Ms Wendy Mistruzzi – Elementary School Principal
In the first issue of “The Fort”,
the
Infant
Curriculum
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Coordinator, Miss Francesca,
International Primary Curriculum
wrote to explain about learning
through play for the Early Years
Program, our Pre-Kindergarten students. The focus of this article will be on how learning
through play continues throughout the Elementary school.
In the younger grades, such as Kindergarten and Grade 1, the students start learning and
exploring numeracy skills, with the main focus on learning number facts. Our aim is that
before the students sit down and do work on paper, they are first exposed to hands-on
activities and manipulatives so as to make sure that they understand the mathematical skills
and concepts presented. These activities consist mainly of learning centres, where the teacher
provides differentiated activities to allow students to participate in small groups, where they
can collaborate and work according to their ability. Here, I would like to give some examples
of hands-on activities, related to number facts, done in our classrooms.
1.
Different ways how to make 10 using
Numicon shapes – use the 10 Numicon shape as
a base and the students have to use two other
Numicon shapes that fit on the 10. With the
teacher’s support the students will start
familiarizing themselves with these different
ways, they would realize that there is more than
one way to make 10 and some students will be
ready to write the equation, e.g. 7+3=10.
2. Number recognition and one-to-one correspondence using counters: counters work magic
in younger grades as it makes numbers visible, tangible and students love to include counters
in their play too. So a simple but effective learning centre is where the students are provided
with different kinds of counters, e.g. teddy bears, dinosaurs, blocks, bottle caps, sticks and
number cards. The students match the counters accordingly, for instance, choosing the 6 card
and putting 6 dinosaurs next to it. During this time the teacher is also able to see if the
students are able to
recognize numbers and if
they can do one-to-one
correspondence
(i.e.
matching sets, or knowing
which group has four and
which has five). Sometimes
another Math concept
develops here, as some
students start making patterns with these counters, another important skill in the younger
grades.