Sophie, 5:5 CCaann II ccoolloouurr iitt iinn??
I would like to listen to what you have to say about these interest-
ing marks you have made, then we can discuss whether you still
want to colour it in and if it will help your thinking.
Neil, 7:3 MMyy mmuumm ddooeess iitt aa ddiiffffeerreenntt wwaayy..
We have looked at several different ways to do subtraction. Come
and show us what your mum does and perhaps some of us would
like to try that way.
Stella, 5:1 HHee’’ss ddooiinngg iitt wwrroonngg,, mmiissss!!
There is no one, right way to work this calculation out. When he’s
finished, Larry might like to explain what he did and you can show
him your way.
Ralph, 6:9 BBuutt II kknnooww tthhee aannsswweerr aallrreeaaddyy!!
That’s great Ralph! Put your answer down and we can discuss ways
that you could check it.
Genevieve, 6:6 DDoo II hhaavvee ttoo ddoo iitt??
Can you think of another way you could show your thinking?
Perhaps there is something else in the room you would like to use
rather than paper and pencil?
Charlotte, 6:0 BBuutt II hhaavvee oonnllyy jjuusstt ssttaarrtteedd aanndd iitt’’ss ddiinnnneerr ttiimmee..
Yes Charlotte, you have been thinking very carefully – try to make quick
notes of your thinking up until now and you can continue after lunch.
You have some good ideas and I’d like to know more about them.
SSiilleennccee aass aa qquueessttiioonn::occasionally teachers are met with silence when they have invited
children to ‘put something down on paper’ to show their thinking. This may be because
they have been worksheet dependent and are new to the idea of making their own
marks or choosing their own written methods. We find it is helpful to suggest that
they work from what they know, perhaps visualising aspects of the problem or calcu-
lation in their heads. They might also find it helpful to discuss ideas with a partner
and just jot down a few ideas that they can then discuss together with their teacher.
Teachers’ questions
But surely nursery children shouldn’t be doing written maths?
Writing, numbers, symbols and pictures are everywhere around us – outside and in
children’s homes. Providing opportunities to make marks helps young children
understand that their marks can carry meaning: this helps them relate their marks
to what they see in the world. Some of their early marks will carry mathematical
meaning. When young children have an opportunity to do this, it helps them
develop their understanding, provided their teacher understands how she might
support and extend that understanding. In the nursery children may choose to use
their own personal marks, scribbles, numbers and drawings (see nursery examples in
Chapters 2, 6, 8 and 9). Writing sums is not appropriate for nursery children.
Children, teachers and possibilities 231
8657part 2.qxd 04/07/2006 17:40 Page 231