Maths at YWJS
Maths Statement of Intent
Resilient Respectful Inspired Curious
Mathematicians at Yeadon Westfield Junior School
At Yeadon Westfield Junior School, we recognise that mathematics is a powerful tool that helps us understand the world and is essential to everyday life. As such we want our children to be empowered by their solid knowledge and understanding of mathematical concepts and develop a sense of curiosity not only for maths but the world in which they live.
We aim to inspire our children by fostering a positive ‘can do’ attitude as we believe all children can achieve in mathematics, through careful planning, manageable steps and secure, deep understanding of mathematical concepts. Children in YWJS, are encouraged to be resilient learners when problem solving, and school is a safe place where mistakes and misconceptions are essential parts of learning. This breeds perseverance in our children when seeking solutions.
Our mathematics curriculum is shaped by our whole school vision and specifically, children are taught maths through an enjoyable and varied spiral approach. Each year, children at our school build on prior maths knowledge following a learning journey that includes concrete modelling, where children are able to visualise concepts, and fundamental fluency understanding in which children recall and apply their knowledge. This is further practiced through exciting and challenging problem solving which embeds children’s knowledge, modelling real life scenarios with increasing sophistication. Finally, mastery of mathematics enables our children to be inspired to follow lines of enquiry, be curious in developing and experimenting with solutions and present justifications and arguments in a respectful manner using mathematical language and oracy skills. All of which leads to satisfaction and enjoyment through being resilient learners.
We are committed at YWJS, to ensuring that our children progress beyond our school knowing the importance of mathematics in the wider world. Being fluent in the fundamentals of maths and having the skill sets needed to confidently reason and problem solve will equip them beyond their school life.
Year 4 Maths Day and Muddy Puddle Day
Autumn 2024 Maths Escape Room
The Problem Solving Company came to our school to work with each class in a Maths Problem Solving Escape Room. The children had a fantastic race against time. They worked in collaboratively in small groups using a range of maths skills to solve puzzles. The solutions gave them number combinations to a locks, that in turn, opened boxes within boxes.
Year 5/6
Year 3 and 4
Summer Term 2024 Year 3 Shape
Summer Term 2024 - Year 4 Muddy Puddle Day
Maths: We used the orienteering course and compasses along with chalk and lollipop sticks to investigate angles and lines of symmetry. We made 2D shapes and explored their properties.
Summer Term 2024 - Battle Of The Bands
Autumn Term - Barvember - Year 5
Autumn Term 2023 - Year 4 Muddy Puddle Day - Black History Day, Roman Maths and Art
Black History Month artwork
Choose a black person who inspires you. They could be someone you have learnt about from Black History or a famous black person in the present.
Think about their qualities and what they have achieved. Perhaps there are certain words, colours or symbols that come to mind when you imagine them?
In groups or individually, draw an outline of their portrait onto a piece of black card with a pencil. Use materials from around the school grounds to add colour or patterns to the space inside the outline. You could include images related to their life or quotes from them.
Display your creation proudly where you can look up to your inspirational person every day and feel inspired.
Summer Term 2023-Year 6- Measuring angles
Summer Term 2023 - Year 4 - Maths and Art Muddy Puddle Day
We also used polystyrene to etch our drawings into and printed them onto paper. These were really successful.
Maths: We used the orienteering maps to find the geometric shapes at each different number on the map and then wrote the properties of each shape on our sheet.
We created acute and obtuse angles using lolly pop sticks then compared the size of the angles by ordering them in ascending or descending order according to their size.
We drew 2D shapes on the playground or found 2D shapes around the school grounds. Then, with chalk, drew the lines of symmetry for that shape. We then drew simple shapes or found simple shapes and drew them alongside a line of symmetry.
We created different 3D shapes using plasticine and art straws using challenge cards.
Everyone enjoyed being outside in the fresh air being creative and mathematical!
Here are some of things our children think about Maths
What is Maths?
'Maths is all about numbers. We learn maths to get further in collage, better jobs and be successful in life in general.' Year 3 child.
'Maths is finding out answers.' Year 4 child.
'Maths is where we learn addition, multiplication, division and subtraction. In the future it can help with your job and daily life.' Year 5 child.
'Maths is where you learn different methods to do with number. Learning maths gives us the life skills we may need in the future.' Year 6 child.
Do you enjoy Maths?
'It's a bit challenging and a bit fun, maths is my favourite subject in school.' Year 3 child.
'I enjoy maths. I love Times Table Rock stars.' Year 4 child.
'I enjoy times tables.' Year 5 child.
'Maths is challenging but that's good, if you don't get challenging work it would be boring. I loved learning long multiplication.' Year 6 child.
What are your best achievements in Maths?
'How fast I can recall times tables in TTRs. When I manage to solve a problem I am really proud.' Year 3 child.
'Knowing my times tables and being able to work on greater depth questions.' Year 4 Child.
'Improving my TTRs results over a two week period.' Year 5 child.
'Answering greater depth challenge questions are my greatest achievements.' Year 6 child.
What do you learn from doing discussion problems in Maths?
'I learn team work and sometimes even if you don't like the answer you have to go with it and co-operate with other people or explain why you disagree clearly.' Year 3 child.
'Working with other partners means more ideas to discuss and two heads can be better than one.' Year 4 child.
'I learn how other people's brains work.' Year 5 child.
'We are able to discuss other ways to solve problems.' Year 6 child.
How can Maths help people overcome problems?
'If you are a builder in New York, you would need to know measurement and addition and be able to use it in architecture.' Year 3 child.
'When sharing things out to make things fair, partitioning and dividing.' Year 4 child.
'Maths help people in everyday life when facing something needing maths knowledge. You wouldn't go far in life without maths.' Year 5 child.
'Overcoming problems at high school as we will have prior knowledge and in the future to get jobs.' Year 6 child.
Year 6 taking part in the Numberfit Global Timestables Challenge!
Spring Term 2023 - Year 5 Maths On Muddy Puddle Day
Spring Term 2023 - Year 4 - Maths on our Muddy Puddle Day
We warmed up playing Pok-a-Tok. This is a ball game where you can't use your hands or feet to move the ball. Challenging but fun.
We also acted out some of our Mayan stories.
Spring Term 2023 - Year 5 - Maths and Muddy Puddles
Maths: The children learned about 2 dimensional polygons (ask one of the children to explain). They made regular and irregular shapes from found materials.
Art: Inspired by Kandinsky they turned their maths into art.
History: To warm up they re-enacted the Battle of Hastings.
Science: they devised ways of separating a mixture of materials.
Autumn Term 2022 - Year 4 - Another Muddy Puddle Day - Roman Maths
Summer Term 2022 - Year 4I - Outdoor Maths
Summer Term 2022 - Year 4I - Summer Muddy Puddle Day
Year 3 Recognising fractions as decimals
Year 3 Measuring length and Perimeter
Examples of our work in Maths
Classroom Displays Summer 2022
Year 3 Finding 2D and 3D Shapes in the environment
Spring Term 2022 - Year 5 Muddy Puddle Day
Spring Term 2022 - Class 6G - Muddy Puddle Day
Spring Term 2022 - Class 6M - Muddy Puddle Day
Maths Week November 2021
Year 3
3B_MathsWorldCup.MOV
Year 6
Autumn Term 2021 - Year 4 - Roman Maths
Year 3 Place Value topic
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Summer Term 2021 - Class 6G - Maths Workshop
The team of Olympians from the tiny country of Berellia is in turmoil. They're all cyclists, you see - and someone has sabotaged each and every one of their bikes! So our pupils had to delve deep into the murky underworld of the velodrome as they surveyed the crime scene, examined the evidence and sifted through the suspects - all in a bid to crack The Case of the Criminal Cyclists!
Summer Term 2021 - Year 3 - Outdoor Maths
Times Tables Rockstars Festive Competition 2020!
Classroom Displays
Below are pictures of the Maths displays which are on classroom walls during the Autumn term.
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
