Teaching Maths in English can be very useful
since the language becomes a tool and students’ attention goes to the content
and it is not focused on the language.
The content should not be new to the students
but already seen in previous years and already acquired in order not to be an unreachable
challenge.
Helpful resources can be:
- A
ten frame for sums. We can show the frame with stickers and they have to answer
in open class; they can also work in pairs or we can do a number dictation in
the grid.
- Counting
in twos, fives, tens; counting forwards and backwards; playing the “banana game”.
Through this oral activities you can also teach language such as “Which turn is
it?”
- Who
can tell me the highest/smallest number in this set? The teacher writes the two
numbers on the board and then erases them. Children have to raise their hand
and wait to say the answer. When they gain confidence, the teacher does not
need to write the numbers on the board.
- Which
number comes after/before...?
- Say
a number between X and Y.
- Round
numbers to the nearest ten/ hundred/ thousand
- To
work mental arithmetic we can laminate grids of ten cases or so (A4 size) and
students write their answers with whiteboard markers. This material can be easily
reused and can motivate students. After
the exercise we can ask “Who got 10 out of 10?” And so on and make them explain,
so they practise their English: “I made a mistake”, I could not listen”, “I
didn’t understand”, etc.
- Problems:
the teacher dictates them and the students write the answer and a word. For instance,
“12 euro” or “7 pens”. We can also ask afterwards “How did you get to that
result?” And students need to explain their process.
- And
songs can help us to start the class, recover students’ attention, etc. We can also draw the story, mime it, etc.
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