Fluency in Maths
Quick, Accurate Recall of Mathematical Facts and Concepts!
Fluency/’fluːənsɪ/noun
‘the quality of being fluent, esp facility in speech or writing’.
Fluency in Maths means that children have a solid foundation of Basic Skills that they understand and use in different contexts to find the best way to figure out a maths problem. Making connections between (and among) mathematical areas is dependent on children having strong number sense and trust that they can depend on the natural skills that they have learned (when they understand how it works… it always works!).
Big Maths provides you with a suite of resources to support the teaching of Basic Skills, not a script of what to teach based on dates. For example, knowing the total of the interior angles of a shape is irrelevant if you can’t do ‘3 digit minus 2 digit’ sums or ‘3 digit divided by 2 digit’ sums! Furthermore, a child’s age does not determine whether they can do those sums!
Fluency is no accident!
Big Maths embraces the nature of maths and the principles of Cognitive Load Theory to provide simple, logical advice for teachers so that they can support the needs of their pupils. The message is simple, Get It… Then Use It! The natural progression through our CLIC framework means that children enjoy maths and develop fluency naturally!
We provide a range of resources to allow children to see each new skill or concept in different contexts until they can use and apply that skill with confidence. It is critical to focus on Basic Skills and use a child’s ability level to inform what Wider Maths skills you can consider.
Mastery/’mæs tə ri/noun
‘comprehensive knowledge or skill in a particular subject or activity’.
No ‘mastery’ approach knows more about your children than you do, in fact they are fundamentally flawed… working from chronological age; often to the detriment of your pupils! That is why Big Maths is designed to give you the resources, tools, and flexibility needed to guide each child’s learning. A ‘chronologically dependent’ scheme which ‘tells’ you what to teach based on a child’s age and the date or year group/term is commonly counter productive to supporting children and providing them with the opportunity to develop fluency…
When you know what a child knows, you know what to teach them next!
Our simple, unique ‘outward journey’ for each step of learning ensures spaced practice and retrieval, securing the skill in long-term memory. Children truly Master skills when they learn to use each skill in different contexts. When you know what a child knows, you know what to teach them next. Maths is not exclusive to a scheme, if you have trusted resources, regardless of their source, with Big Maths you can use them!
