Unit 7 – Supporting Maths and English skills
Q1.1 Collate information about learners: a) English and Maths skills, b) Learning Targets, c)
English and Maths support needs.
Whilst working in class 5 I chose three pupils whose information I would collate. I did so by
working with the pupils during English and Math lessons, by discussing their ability with the
class teacher, and finally by reviewing work they had previously completed.
a) Manuel - He is working towards the expected level for Maths and is a confident
mathematician. English is Manuel’s second language, however he is working at the
levels expected for his age in both reading and writing. Manuel is a confident reader and
understands a broad range of vocabulary. On a rare occasion, he will not understand a
word and will need it describing to him, typically when he has not come across this word
before. Manuel also occasionally will miss-pronounce words that do not follow typical
rules, for example ‘Sean Bean’ is pronounced as ‘Shaun Bean’ – Manuel can struggle
with exceptions like this. Manuel’s writing is clear, and he has great ideas of his own.
Archie – Cannot do any mental calculations; simple sums such as 5 plus 2, he would
need to use his fingers for. Archie is working at early year 2 level in maths. Archie
struggles with both reading and writing and is currently working towards a year 1 level.
Archie knows all of his phonics sounds but is unable to apply his knowledge to words
when he is reading. Archie can understand work and come up with
some brilliant ideas but would need them to be scribed on a whiteboard for him to then
copy.
Natalia – Is almost working towards the expected level for her age in maths. Whilst for
the most part Natalia can understand and complete maths work, it takes her a long time
and requires a lot of concentration. In English, Natalia is working to the expected level
but needs to consistently apply learned rules, grammar, and vocabulary, and so her
writing can often be low level work.
b) Manuel’s learning target is to utilise the weekly spellings he learns in his work as to
consolidate his learning and broaden his vocabulary.
Archie’s learning target in maths is to be able to add and subtract with the column
method and complete four sums in three minutes. In English, his learning target is to
independently write a sentence that he has formed.
Natalia’s learning target in Maths is to increase the speed of her working out time
through consistent practice. In English, her learning targets are to improve her
handwriting, and to consistently use grammar rules.
c) Manuel generally does not have any support needs in Maths and will ask for assistance
if needed. In English, Manuel typically needs assistance with the spellings of words, and
sometimes the pronunciation of more complex words.
Archie needs support in all areas of maths and English, from simple addition to writing a
sentence, therefore it is more difficult to give a specific area of need. However, Archie’s
targets do point us in a rough direction, to assist him with column addition and
independently writing a sentence that he has formed.
Natalia’s support needs in Maths are mainly surrounding the speed of her work and
helping her staying focused and on task, and in English to remind her to use neat
, handwriting alongside consistently using grammar rules, not just in the first paragraph
of a piece of work.
Q1.2 Identify and explain:
a) the teaching and learning objectives of a planned activity
b) the English and Maths demands of learning activities.
Whilst working in class 5, I was involved in an English and Maths lesson. Children are always
told what the learning objective (LO) of a lesson is before the lesson begins, with children in KS1
or of lower ability sticking the LO into their books, and KS2 or higher ability children copying the
learning objective from the board into their book.
In Maths in year 5, the LO was: “Identify 3D shapes”. The lesson began with the teacher
showing the class 2D shapes and describing them, then introducing 3D shapes and discussing
the differences. The teacher asked questions such as, “What 2D shapes can you see in the
cuboid?”. After some discussion, the class were given a work sheet with many different shapes
on it, and they had to match the shape to the correct word. The teacher kept reminding pupils
of the correct language to be using when discussing shapes, such as faces, edges and vertices,
as they were using simpler language to describe the shapes.
In English in year 5, the LO was: “To improve verbs”. This objective was a part of some work
that had been done over several lessons. In a previous lesson, the teacher introduced Kenning
Poems to the class, which is a poem that is structured with a noun, then a verb, then on the
next line a noun and then a verb, repeated. The teacher told the pupils to pick any theme they
wanted and to write a Kenning Poem, then they would read it out aloud and the class would
have to guess what their poem was about. In the next lesson, the teacher linked their History
topic, the English Civil War, and got learners to put the ‘English Civil War’ in a bubble in the
middle of their page and then write nouns relating to the Civil War around it and colour them in
one colour. Then, learners had to put verbs relating to the Civil War around the bubble, and
colour them in a different colour to the nouns. Learners were then told to match the nouns and
the verbs up, for example ‘Soldiers fighting’, but that they could use words several times to find
their favourite match. In the lesson I was working in, the LO was to improve verbs. So, the
children wrote out their Kenning poems and then used Thesauruses to try to find better verbs.
The children needed to be reminded to use capital letters and punctuation and challenged to
utilise more gripping verbs.
In a history lesson, pupils were asked to put dates and names of historical events in order on a
timeline. The learning objective of this lesson was to know and recall the order of the historical
events and understand chronology. The maths demand of this lesson was for pupils to be able
to compare dates and recognise the higher or lower number. The English demands of the
activity were to be able to identify topical history language.
In a maths lesson, pupils undertook an activity in which they worked in pairs and each had a
place value grid up to 100,000 units, and they had to take it in turns to roll a dice, and then
place the number they rolled on the dice into their opponents place value grid, with the aim
being to try and have the highest number themselves. The lesson objective was to be able to
pair and order numbers to 1,000,000. The activity enabled pupils to identify values and
Q1.1 Collate information about learners: a) English and Maths skills, b) Learning Targets, c)
English and Maths support needs.
Whilst working in class 5 I chose three pupils whose information I would collate. I did so by
working with the pupils during English and Math lessons, by discussing their ability with the
class teacher, and finally by reviewing work they had previously completed.
a) Manuel - He is working towards the expected level for Maths and is a confident
mathematician. English is Manuel’s second language, however he is working at the
levels expected for his age in both reading and writing. Manuel is a confident reader and
understands a broad range of vocabulary. On a rare occasion, he will not understand a
word and will need it describing to him, typically when he has not come across this word
before. Manuel also occasionally will miss-pronounce words that do not follow typical
rules, for example ‘Sean Bean’ is pronounced as ‘Shaun Bean’ – Manuel can struggle
with exceptions like this. Manuel’s writing is clear, and he has great ideas of his own.
Archie – Cannot do any mental calculations; simple sums such as 5 plus 2, he would
need to use his fingers for. Archie is working at early year 2 level in maths. Archie
struggles with both reading and writing and is currently working towards a year 1 level.
Archie knows all of his phonics sounds but is unable to apply his knowledge to words
when he is reading. Archie can understand work and come up with
some brilliant ideas but would need them to be scribed on a whiteboard for him to then
copy.
Natalia – Is almost working towards the expected level for her age in maths. Whilst for
the most part Natalia can understand and complete maths work, it takes her a long time
and requires a lot of concentration. In English, Natalia is working to the expected level
but needs to consistently apply learned rules, grammar, and vocabulary, and so her
writing can often be low level work.
b) Manuel’s learning target is to utilise the weekly spellings he learns in his work as to
consolidate his learning and broaden his vocabulary.
Archie’s learning target in maths is to be able to add and subtract with the column
method and complete four sums in three minutes. In English, his learning target is to
independently write a sentence that he has formed.
Natalia’s learning target in Maths is to increase the speed of her working out time
through consistent practice. In English, her learning targets are to improve her
handwriting, and to consistently use grammar rules.
c) Manuel generally does not have any support needs in Maths and will ask for assistance
if needed. In English, Manuel typically needs assistance with the spellings of words, and
sometimes the pronunciation of more complex words.
Archie needs support in all areas of maths and English, from simple addition to writing a
sentence, therefore it is more difficult to give a specific area of need. However, Archie’s
targets do point us in a rough direction, to assist him with column addition and
independently writing a sentence that he has formed.
Natalia’s support needs in Maths are mainly surrounding the speed of her work and
helping her staying focused and on task, and in English to remind her to use neat
, handwriting alongside consistently using grammar rules, not just in the first paragraph
of a piece of work.
Q1.2 Identify and explain:
a) the teaching and learning objectives of a planned activity
b) the English and Maths demands of learning activities.
Whilst working in class 5, I was involved in an English and Maths lesson. Children are always
told what the learning objective (LO) of a lesson is before the lesson begins, with children in KS1
or of lower ability sticking the LO into their books, and KS2 or higher ability children copying the
learning objective from the board into their book.
In Maths in year 5, the LO was: “Identify 3D shapes”. The lesson began with the teacher
showing the class 2D shapes and describing them, then introducing 3D shapes and discussing
the differences. The teacher asked questions such as, “What 2D shapes can you see in the
cuboid?”. After some discussion, the class were given a work sheet with many different shapes
on it, and they had to match the shape to the correct word. The teacher kept reminding pupils
of the correct language to be using when discussing shapes, such as faces, edges and vertices,
as they were using simpler language to describe the shapes.
In English in year 5, the LO was: “To improve verbs”. This objective was a part of some work
that had been done over several lessons. In a previous lesson, the teacher introduced Kenning
Poems to the class, which is a poem that is structured with a noun, then a verb, then on the
next line a noun and then a verb, repeated. The teacher told the pupils to pick any theme they
wanted and to write a Kenning Poem, then they would read it out aloud and the class would
have to guess what their poem was about. In the next lesson, the teacher linked their History
topic, the English Civil War, and got learners to put the ‘English Civil War’ in a bubble in the
middle of their page and then write nouns relating to the Civil War around it and colour them in
one colour. Then, learners had to put verbs relating to the Civil War around the bubble, and
colour them in a different colour to the nouns. Learners were then told to match the nouns and
the verbs up, for example ‘Soldiers fighting’, but that they could use words several times to find
their favourite match. In the lesson I was working in, the LO was to improve verbs. So, the
children wrote out their Kenning poems and then used Thesauruses to try to find better verbs.
The children needed to be reminded to use capital letters and punctuation and challenged to
utilise more gripping verbs.
In a history lesson, pupils were asked to put dates and names of historical events in order on a
timeline. The learning objective of this lesson was to know and recall the order of the historical
events and understand chronology. The maths demand of this lesson was for pupils to be able
to compare dates and recognise the higher or lower number. The English demands of the
activity were to be able to identify topical history language.
In a maths lesson, pupils undertook an activity in which they worked in pairs and each had a
place value grid up to 100,000 units, and they had to take it in turns to roll a dice, and then
place the number they rolled on the dice into their opponents place value grid, with the aim
being to try and have the highest number themselves. The lesson objective was to be able to
pair and order numbers to 1,000,000. The activity enabled pupils to identify values and
