Mathematics at Summerland

Mathematics as you remember it!
We use the Prime programme as the basis of Mathematics teaching and learning at Summerland. This programme is well structured and incorporates the best practices used by top performing countries in international studies.

In 2015 we decided our students could achieve more in Mathematics and we wanted to give them an opportunity to do so. We investigated various options and decided to trial the Prime programme in 2016 with 12 of our classes. We were impressed with the programme, the student's results and the positive feedback we got from the students themselves, their parents and teachers.

In 2017 Prime was implemented across the school from Year 2 to 6, with our Year 1s using 'Becoming Prime Ready'. At present we are looking to introduce Prime Kindergarten into our Year 1 classes with a trial currently happening.

Student Voice
• It’s fun!
• It challenges me, it’s not too hard and not too easy. Each year when I get put on a level it’s the correct level for me.
• I really like working in my practice book.
• I have learned how to use bar models and they really help me understand and work out answers.
• Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don’t. It can be really challenging for me and it gets me to work. I like using the bar models because it’s easier.
• What I like about Prime Maths is it helps you problem solve. It doesn’t just tell you what to do, it explains how to do it.
• The course books and the practice books all help with your learning.

Parent Voice
• My child wants to talk about the Maths they are doing, enjoys that they can see definite progress and wants to show me her book when I come into school.
• There has been a huge shift in her confidence and enjoyment in Maths – great prep for Year 7. She felt she was doing really hard stuff in Maths in Year 5 and 6. Is in an accelerant class now, when she was just meeting the standard in Year 3 and 4.
• Please continue. As a parent I can see the shift in progress and attitude as well as self esteem and confidence towards Maths.
• My daughter loves it!! She finds it challenging and that makes her think more about it and wants to do more and more all the time.
• They used to hate Maths until they started Prime Maths and now they love it.
• I’ve looked through the work book and it looks great. Looks like lots of fun with learning activities to do.

Teacher Voice
• Prime Maths is the most worthwhile maths teaching I have done in my teaching career and I have been teaching a long time.
• Children enjoy working in their books and parents can quickly see the learning taking place and the next concepts their children will be working on.
• I wish I had learned how to use the bar model in high school. There were so many word problems where I just had to start with a guess. I don’t think there is any word problem you can’t solve with the bar model.
• The reviews assess concepts covered earlier in the year, not just the current learning.
• The teacher guides are great. You know you are teaching the concept accurately.
• The maths children are doing in Year 5 and 6 now far exceeds what they were doing before Prime.
• The learning builds on what children have already learned. They can quickly use regrouping with 3-digit numbers when they have learned how with 2-digit numbers, for example. And then it’s easy to move to decimals.
• It’s a whole package I can’t fault.

Looking for ideas to help your child's learning using everyday experiences and resources found around your home. You will find ideas for supporting your children’s learning in all areas of mathematics: geometry, measurement, statistics, algebra and number.