Jenny Goddard focuses on maths through music, rhythm and rhyme, and we take
a look at ... We've set up the Ideas Box at your request so we'd love to hear your
ideas for resources, activities and actions .... Buster, Buster, climb a tree .....
appropriate next steps which provide stimulus for a baby's rapidly developing
brain.
This month’s magazine has a definite musical flavour. Did you know that every nursery day begins with a song in Sweden? Jenny Goddard focuses on maths through music, rhythm and rhyme, and we take a look at the Spring 2010 issue of the DCSF Early Years magazine, subtitled The Music Issue. This month’s research article focuses on encouraging you to undertake some action research of your own. Will we be reading about your project in a future issue?
Contents Editor’s Entrée Explore two musical education charities and their work with young children. Find out about the forthcoming National Day Nurseries Association Conference and how you might study for Early Years Professional Status.
Ideas Box We've set up the Ideas Box at your request so we'd love to hear your ideas for resources, activities and actions in the Early Years.
Focus on… Jenny Goddard highlights the fact that many of our early songs focus on subtraction, and suggests that we should begin children’s journeys into the world of mathematics by consolidating their knowledge of number names and their values and developing a facility with these concepts, before we begin more advanced mathematical processes like subtraction.
R4U - Research for You For this month only, R4U is focusing on Research by you, RbyU. The NCETM offers you the opportunity and the funding to carry out your own mathematics research project. Read about what is on offer and put your application in.
Case Study Lesley Webb, Early Years Adviser at the London Borough of Newham takes a look at using Treasure Baskets with babies for rich sensory experiences through exploratory play.
Maths to share – CPD for you and your colleagues How do they do it in Sweden? Use this Teachers TV programme to reflect on what you do in your own setting and what you might learn from the Swedish approach to nursery education.
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A Department for Children, Schools and Families initiative to enhance professional development across mathematics teaching
Editor's Entrée David Wheway, a senior lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University, says in his article Music and Maths in the Summer 2010 issue of Primary Mathematics from the Mathematical Association: It is a commonly expressed view that there are strong links between music and maths, with research often focussed on how well children perform in maths tasks during or after exposure to music..." In the light of his comment, the musical flavour of this issue is highly relevant. The Spring 2010 issue of the Early Years magazine from the Department for Children, Schools and Families focuses on using music to boost learning. Although the magazine highlights using music to boost learning in language and creativity, much of its content is clearly relevant to mathematics too. There are a number of musical education charities around the country. The Voices Foundation is featured in the DCSF magazine. They offer a training programme which is specifically geared to support Early Years practitioners in their music-making activities. The programme echoes the methodology used in their in-school programmes but takes into account the different approaches needed when working with babies and pre-school age children. If you are in Norfolk, Musical Keys offers music, movement and fun for children and young people with special needs. The charity was founded in 1990 by the parents of children with disabilities who realised that their children responded to music irrespective of their level of disability. The home page states that children with a full range of special needs and disabilities are able to gain new skills and further their development through the use of music in a stimulating, fun environment. It goes on to explain that there are opportunities for counting, shape or colour matching and language development within their songs and rhymes. Musical Keys works in schools and provides sessions and outreach groups across Norfolk. More information from their website. If you enjoy Lesley Webb’s article on Treasure Baskets in this issue, then make sure you book up for the Treasure Baskets session at the National Day Nurseries Association Conference on 10-11 June 2010 at the Ricoh Arena, home of Coventry City Football Club. There is a football theme to the conference, so join your team mates for hot topics, inspirational speakers and much more to keep you on the ball. Don’t forget to take a look at the new issue of the Primary Magazine. Issue 22 has a wealth of information and great ideas to develop classroom practice. It focuses on the general election, visualisation and the art of American artist Kenneth Nolan, as well as the usual history section – there will be plenty that is relevant to the Early Years. Issue 23 will focus on the first postage stamps and addition, as well as the usual art and history articles. And finally, it is already time to start looking ahead to September. If you decide that action research is not for you, then how about studying for Early Years Professional Status? There are various training Pathways to achieving EYPS depending on your level of experience. Tribal has been approved by the Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) to deliver training within Greater London, the East and South East regions. All tutor fees are free to successful candidates on all their Pathways. CWDC also provides funding to cover supply costs for candidates on work-based Pathways who are currently working in private, voluntary and independent early years settings, and will also be able to help you to find out who offers EYPS training in your area.
.www.ncetm.org.uk
A Department for Children, Schools and Families initiative to enhance professional development across mathematics teaching
Ideas Box We've set up the Ideas Box at your request so we'd love to hear your ideas for resources, activities and actions in the Early Years. Your ideas could be about a particular resource, a song, rhyme or ideas for (say) the sand. Alternatively, surprise us! We don’t want to restrict your ideas to physical resources. Once the ideas build, we will sort them into categories for easy access. Any topic, any area, as long as it's something to do with mathematics! Add your ideas to the Ideas Box thread in the Early Years Forum. Just download a template, complete it and upload it to the forum, or simply post your ideas straight to the thread. We’ve even put together some simple guidance notes which show you how to do all of this, step-by-step! Once you’ve uploaded your idea, why not tell the wider NCETM community about it? You can add a post in the Early Years Forum in the Ideas Box thread – for example, you can share how you’ve used your resource, or how the children reacted to it, and any changes you’ve made to it as a result of putting it into practice. We hope to feature some of your ideas in the Early Years Magazine. Don’t worry if you feel a little daunted by this – get in touch with us and we’ll be pleased to help!
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A Department for Children, Schools and Families initiative to enhance professional development across mathematics teaching
Focus on… Maths through music, rhythm and rhyme Jenny Goddard “Let’s start at the very beginning…” How many Early Years practitioners include number rhymes and songs such as ‘Five Currant Buns’ or ‘Ten Fat Sausages’ in their daily routines? We probably all do, knowing instinctively that they are important for introducing, reinforcing and consolidating, not just numbers and their names, but also mathematical concepts and early counting skills. As in all Early Years activities, the repetition is both valuable and satisfying for the young child. That these rhymes help with numeracy is something we know and trust to be true. But do we really give enough thought to exactly what these types of rhymes actually achieve? Do they explain or teach anything in a truly mathematical sense or should we just be content to accept that they introduce the concept of numbers and give the child the tools for verbal expression in early mathematics? Young children are constantly trying to make sense of the world which surrounds them. As their teachers, our job is to aid this process whilst helping them to express themselves and be understood. A knowledge of number names is a fundamental mathematical skill but what else are these rhymes and songs doing? Perhaps we are in danger of thinking that all number rhymes and songs are beneficial to all children at all stages of their development. In reality, we need to take a moment to analyse the mathematical concepts held within each rhyme and, in a truly mathematical approach, find the right sequence in which to present them. Let’s start at the very beginning... There’s a wealth of counting rhymes and songs in our culture – finger rhymes like 'One, two, three, four, five, Once I caught a fish alive’ or ‘One, two, buckle my shoe’. Sung without actions, they teach the names of numbers only. Sung with actions, they introduce the concept of numbers relating to and representing objects – they give the ‘feel’ of each number, i.e. ‘fiveness’. Montessori teaching practice works with the Golden Beads which are gathered together in unit groups of 1, 10, 100 and 1 000, creating a sensorial experience of and a dimension to numbers. This is what happens when we use these early counting rhymes and songs in association with physical objects. Children need to feel that sense of ‘fiveness’, understand ‘fiveness’ and what it looks and feels like when we have five and not just know the process by which we get to ‘five’.
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A Department for Children, Schools and Families initiative to enhance professional development across mathematics teaching
Buster Buster Buster, Buster, pat your knee 1, 2, 3, 4 Buster, Buster, climb a tree 1, 2, 3, 4 Buster, Buster, blow a kiss 1, 2, 3, 4 Buster, Buster, do not miss 1, 2, 3, 4 Development: 1. Repeat the rhyme without ‘saying’ the numbers. 2. Develop by ‘performing the rhyme in your head’ with the actions This rhyme provides an opportunity to develop: counting on skills maintaining/feeling a steady beat internalisation (the action of ‘blowing a kiss’ provides the bridge which helps the children move from counting out loud for each action to ‘counting in your head’ - without using the voice) However, we often do not provide any logical sequence to the use of number songs. Let’s look again at the ubiquitous series of songs which start with 5 – those currant buns, peapods, little men etc. All these songs are based on subtraction. This is a big leap forward in the sequence of mathematical concepts and yet, time and again, we mix them up with the counting rhymes and songs in our Early Years settings. We catapult children into a world of subtraction before they have any knowledge of sound number naming and developed counting skills. And sometimes, we are not just subtracting by 1, but subtracting by 2 with each verse, as in ‘Ten Fat Sausages’. We should begin children’s journeys into the world of mathematics by consolidating their knowledge of number names and their values and developing a facility with these concepts before we begin more advanced mathematical processes like subtraction. Rhymes and songs which demonstrate counting are few and far between but ‘Peter hammers with one hammer’ is a good example. It allows a verbal counting activity to take place whilst underpinning it with physical action. A feeling of the nature of each increasingly large number is experienced by using the body to demonstrate. The children can even ‘count on’ between each verse using each part of the body to show and feel how both parts of the body and the corresponding numbers build sequentially. Only when children are sure of one aspect of learning are they able to move on to the next. They need to look, absorb, perform and practise their skills, otherwise the skill they have gained is jeopardised by the introduction of something new. For example, as adults, we can appreciate that when we have to learn how to use some new technology in our homes, e.g. DVD player, laptops etc., it is far easier if we watch someone demonstrate. We then need to do it ourselves, practise it and often need to
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A Department for Children, Schools and Families initiative to enhance professional development across mathematics teaching
repeat the process, and within a short time scale, before we can be sure we know what we are doing and are able to remember how to do it in the future. This fundamental process of sequences and patterns underpins our learning processes throughout our lives. It is an integral part of the natural world which surrounds us and also underpins both mathematical and musical concepts. Music and mathematics are closely related and musical elements can often be described by mathematical concepts i.e. fractions for beats in a bar, ratios for note lengths and symmetry to illustrate harmony. Most children enjoy music and their attention and imagination can be captured at the beginning of their lives by rhymes and songs. Their first musical experiences can include lullabies, nursery rhymes and bouncing songs and they are surrounded by radio, television, and sing-along recordings. All these stimuli offer an enjoyable and inclusive opportunity to respond to the cadences of music and the patterns and sequences embedded within, together with experiencing the associated mathematical concepts of classification, sorting, ordering, comparison, measuring, graphing. Mathematical thinking and musical appreciation are dependent on the mathematical patterns and sequences embedded in the music. The rhythmic components of sound, when accompanied by speech or language, provide rich opportunities to explore and discover mathematical concepts through the child’s personal experiences of beat, meter, duration of sounds, tempo and rhythmic patterns. The rhythm of a chant or a song with its repeated sound patterns allows the child the opportunity for expression and interaction. As adults, many of us consider maths to be a ‘difficult’ subject, but perhaps by regularly combining both music and maths, by means of curriculum integration, seamless learning links between maths and music can be established and we can attempt to engage our children on a magical, musical, mathematical journey. Five little snowmen Five little snowmen standing in a line, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, so fine! Out came the sun and shone all day, One little snowman melted away… Four little snowmen standing in a line, 1, 2, 3, 4, sh! so fine! Out came the sun and shone all day, One little snowman melted away... etc. Development: Use fingers to represent snowmen Use children/models to represent snowmen This rhyme provides an opportunity to introduce: subtraction from the sound base of ‘counting on’ maintaining/feeling a steady beat internalisation (the use of ‘sh!’ to replace the missing snowman/number) Jenny Goddard BA (Hons), Mont Dip., is an Independent Early Years Consultant, working in partnership with Herefordshire Early Years Team and The Music Pool, Hereford.
.www.ncetm.org.uk
A Department for Children, Schools and Families initiative to enhance professional development across mathematics teaching
R4U – Research for You For this month only, R4U is focusing on Research by you, RbyU. The NCETM offers you the opportunity to carry out your own mathematics research project. You can apply for funding under a number of different NCETM grant umbrellas. If the information below whets your appetite, then follow the relevant links and put your application in. Who knows where it might lead.
Mathematics Knowledge Networks (MKNs) In 2009, the NCETM awarded funding to support 56 MKNs and is pleased to be able to offer a similar level of support for groups of teachers who wish to develop MKNs during the summer and autumn terms of 2010. MKNs are a context in which teachers of mathematics can work as a professional learning community. MKNs may consist of teachers from a single school, college or other training provider institution, or be drawn from several establishments. They must have a specific area of interest, with an underlying focus on mathematical knowledge. The NCETM has identified a list of proposed titles and focused areas of engagement for MKNs over the period 2009-2011. Each area is supported by a starting point to help your MKN begin its work and the NCETM can provide support and guidance from one of its Regional Coordinators. The application form is straightforward and the accompanying guidance notes will tell you all you need to know. Browse the starting points and see which one appeals to you the most. You have until noon on Monday 10 May 2010 to apply for funding of up to £2 000 for your Mathematics Knowledge Network (MKN), so go for it!
Regional Projects Programme (RPP) If an MKN feels a little daunting for your first go at teacher research, then why not apply for some funding under the Regional Projects Programme (RPP)? The RPP does not have a specific bidding window, and expressions of interest are welcomed at any time. Ideal for the first-time researcher, you can apply for up to £1 000 and your NCETM regional team will work with you to define your project and budget. They will also help you to get started and to keep on track. The downloadable application form is straightforward, and before you know it, it could be your project featured here.
.www.ncetm.org.uk
A Department for Children, Schools and Families initiative to enhance professional development across mathematics teaching
Case Study Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy and the Treasure Basket Lesley Webb, Early Years Adviser, London Borough of Newham An Observation – Treasure Baskets A Treasure Basket “is usually made of willow, wicker, straw, raffia or other natural woven material” (The Little Book of Treasure Baskets, 2002). It is filled with objects that are natural, or made from natural materials: wood, metal, stone, leather, cotton, paper etc. The idea was developed by Elinor Goldschmied following her observations of exploratory play with objects made from natural materials. The treasure basket is designed for babies who can sit up but are not yet crawling. It should be placed by a seated infant’s side so that they can easily reach into it and should be stable enough so as not to topple over. “The items in the Treasure Basket are chosen to offer rich sensory experience through touch, smell, taste, sound and sight and the sixth sense of bodily movement.” (Elinor Goldschmied, Infants at Work, 1987). During exploratory play with treasure baskets, babies are trying to find out about objects – their properties and what you can do with them. Everyday and natural objects, such as cooking whisks and fir cones have no right or wrong use, they do not limit the baby and s/he is free to discover and find out. The role of the adult is to observe, but not intervene except to maintain safety and social contact. “The attentive adult gives the babies an all-important ‘emotional anchorage’, containing their anxiety and freeing their curiosity, enabling them to play and learn.” (Anni McTavish) The Observation Calli is eight months old. She is observed here for 15 minutes with a treasure basket. Seated next to the basket, Calli reaches out and selects a wicker container; it is the shape of a small pot and has an opening where the lid would go. She looks at it carefully and puts it to her mouth; it is too big to fit in her mouth. She bangs it on the side of the basket and vocalises, she tries to put it in her mouth again, bangs it again and vocalises some more before again putting it to her mouth. She tries to take the
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A Department for Children, Schools and Families initiative to enhance professional development across mathematics teaching
metal shower hose, releases it then takes the wicker pot again and puts it towards her mouth, holding with both hands. She turns it round in her hands before putting it in her mouth again; she is almost covering her face with it, appearing to look right inside and grunts. She drops it, takes out a bunch of metal, measuring spoons, jiggles them and chuckles. She holds the spoons with two hands, vocalises and puts them in her mouth. Again she shakes them and vocalises. She drops the spoons, pulls at the shower hose and puts it in her mouth, drops it and picks the spoons up from the floor; she shakes the spoons and bangs them on the basket, puts them in her mouth and bangs them on the basket again. Next, with two hands around the shower hose she repeatedly puts it in and out of her mouth and vocalises. She moves the hose and it makes a whirring sound, lower down, she looks to see where the noise has come from. She puts down the hose and picks up the spoons again, drops them, picks up and drops the hose and then reaches for a chamois, this is half buried and she has to tug at it with two hands. She puts it in her mouth, shakes it than sucks it, she starts to whimper and drops it. Next she takes a woven straw coaster and using both hands, puts it in her mouth; she turns it around, while looking at it, and then puts it in her mouth again. She tries to bite the cloth, vocalises and then drops it. She finds a small cotton mat, shakes it briefly and puts it in her mouth. She puts it back and picks up the spoons again. She repeatedly puts them in her mouth, shakes them and vocalises. She then starts to whimper again. She finds a metal cup which has a hollow, wooden cylinder wedged inside it, she puts in her hand and tries to grasp the wooden shape, she appears to be trying to take it out but she cannot grasp it. She puts the cup to her mouth, drops it and it rolls away from her, she leans forward and Ellie, her mum, rolls it back to her. She picks it up but soon indicates that she has had enough and the play finishes. Analysis and Next Steps Calli was clearly using her senses of sight and hearing as well as testing out all the chosen objects with the receptors in her mouth. She seemed particularly interested in noises and next steps for her might be to introduce different ways to make noise e.g. some pans to bang with a wooden spoon, chain to rattle or wax paper to crinkle. I would also start to place interesting objects just out of reach to encourage her to lean forward and eventually crawl. As she continued to revisit the spoons, even though they were not directly in her line of vision, it would be interesting to hide an object under a cloth or box and see if she has a concept of object permanence. Assessment An interesting part of this observation is when Calli attempts to take the wooden block out of the metal cup, this suggests that she senses that it does not belong there and sees it as ‘other’, evidence of being a logical thinker. The Development Matters Statements in the EYFS for PSRN are as follows:
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A Department for Children, Schools and Families initiative to enhance professional development across mathematics teaching
0 - 11 months
Numbers as Labels and for counting Calculating Shape, Space and Measures
notice changes in groupings of objects, images or sounds respond to people and objects in their environment are logical thinkers from birth develop an awareness of shape, form and texture as they encounter people and things in their environment.
We can see that Calli sits firmly in the appropriate developmental band. She notices changes in sound, responds to the objects presented to her in a logical way and is using her senses to develop awareness of shape, form and texture. Looking at the next developmental band (see below), it seems that Calli has also started to achieve elements of the Calculating strand in 8-20 months as she appeared to know that the spoons were still there and reached for them, this would fit with Piaget’s theory of object permanence which he claimed developed at around 8-9 months. We can also see that Calli is starting investigate things which challenge her expectations. 8 - 20 months Numbers as Labels and for counting
Calculating
Shape, Space and Measures
develop an awareness of number names through their enjoyment of action rhymes and songs that relate to their experience of numbers enjoy finding their nose, eyes or tummy as part of naming games have some understanding that things exist, even when out of sight are alert to and investigate things that challenge their expectations recognise big things and small things in meaningful contexts find out what toys are like and can do through handling objects.
Overall, treasure baskets prove to be a valuable way of allowing children to explore objects and initiate their own learning. The carefully selected materials allow children to demonstrate and practise skills and understanding in PSRN, as well as other areas of learning. Careful observation enables us to plan appropriate next steps which provide stimulus for a baby’s rapidly developing brain.
References The Little Book of Treasure Baskets 2002, Featherstone Education Ltd Elinor Goldschmied, Infants at Work 1987, Training Video Developing Play for the Under Threes: The Treasure Basket and Heuristic Play, Anita M Hughes Ideas From the Treasure Basket, Anni McTavish.
.www.ncetm.org.uk
A Department for Children, Schools and Families initiative to enhance professional development across mathematics teaching
Maths to share - CPD for you and your colleagues Teachers TV: Sweden - Early Years
This programme, part of the How Do They Do It In...? series explores the Swedish approach to nursery education. Sweden's attitude to teaching nursery children is relaxed and informal. There is no testing or inspection and paperwork is kept to a minimum. Play is of vital importance, particularly outdoors. You can download a spreadsheet from the programme’s support materials to view a typical weekly timetable. There is little in the way of structured learning and when Swedish children leave pre-school at the age of six, most cannot read or write. Yet within three years of starting formal schooling at the age of seven, these children lead the literacy tables in Europe. As you watch, make some notes under these headings:
similar to England different to England where’s the maths? where are the opportunities for maths?
After watching the programme, discuss your observations. What can we learn from the Swedish approach? Although you cannot change national policy overnight, you have a great deal of control over what goes on in your own setting. What have you seen that could be implemented in your setting to enhance provision? Discuss how you will go about implementing the changes. Remember, one small step can be the start of an amazing journey.
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A Department for Children, Schools and Families initiative to enhance professional development across mathematics teaching
