At Footscray West Primary School we believe in providing a rich mathematics program that provides the students with the understandings and skills they need to become numerate and reach their full potential.

The curriculum covers the three strands of Number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability. Each of these strands is further organised by substrands. These details can be found on the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA).  Digital technologies support the mathematics curriculum particularly in the area of coding.

The Mathematics capabilities of understanding, fluency, reasoning, modelling and problem solving are developed throughout the curriculum as students move from working at a concrete level to the more abstract.

Every classroom has:

• A numeracy wall which supports the learning of the students, the content of which is contributed by teachers and students.
• Adequate resources to support the program and which are easily accessible to students.

Our teachers plan collaboratively to provide targeted, sequential lessons that are scaffolded and differentiated to cater for individual student needs which are supported by rich assessment tasks.

All Numeracy sessions follow a lesson structure of a warm up, an introduction, student learning activity and a reflection. The warm up is a time to engage and motivate student thinking:

• Tune the students into the mathematics
• Engage and motivate them in mathematics
• Develop a positive attitude towards mathematics
• Develop and refine mathematical skills and thinking e.g. Mental Computation
• Apply and clarify mathematical language

The introduction is a time for explicit instruction to develop targeted understandings and skills:

• Set the scene for the investigation or task that students will be engaged with
• Introduce key terminology/ vocabulary to be applied during lesson
• Introduce and/or revisit relevant mathematical concepts
• Articulate the maths students will be involved in
• Demonstrate effective use of equipment/ concrete materials
• Clarify the focus of the session to students

The Student Learning activity is a time for students to work on independent activities, open-ended problems, targeted teaching groups, support and extension:

• Engage students through relevant and challenging activities
• Discover learning (rather than being told)
• Use a range of open ended questions and investigations
• Use problem solving tips and strategies
• Make mathematical and real life connections
• Hands on learning with materials and equipment
• Develop skills and concepts

The reflection is a time when students share their understandings and experiences, discuss their learning and share their thinking and skills.

• Provide opportunities for students to articulate and share strategies
• Articulate the maths learnt / discovered during the lesson
• Share mathematical knowledge with others using appropriate mathematical terms and increased mathematical vocabulary
• Discuss their achievements and areas for improvement
• Revisit the focus of the session
• Summarise the learning related to the focus
• Evaluate their level of effort