Choosing the right strategy
Select and use appropriate tools and representations strategically, including choosing between mental methods, jottings, formal algorithms, and calculators for arithmetic with multi-digit numbers, decimals, and fractions
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“When your child faces a maths problem, do they think about which method suits it best — like doing easy ones in their head, using a written method for bigger calculations, or sketching a diagram for geometry?”
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- Activity. Select and use appropriate tools and representations strategically, including choosing between mental methods, jottings, formal algorithms, and calculators for arithmetic with multi-digit numbers, decimals, and fractions
What to notice. Choose a mental method for 345 + 200 but a written method for 345 + 278 • Select a ruler vs a metre stick based on the object being measured • Decide when a number line is more useful than base-ten blocks for a given problem
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When your child faces a maths problem, do they think about which method suits it best — like doing easy ones in their head, using a written method for bigger calculations, or sketching a diagram for geometry?
Select and use appropriate tools and representations strategically, including choosing between mental methods, jottings, formal algorithms, and calculators for arithmetic with multi-digit numbers, decimals, and fractions
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Check understanding
- Choose a mental method for 345 + 200 but a written method for 345 + 278
- Select a ruler vs a metre stick based on the object being measured
- Decide when a number line is more useful than base-ten blocks for a given problem
“When your child faces a maths problem, do they think about which method suits it best — like doing easy ones in their head, using a written method for bigger calculations, or sketching a diagram for geometry?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Meta
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Domain
- Mathematical Thinking
- Age range
- Ages 7–8