At Manorvale Primary School the Mathematics curriculum is guided by the Victorian Curriculum.

At Manorvale Primary School we offer a comprehensive mathematics program is designed to provide students with a strong grounding in mathematical skills, strategies and understandings. Our aim is to support students in becoming numerate and use mathematics effectively so they can successfully participate at school, at home and in the wider community.

The mathematics curriculum is divided into three broad areas. It is important to understand that these three broad areas are interdependent, and students will develop at their own pace along a continuum of learning informed by the Victorian Curriculum. However, there is a guaranteed curriculum that is taught at each school year and all students will be taught topics and skills within that framework.

The following table shows the structure of the Victorian Mathematics Curriculum:

Summary of Mathematics in Victorian Schools

A full overview of the Mathematics Curriculum can be found at:

http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/mathematics/introduction/rationale-and-aims

Mathematics is taught for a minimum of five hours each week in all classrooms.

Lessons are sequential and collaboratively planned by the teachers. They are fluid (meaning that children work in groups that will best suit their learning situation at any given time) so as to ensure maximum engagement and learning achievement. The learning of all students is regularly monitored and assessed to provide appropriate learning goals at any given time.

A Typical Mathematics Lesson at Manorvale will include:

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria – Displayed and shared with children at the beginning of each lesson. These are used to give a purpose and set of specific skills students can self-monitor as they work. It helps students identify how they are going with their learning and where they can get help if not working directly with the teacher.

The structure of a typical mathematics lesson will be:

5 - 15 Minutes – Tuning In/Whole Class Focus

• Games

• Modelled, Shared or Guided Mathematics, involving the teacher explaining and showing how to solve problems with any particular skills, or setting up investigations for students to work on.

40 Minutes – Independent Numeracy Learning Tasks may include:

• Exploring and Investigating in pairs, small groups or independently
• Students writing and recording their thinking and working
• Use of Concrete (Hands-on) Materials to support learning
• Small Focus Groups with the Classroom Teacher where a high level of support occurs
• Conferring with the teacher about their learning in a discussion style situation where learning goals are identified and reflected upon
• Students working on Computers and/or iPads to support and display learning.

5 – 10 Minutes – About the concepts learnt, strategies and investigations.

• Directed learning that looks again at the Learning Intention and Success Criteria for the lesson

• Reflecting on the mathematical learning and strategies used to achieve specific goals
• Celebrating the learning achieved
• Looking ahead to future learning

ICT and Mathematics

At Manorvale Primary School, Information Communication Technology is used to support classroom programs. Each classroom has a bank of computers and iPads.

The use of devices allows the children and classroom teachers to research mathematical content, record mathematics in a variety of ways and visit websites that support learning. The use of devices allows the classroom teacher to provide individual feedback to the children and allows the children to share their mathematics with home and the broader community if appropriate.

Websites worth Visiting

• Jenny Eather Maths Dictionary
• Studyladder
• Cool Maths Games
• Online Math Dictionaries
• Google Maps