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← Hands, Pencil, Numbers

Hands, Pencil, Numbers

Three short lessons for five minutes at the kitchen table: let the child work with real things first, then a drawing, then numbers; give one prompt at a time; and notice what they did instead of scoring it.

Spark & Whetstone · sparkwhetstone.org/learn/hands-pencil-numbers · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Answers are at the end, so you can try each question first.

Lesson 1. Hands first

Many schools now teach maths in three steps, often called concrete, pictorial, abstract. First real things you can hold, then a drawing of them, then the numbers.

At home that means spoons, buttons or pasta before any written sum. "Here are seven spoons. Can you make two groups?" The child's hands find the answer before the numbers do.

Question. A five-year-old is learning that 7 can be 4 and 3. What comes first?

  1. Writing 4 + 3 = 7.
  2. Splitting seven spoons into two piles.
  3. A worksheet of drawn dots.

Say it back. In your own words: what are the three steps, and which comes first?

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Lesson 2. One prompt at a time

Give one prompt, then wait. "Make two groups." Wait. "Now draw your groups." Wait. "Can you write it with numbers?"

If the device is on the table, keep it beside you, face down or turned to you, showing one prompt. The child works with the spoons and the pencil, not the screen.

Question. Where is the phone during the five minutes?

  1. In the child's hands so they can tap the answers.
  2. Beside the grown-up, showing one prompt at a time.
  3. Propped up so the child can watch a video first.

Say it back. Say it back: why give one prompt at a time?

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Lesson 3. Notice, not score

At the end, there is no score. Instead, say one thing you noticed: "You counted the spoons twice to check." "You drew the groups as circles."

Write it on a small card if you like, with the date. Over a few weeks, the cards show how the child's ways of thinking change, which tells you more than a mark would.

Question. How does the five minutes end?

  1. With a score out of ten.
  2. With one thing you noticed about how they worked.
  3. With a harder question as a reward.

Say it back. In your own words: what goes on the "what you noticed" card?

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At the table: Five minutes with spoons

Players: a grown-up and a child, 4 to 7. You'll need: ten spoons (or buttons), a pencil, paper and a small card.

  1. Put out seven spoons. Ask the child to make two groups, any way they like.
  2. Ask them to draw their groups on paper.
  3. Ask if they can write it with numbers. Try another way to split seven.
  4. Write one thing you noticed on the card, with the date. No score.

Answers

  1. Splitting seven spoons into two piles. — Real objects come first, then a drawing, then the written sum.
  2. Beside the grown-up, showing one prompt at a time. — The phone stays with the grown-up and shows one prompt. The child works with the spoons and the pencil.
  3. With one thing you noticed about how they worked. — You end by noticing one thing about how they worked, and maybe writing it on a card. There is no score.