Fun with Maths

“Without mathematics, there is nothing you can do, everything around you is mathematics, and everything around you is numbers.” 

                                       – Shakuntala Devi – Indian Writer and Mental Calculator

Studying maths has always been one of the most fascinating subjects for many as it possessed the ability of generating and fear and love in equal measures since time immemorial. This is precisely the reason why we find some who are in unimaginable love with the subject and goes on to create unprecedented numerical analysis and discoveries throughout the existences while on the other hand has created so much of fear that has unfortunately taken lives of many as well. Many researchers argue that this fear and love of subjects, specially one like math is transmitted and transferred from ‘Teachers’ to the ‘Taughts’. Therefore there is more of perceived fear than love for the subject. Without a doubt, it is therefore significantly important that we as teachers ensure that we overcome our own fear in ensuring we rekindle the love for Maths in the hearts and minds of students even do from the early stages. Using fun embedded methods therefore become supremely important in driving away the existence of such fear. We at Taurian, bank precisely on the above and ensure that our teaching methodologies infuse and generate love for learning methods.

Children make their first connection to numbers as they count the number of seconds before they hunt for a friend in a game of hide and seek, or play hopscotch on numbered squares in the school playground. Counting, estimating, adding and subtracting are skills that the average child may use several times in any given day. 

Our little buddies of LKG and UKG have been learning about counting and pattern writing to improve their hand motor skills. They were also taught the concept of quantity of objects to help them understand the concept of less and more. They are giving their best in following the instruction given by teachers along with the help of their amazing parents.

They learned about the sequence of numbers and explored the process of forward and backward counting using number line and other ways and were able to find out the number present before or after any particular number. They also learned ascending and descending order by using stairs up and down process. Through this they have learned the skill to identify which number is bigger and which number is smaller. 

Children of Grade 1 have learnt about counting numbers up to 100 in which they learnt forward counting (0-100), backward counting (100-0), Skip Count by 2, 3 and 5, Missing numbers and what comes after of After, before and between. They understood the concept through video meeting on Google Meet, they watched videos on YouTube on the related topics. They have completed the assignments (worksheets) assigned on the Google Classroom.

Moving ahead to our Grade 2 students, who have been learning about the concept of numbers. In which they expanded their knowledge of numbers till 500. They learnt number names, before, after and between numbers, place value till hundreds place, expanded form, standard form, greater and lesser number and ascending and descending order.

They watched several videos on these.  Understood the concepts through live interactions. Solved plenty of questions in the live classes and did number of worksheets posted in Google classroom. The students are doing amazingly good and gradually getting the concepts thoroughly.

“It’s really fun and exciting teaching children through this method. Though in Taurian, children are used to the latest technologies which is regularly used in teaching learning process. Children adapted very easily to this online concept and responding very well which I’m really proud of.”

– Richa Chaudhary, Primary Teacher

Children of Grade 3 have learnt about counting numbers up to 10,000 in which they learnt Reading and writing the numbers after 999 in both words and numerals, Ascending order, Descending order, Standard form of numbers, Number names in thousands, Place value of the numbers and Expanded form of numbers. They understood the concept through video meeting on Google Meet, they watched videos on YouTube on the related topics. They have completed the assignments (worksheets) assigned on the Google Classroom.

Grade 4 students started their new Academic session amidst Lockdown through virtual class by revising Numbers –   Place Value systems, comparison of numbers, orders of numbers and successors and predecessors involving large numbers.

To ensure that children learn the concepts and at the same time have fun, each of the above concepts were taught by including some degree of activities that can be done by them being at home. While learning formation of numbers using digits, students had to ask their family members their favourite one digit numbers and arrange them in order to form largest and smallest  numbers. Similarly they had to count different things ( Gas Cylinder, AC, Male Members, etc) in their houses to form numbers. 

While learning place value systems, they had placed the phone numbers of their family members in the place value charts, write them in words and in standard forms. Learning is a two-way process which is best achieved when we are face to face. Due to virtual class, this aspect is slightly compromised but we are making best efforts to ensure that there is no or little compromises on learning outcomes of our students.

After learning about large numbers in different forms, place values and expanded forms, our Grade 5 students have been currently exploring the ancient system of writing Roman Numerals. Our young learners have been studying how the system was used in ancient times to form variety of numbers. The basic rules of combining the letters and forming all the numbers which in today’s world we express in the Indo- Arabic system.

They also came to know how the numerals developed out of a need for a common method of counting, essential to communications and trade. Counting on one’s fingers got out of hand, so to speak, when you reached 10.

They also performed a fun activity where they were asked to form some numbers in Roman form using certain items at home. Everyone enthusiastically worked on the task and using their learnings of the rules were able to form the given numbers.

By,

Primary Wing