At Badger Creek Primary, we have a whole school approach to building and developing Number Sense through the explicit teaching of maths strategies. Students develop their toolkit of strategies which they can then apply in both structured mental computations and open-ended problem-solving tasks.

We use mathematical questioning, building upon students’ existing knowledge, with opportunities for students to complete tasks, using enabling and extending prompts as needed, so all students have an entry point and can make growth. We encourage the use of manipulatives across all six areas of the Victorian Mathematics Curriculum with each class having their own set of customised resources.

Mental Computation

Maths Strategy lessons consist of short 5- to 15-minute stand-alone lessons that focus on a particular strategy, to give mental computation practice in a meaningful way. Students are presented with a question and are then given time to record their thinking, the strategy used and their answer. Students then have a chance to share their learning and the processes used to get their answer. The questions given increase in complexity and change from numerical to worded and include measurement aspects to provide students with as many opportunities to succeed as possible.

Having an extensive ability to apply mental computation strategies helps to set the foundation for maintaining a deep understanding of number in later years.

Here is an example of a task for Subitising (knowing how many in a collection without counting them one by one) that can also consolidate Part-Part-Whole relationships (how many different ways a number can be made).