Targeting Mental Maths Year 3
The development of a variety of mental strategies helps to make childr en confident mathematicians.
Students who can perform mathematica l computations swiftly and accurately in their heads are seen as being ? ?good at maths??. In general, poorer performing students use less effici ent strategies and the development of mental computation through a strat egy approach can help them move forwards. Research has shown that ??afte r instruction students seem more likely to use strategies that reflected number sense and that this was a long-term change. ??(Markovits and Sow der, 1994)
The Year 3 Targeting Mental Maths boo k has been written to complement the NSW Year 3 Targeting Maths Student Book. The two-page weekly units run parallel to the con tents in the student book. Units are divided into four terms of work and each term ends with a Revision Unit. There are 35 units in total.
< p>A unit consists of two facing pages. The left-hand page has three grou ps of quick mental exercises that constantly practise the necessary math s facts. The right-hand page always starts with an explanation and pract ice of a mental strategy. This is followed by exercises that include wor k on space, measurement, position, number, data, chance etc. The page co ncludes with a problem of the week.
Answer pages are in the centr e of the book so that the complete section can be easily pulled out and kept separate if the teacher so wishes.
Targeting Mental Maths fulfils the need for easily accessible mental warm-ups, c onstant practice of maths facts, a useful homework book and further revi sion of a concept being taught.
