Secondary maths teachers, how well do you know the primary maths curriculum?
Many teachers don't, and it is a problem
Discover how Moya Weighill, Head of Maths at Ecclesbourne School, uses Eedi’s diagnostic and intervention tools to drive real progress in her department. Find out how Eedi has helped students resolve 92.5% of their misconceptions and provided over 659 hours of extra learning time. Read more here.
I recently watched a Year 7 maths lesson where students were being taught how to list two-digit numbers in ascending order:
In the coaching session that followed, I asked the teacher what year he thought students first encountered that skill at primary school. He said Year 5.
However, if we look at England’s Primary Maths Programmes of Study, we find that students first meet this idea in Year 2, and with inequality signs to boot:
Compare and order numbers from 0 up to 100; use <, > and = signs
Of course, encountering an idea is not the same as mastering that idea. However, as secondary school teachers, we need to be aware of the concepts students have been exposed to at primary school - and how many times they have been exposed to them - to shape our teaching better. For example, the teacher in the story above would have been wise to assess students’ knowledge of writing two-digit numbers in ascending order and respond accordingly. He could continue with his planned I Do if the vast majority struggled. However, if most students were secure in this knowledge, he could progress to the next idea, keeping his students challenged and motivated in the process.
This is not an isolated case. I regularly watch Key Stage 3 maths lessons that would not be out of place in Key Stage 2. Time and time again, in the discussion that follows the lesson, the reason the lesson has been pitched as it has is that the secondary school teacher is unaware of their students’ experience at primary school.
Before I came across as too high and mighty, I was in the same boat for many years. I treated my Year 7s as blank canvasses who had perhaps dabbled in addition, subtraction, and the odd times table, so I taught everything else as if it was brand new to them.
The best way to address this problem is to study the Primary Maths Programmes of Study. But before you do, can I invite you to play a little game I created using Claude?
I have taken 10 objectives from each of Years 1 to 6 from the Primary Maths Programmes of Study, and your challenge is to determine which Year group they are from:
See how you get on. If any answer surprises you, think carefully about the implications of how you approach these topics with your students and your Key Stage 3 schemes of work.
What do you agree with, and what have I missed?
Let me know in the comments below!
🏃🏻♂️ Before you go, have you…🏃🏻♂️
… checked out our incredible, brand-new, free resources from Eedi?
… read my latest Tips for Teachers newsletter about the Dunning-Kruger effect?
… listened to my most recent podcast with Ollie Lovell where we discuss the Do Now?
… considered booking some CPD, coaching, or maths departmental support?
… read my Tips for Teachers book?
Thanks so much for reading and have a great week!
Craig
Thank you for addressing this! My former pupils and my own children have told me that they have covered things again in secondary school. It would be great if secondary teachers checked in with pupils first, as you say