KS1 Numeracy - Teaching Place Value

If my child came home calling numbers in a way that is not the proper one and had been deliberately taught so, I would personally be furious with the school (imagine a child with EAL). If you need to teach the distinction between 12 and 20 you don't need to teach a silly baby language. Even with little children I believe that using the correct vacabulary is important.
You could start showing that 20, 30, 40 50, 60 etc end all in "ty". That is according to me the key to teach them the difference, not teaching unexisting words. Children have to learn a lot of things, please let them learn correctly.
You can also explain that 2, 12, 20 all have a common sound "two" (which needs to be emphasised) because 2 is in all of them. 2 is two, 12 is TWelve" 20 is TWenty, which needs to be presented with other "ty" numbers so that they can observe the pattern they have to look at.
The teaching of H T U can also be introduced soon, so they understand that in a number with two digits each digit can only be placed in one column and therefore has a certain value according to its position within the number.
Nevertheless the visual aid of trays with beakers or jugs can help to understand what is meant with ten or hundred.

Thanks for your comment, we're glad when our programmes spark off a debate. Perhaps you could find a few minutes to view 'Understanding Place Value' where adviser Richard Dunne talks to parents about the language he promotes with Maths. I think it answers some of your questions. In the meantime, Richard says "I would be delighted to meet your correspndent (at my own expense) and explain how this aspect of a coherent learning system clarifies 'place value' for young children but crucially anticpates their future work in algebra, trigenometry and Physics. Although I generated the use of "-ty" as a direct response to my observation of pupils' difficulties I was interested to note that Caleb Gattengo got there first. (ATM members are familiar with Gattengo's work.) Perhaps I could point out that the suggestions your correspondent makes are precisely those that I have deliberately replaced. The brief illustration on Teachers' TV ,admitedly, does not reveal how different the language of '-ty' is from tricks and that is why I take this comment seriously and would be happy to respond far more than a written response". Paul Davies, Producer.

Dear parent:

I can understand your concern. Seen from an adult's point of view, you are right. Except you are an adult and the pupils are just children. Very young children.

I have been teaching for nearly 39 years. I am a qualified kindergarten and nursery teacher, as well as a primary school teacher, a secondary school language professor, and a University Linguistics teacher and researcher graduated in France in 1980. I successfully completed my schooling in Guatemala, plus all my university education both in Guatemala and in France (Licence, Matrisse, D.E.A. et Doctorat).I am a multilingual and multiicultural person, and a mother of five, two of which are teachers themselves, one of them currently teaching in England. My husband is a Doctor in Sociolinguists, a Saint Andrew's University graduate, currently working on a lingusitic exchange project between Guatemala and Belize for the British Embassy in Guatemala.

I am not trying to impress or overwhelm anybody, just trying to justify my comments herein. I believe that much harm is done when we want children to learn the way we, as adults, see fit ...

Children respond dramatically well to the type of teaching portrayed in this video. In fact, far from being confused, they naturally make the transition from this apparent "baby talk" to the correct word, as they are soon exposed to hearing it used by other members of the linguistic community. This is in full agreement with the way they pick up languages when they start very young. So I wouldn't feel the least concerned. Actually, I could here one or otwo of the children in the film definitely pronouncing the correct word in respond to the "two-ty" stimulus.

I loved the fact that the finger movements accompanied the "equal" symbol. I thought it would be best to make the movement reflect the counting-adding-up mental activity, say by making the children first do it thrice, for the three, and then twice, for the added up two. that is, thrice, then twice, which means a total of five.

I am definitely in favour of this hands-on type of teaching.
It integrates knowledge letting the children feel what is being done, rather than bore them with explanations, definitions and tedious repetitions and exercises. It also allows for everybody to participate, thus eliminating a lot of the disciplinary problemasso common today.

Congratulations on this innovative approach to Maths.

I don't care about your academic background. I have a master degree, too and I have been working woth SEN children for 17 years and I am a teacher as well as a mum.
I just can't tolerate inappropriate language. I avoid SUM instead of CALCULATION, CORNER instead of VERTEX, DIAMOND instead of RHOMBUS with bright children who grasp new concepts quickly and even more importantly with SEN or EAL children. Therefore I would never use silly baby language not even with babies, imagine with school children!!
Bright children understand place value anyway, the problem is helping the SEN and the EAL children and help comes from appropriate vocabulary!!

I think we have to understand that the English Language has been 'bastardised' and shortened so that many of our words now no longer appear to relate to the original meaning.
This is easily seen in our numbers: Many languages use ten and.. for the teen numbers (Maori and French-if my memory of 3rd form French is reliable) Similarly with the 'tys' Twenty and three Forty and four.

The emphasis in the lesson is to assist with the understanding of the place value structure of our numbers and if using two-ty alongside twenty, as well as 20 assists with helping students understanding the fundamentals of place value I would encourage it.

Perhaps with fractions we need to reconsider the names we use: half, quarters. The North Americans use fourths for a quarter which is more logical.
I suggest we (apologies to Colleague Peter Hughes) the following to name these fractions:
1/10, one tenth
1/9 one ninth
1/8, one eightth
1/7, one seventh
1/6, one sixth
1/5, 0ne fifth
1/4 one fourth
1/3, one threeth
1/2 one twooth
Wouldn't this be more logical and also assist in the learning of the names for fractions. Not also the use of the words!
Len Cooper
Maths Ed Consultant, NZ

I think this is an excellent way of teaching place value, the concept of giving something a new name, ie changing from two-ty to twenty is much easier than the mathematical concept of place value. i would love to see the results of how this teaching strategy has worked since it was first introduced? and if it is in use in an other schools?

I couldn't believe this was classed as good teaching for 5 year olds! Do the children get taught that the numbers are twenty, thirty and fifty? Why does your wagging finger represent equals? Why does the teacher talk and act like an android? Amazing!

Our adviser has had amazing success with children across the age ranges and promotes a style where, from time to time, children are taught a set of skills. He believes that teaching from the front and allowing the children to model and demonstrate to others forms a visualisation in the children's minds on which they can build.

The children are NOT taught 'twenty' but 'two tee' - the English language of twenty often confuses these early learners where as 'two' and 'tee' gives a clearer sense of two tens.

The wagging finger is a part of the visualisation method, and encourages the children to pause and reflect on 'how much is there here'.

The teaching style for this short part of the children's day is deliberately different, formal and controlled. The programme was shot on Jersey which, as you may know, has an outstanding record for its early years performance. For the majority of the day, learning is play based and children consolidate the skills the programme shows in small focus groups or through play.

That the style is amazing, I agree. The results for the method are excellent throughout the Key Stages and with large numbers of children, and their parents as shown in the second place value programme, coming to a good understanding of numerical operations.

The methodology is used widely in Hungary and Russia and more recently Finland. Previously, Finnish children were towards the bottom of the European 'league table' for maths in which they now are near the top. It was this persuasive evidence that made us, for Teachers' TV, feel it was worth exploring this alternative teaching strategy amongst its tapestry of maths CPD programmes.


Paul Davies
Producer

Yes, the children learn twenty, thirty and fifty - long before they are introduced to two-ty and three-ty which they know is "funny talk" for what we usually call 20 and 30.
The wagging finger is simply an action to accompany the symbol ' = ' which helps children learn it the same way that multi-sensory devices are used in many other curriculum areas.
Amazing - yes! An amazingly successful and inclusive maths programme!

Totally agree with you! This is the silliest thing I've ever seen (more or less!). It's like a spoof (but sadly not) specially the dialogue between the teacher and the TA. Bad teaching and why can't she talk to the children normally not like they're idiots.

An interesting idea.I like the concrete teaching moving to the abstract and would hope that there was lots of opportunity provided during continuous provision to consolidate these concepts. What concerns me is whether the children have any concept of the value of these numbers and where they fit into the numberline. Or are they simply learning a rule that they don't fully understand? Do they realise that -ty means lots of 10 and what that actually looks like? How would they show the relative difference between 100 and 1000 cups when moving them across tables? Certainly food for thought.

The ideas presented in the video do help students understand place value. I would like to see the use of the written word as well. Thus when we talk about 2000 we should all students to see "two thousand" "2 thousand" as well as the abstract "2000"

I do have a concern about the way the hands are waved to do the total. It may be more appropriate to get the student to touch each cup as they are counting. This will reinforce the one to one aspect of counting, as some children have difficulty matching sounds with objects as they 'count'.

I appreciate that this is very directed and whole class approach. Would it be more effective if the same activity was completed in smaller groups and with more students involved in the activity? I notice that there were some children unattentive during the session.

I really don't see how the children can be enjoying this. They are sitting in rows - where is the interaction from other children!? Where is the talking between children about their ideas? I dont think I heard a child even speak during that lesson! The teacher sounded like she was drumming it into them, not even giving them a chance to speak. Maths is about working together, learning from others ideas, having fun and making it relevant. How was this relevant in anyway to the childrens lives? It would be intersting to see how they developed the concept of moving on from 3 tee to 3 tee 2.

I use this story to introduce place value. I'd love to make a video of children acting out this story.

http://www.tes.co.uk/resources/Resource.aspx?resourceId=10008

An interesting concept which uses visualisation as its key strength. yes, it may be slighty strange to use the term 'ty' but the scheme is obviously working.However,my only concern would be that this method of teaching does not encorporate childrens different learning styles.