For maths we only have an hour
Such time in preparation
To teach them how to count and add
Subtract and multiplication.
When asking for addition
So many words are used
‘In total’, ‘plus’ and ‘sum’
– No wonder they’re confused
By, ‘into’ or ‘partition’
So when it comes to ‘sharing’
To some it’s known as ‘chunking’
To us it’s called ‘dividing’.
Do we mean less or more?
Subtraction – that’s a toughie!
The difference is quite plain to see
There really isn’t any.
And what about our old friend
A product of the times?
We all know how to multiply
By repeated counting rhymes.
So surely there’s another way
To make it much more funner?
To all learn what we need to learn
When working with a number.
The old strategy is dead
Though its body’s not yet rotten
There were some really helpful bits
That should not be forgotten.
Adapt and change, yes I agree,
And look for innovation
So where should be our starting point?
Let’s try imagination.
Six faces and eight vertices
To us it’s called a box
A thing to teach outside of
– Be as cunning as a fox.
To set or not to set?
That seems to be the question
A one-size-fits-all approach
Will really cause congestion.
So work to make each lesson fun
A journey on life’s highway
And sometimes it’s important
To jog on down a byway.
And finally this thought I leave
When working with mathematic
It’s not as simple 1, 2, 3
It’s so much more pragmatic.