.

Children should be continuously handling larger numbers that they may not be

confident in but find challenging. This is the reason they need to write down their

calculation, since it is too large to deal with mentally.

In the concluding chapter of his book, Hughes suggests that ‘work could be done

with children’s own representations of addition and subtraction before introducing

them to the conventional plus and minus signs’ (Hughes, 1986, p. 177). This could

be misleading, like suggesting that in supporting children’s early writing teachers

William, 6:2 (above), has shown his confidence in these addition calculations by

challenging himself with larger numbers (Figure 7.9). He used a combination of

known facts (number bonds for numbers to ten) and counting continuously,

although he was confused with adding larger numbers of ‘8 + 22’ and then ‘11 +

8’. Once again the operator ‘+’ and the equals sign are implied.William was

obviously very interested and wanted to know how to calculate larger numbers,

so this was a real chance for me to explore these calculations with the whole

class.

124 Children’s Mathematics

Figure 7.9a Jax Figure 7.9b Peter

Figure 7.9c William Figure 7.9d Mary

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