The Maths Box has been a resolute success in our classrooms. As the children were familiar with the Comprehension Box, they were eager to work on the Maths Boxes too.
Emer O’Reilly (Maths Subject Lead)
Children at Kilburn Park School make outstanding progress in maths, particularly in arithmetic. In addition to our book-based maths lessons, children receive rapid recall lessons three times per week. At Kilburn Park we teach a mastery-based curriculum, a key resource that contributes to the success of these lessons has been the set of Maths Boxes, each of which helps teachers to provide comprehensive practice in the key areas of numeracy, especially reasoning. Each card in the boxes clearly matches the National Curriculum objectives for each year group. The innovative nature of the resource.
The Maths Box consists of two copies of cards that are divided into five strands – Number, Algebra, Shape and Space, Measures and Data. Number and Measures are divided into strand units too. There are a number of cards available for each strand.
The Maths Box has been a resolute success in our classrooms. As the children were familiar with the Comprehension Box, they were eager to work on the Maths Boxes too.
There are a collection of motivating activities, supported by colourful illustrations and photographs, which in turn encourages the pupils to engage in independent and collaborative learning. The cards consolidate skills and give an opportunity for further practise and challenge in various areas of the maths curriculum.
The impact on learning and the work of the teacher in the classroom, to what extent and in which areas: In Kilburn Park, where challenge in maths is a focus, we decided to give each year group the maths box for the year group above; for example, Year 5 would get Maths Box 6. Teachers tend to use the cards for challenge within lessons, at the end of a topic to build on what was covered in lessons and promote mastery in previous concepts covered.
The children enjoy working with the cards, it is a great independent learning activity, and as there are two of each card the children can also work collaboratively. Initially, the language used in the cards was difficult for the children to interpret and they required support for some of the questions. However, when some of the language of the cards was discussed, children in Kilburn Park have become more more comfortable with it. It has been very apparent that the more the children worked with the cards, the more literate they became in understanding the question types etc.
In addition, the record sheets at the back of the teacher manual promote autonomous learning. How the resource supports or enhances the everyday life of teachers, pupils or schools One of the key advantages of this resource is its flexibility in that it can be used to provide:
- for children to work independently for a sustained period of time;
- challenging activities for children to apply mathematical skills and knowledge;
- opportunities for children to peer assess and self-assess their learning and to become autonomous learners;
- encouragement for pupils to apply their knowledge of mathematical
Each teachers guide provides a chart which details the curriculum objectives covered by each card. It also gives various guidance and tips on how to use the boxes within the classroom to support your teaching. The tracking and recording sheets are exceptionally beneficial in order for pupils and teachers alike to evidence assessment. There is also a list of equipment listed that the pupils may require in order to support their answering of some of the cards. In particular, the full colour posters are useful to aid the teaching of the card content, especially when the children initially start completing the cards. Most teachers have found it a valuable resource when delivering challenge to higher achievers during sessions. They use them both as a resource in their teaching and also as part of a range of activities to engage children not being directly supported by an adult.
Cost effectiveness in terms of educational aims and results – not just price. The Maths Boxes are used in all classrooms throughout the school, children find them bright, colourful and engaging. Once they understand what is expected of them they quickly settle to the task. They are motivated to successfully complete one card, mark it and move on to the next. At present, the pressure on teachers to deliver quality maths learning to children, often with a wide ability range and cultural background, is high. The Maths Box is a resource that quickly allows them to match activities to children’s needs whilst still providing that element of challenge to ensure that all children are making substantive progress.
The Maths Box
- Curriculum linked
- Allows for independent pupil use
- Fun
- Ready to use
Only £175!
The Maths Box Early Years Foundation Stage
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Features of The Maths Box Early Years Foundation Stage:
- written to cover the objectives of the EYFS curriculum for mathematics
- four copies each of 75 unique cards – 300 cards in total
- variety of hands-on activities using maths materials readily available in the classroom
- some multiple-choice questions
- scope and sequence chart
- teacher tracking sheets for individual pupils and the whole class
- suitable for small groups and independent work
- colourful, durable, creative and innovative