NumeracyThursday 7th February

Does Numeracy Matter?

In 1997 the Basic Skills Agency stated that:

“Against expectations those showing the lowest level of participation in the job market were those with worse numeracy than literacy skills”

“We see signs of an unexpected significance in being able to keep a job if a person has poor numeracy.”

OFSTED• Sir Michael Wilshaw – Chief Inspector

“I want all children to have the best education they can and Mathematics is a fundamental part of that. It is essential for everyday life and understanding of our world. Too many pupils do not fulfil their potential, including many of the most able, and those who get off to a poor mathematical start or fall behind in their learning never catch upWe must all play our part to ensure that all pupils receive the best possible mathematical education”

OFSTED CRITERIA• OUTSTANDING – Time is used well and every

opportunity is taken to successfully develop crucial skills, including literacy and numeracy in other subjects

• GOOD – Teaching consistently deepens pupils’ knowledge and understanding and teaches them a range of skills including communication, reading and writing, and Mathematics across the curriculum

• SATISFACTORY – Communication skills including, reading and writing, and Mathematics may be taught inconsistently across the curriculum

What is Numeracy?• Numeracy is a life skill. Being numerate goes

beyond simply “doing sums”. It means having the confidence and competence to use numbers and think mathematically in everyday life.

• The ability to perform simple calculations

• Skills needed to do a job

• Skills needed to be an engaged citizen

• 1959 – (Crowther Report) – Numeracy represents the mirror of literacy

• 1982 – (Cockcroft Report) – A numerate pupil has the ability to cope confidently with the mathematical needs of adult life. There should be an emphasis on the wider aspects of numeracy not just the skills of computation.

• Framework for Mathematics – Numeracy is a proficiency, which is developed mainly in Mathematics but also in other subjects.

International description of mathematical literacy

“Mathematical literacy is an individual’s capacity to identify and understand the role that Mathematics plays in the world, to make well-founded judgements and to use and engage with Mathematics in ways that meets the needs of the individual’s life as a constructive, concerned and reflective citizen”

Some ExamplesCan you work out the statistics used by

advertisers and politicians?

Being able to manage family budgets- credit cards, offers at supermarkets.

Being able to estimate e.g. journey speed, how much a bill will be or bank balance at the end of the month.

What can we do to raise awareness of numeracy?

Be positive

Recognise situations and problems where numeracy skills can be used.

Help pupils select the correct tools to solve the problem.

Encourage pupils to talk about their results and conclusions.

Promoting and Developing Numeracy across the Curriculum Calculations Estimating and checking answers Reasoning and problem solving Measurement Algebra Data Handling Graphs – developing pupils ability to tell

the story behind a graph Vocabulary – raise awareness of mathematical

meaning of words and phrases

e.g. – take-away is nothing to do with fast food!!

What can The Mathematics Faculty do to help you

Suggest some websites to enable you to find related resources

TES – Guardian Education

Produce instructions so there is consistency in teaching

Encourage staff to talk to Maths Faculty

What else?

English• Sililoquy – speech by 1 person• Monologue• Sonnet – 14 lined poem• Limerick – 5 lined verse

prime, square, even, odd, multiple, rectangular, factor, leap year,

standard form

Books with numbers in the title:• 20000 Leagues under the Sea • Around the World in 80days• A Tale of 2 Cities• The 3 Musketeers• 1001 Nights• 1984

HistoryHalf a league, half a leagueHalf a league onwardAll in the valley of DeathRode the 600…..

What unit of measurement is a league? 3 miles – distance you could walk in an hourDo you think there were exactly 600? 637men – 247 died

Opportunities to talk about estimation Measurement Opens up the possibility of looking at

statistics of various wars/battles Time Line to show important events

Physical Education6 athletes ran a race

Their times in seconds were: 9.01, 10.23, 10.222, 9.009, 10.2 and 10.5

Which time was the fastest?slowest?

Put in order of size

Can you tell anything about the athletes?

Man Utd 1 – Liverpool 4

This was a final result a few years ago and it was at Old Trafford!!

What % of goals did Liverpool score?

What could the score have been at half-time?

Design and

Technology

• How much does 3.5 metres of material cost at £6.25 per metre?

• Difference between metre, square metre and linear metre.

• Rolls of material were/are sold in bolts. What length is a bolt?

• Symmetry in pattern

• Tessellations

• Tape measures – Metric or British Imperial units?

Textiles

Geography• Round to nearest…..

• Approximately how many feet in a metre?

• If you and your family wanted to visit Mt. Everest what costs would you have to consider?

• Mount Everest – 29035 feet 8850 metres

Information and Communication and Technology

Decimal System – Base 10

10³ 10² 10¹ 10º 1 0 0 1 One thousand and one

Binary System – Base 2

2³ 2² 2¹ 2º1 0 0 1 Nine – why?

Computers use binary numbersThe first electronic computer was built in 1946.The binary system was invented by Gottfried Wilhel Leibniz (1646– 1716). In 1701 he wrote an essay on the system but it is thought that it was 20 years earlier when he made his discovery.

Binary is as easy as 1, 10, 11

Scienceo Positive and Negative

Numbers

Being able to read thermometers

Calculating the difference betweentemperatures

o Reading and explaining graphs

o Standard Form

Large and small numbers

The Earth is 14959890km from the Sun1.5 × (rounded to 2s.f)

The Earth is 384000Km from its one satellite the Moon (Luna)3.84 ×

Nanosecond is one thousand millionth of a second = 0.0000000011 ÷ 10 = 0·1

Please don’t ask

me!!

Yippee!!

QUIZ

1.Dix plus deux What are the factors of this number?

2. Players in a volleyball team ×

Players in a singles tennis match

3. A book about dogs which has in the title a

number which is both an odd and a prime number.

4. How many planets in the Solar System?

5. When did WWII end?

Can you tell me something about this number?

6. Ben Nevis is the highest peak in Scotland. It is 4406 feet above sea level.What is that to 1 significant figure?

7. Computers use the binary system.

What number is 10000? What else do you know about this number?There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary numbers and those who

don’t

8. Can you solve this puzzle?

11 was a greyhound 22 was 1 2 11 1 1 race 22 1 1 2

9. Design a fabric which has a tessellating pattern

Tessellate means to fit together with no gaps

Which 2 of the below shapes tessellate?

Why?

10. Can you solve this puzzle?

Rules

Put consecutive numbers1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 in the boxes

No consecutive number must be next to another