I have witnessed various sessions within placement where the Literacy and Numeracy Framework has been embedded in to the lesson aims and the lesson itself. I remember two clear sessions where the LNF were used one being a hook a duck numeracy session and one being a literacy session around reading and writing.
The intentions of the numeracy game were made clear during a swift introduction from the teacher to the students. The students who took part in this session were of a small group due to them being a lower level compared to the rest of the class, this allowed a more supported learning environment. The aims of the session were to “use ‘counting on’ strategies to add two collections, starting with the larger number” and “add and subtract numbers involving up to 10 objects.” (Literacy and Numeracy Framework, 2014)
This group of three children had prior knowledge to this session. There has been a lot of emphasis placed on counting and ordering objects. This small group of three have been using plastic blocks to ensure that they are able to count up to 10 confidently and effectively. However the group have also been practicing identifying the bigger and smaller number within a given question, they have also been using the correct maths terminology of their age such as ‘bigger’ ‘smaller’ or ‘less’. During this session which I observed the teacher made the area of learning clear, she informed the children that they would be developing their mathematics knowledge area of learning.
During the session the children had to use their fine motor skills to manoeuvre a plastic fishing rod in order to hook a duck with a number on the bottom. Each duck had a number from one to ten written on the bottom of it and three magic animals with the numbers 11, 15 and 20 to further push their learning. The children had to hook two ducks, select the correct symbol for the addition sequence such as = and + then answer the question they have written.
Child A, who has a speech difficulty so when he was asked the number on the bottom of the duck which he had picked he would often struggle. For example he would say “our” and miss the “f” out for “four”. However when shown two pictures of a – and + he was able to pick the addition sign to form the addition sequence. After this they used physical movements to learn the counting on strategy, the put their hands on their head to put the biggest number in their head and then counted on the smallest number on their hands. When doing this he did manage to retrieve the correct answer. Child B confidently took control of the session and supported her peers in learning the counting on strategy, she was also able to orally say the numbers correctly and identify the symbols needed to form the equation. Child C was able to orally say the numbers however was more interested in hooking a duck and saying the number on the bottom of it rather than taking an active part in learning the counting on strategy.
The children were able to learn the counting on strategy through the use of movements and repeating the process with these movements and orally step by step. They were also able to identify each number on the duck sometimes having to use their hands. The children took place in social and object play where they had a set of rules to follow and to play the game given to them. This links to Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal development theory as we were able to see that the children could count to 0 confidently, needed help forming an equation and writing number s and couldn’t add numbers from 10 to 20. Using this theory enabled us to see where the children were In terms of their numeracy development. It also allowed a child to learn through play supporting the foundation phase framework in having access to play.
Early Years Education - EYE 