The importance of reading for pleasure has been tested and proven time and time again. The benefits of starting young with this, not just to education in English, but to other subjects and to mental well-being, are well documented. In fact, just this month, the English Department for Education has announced a “National Year of Reading”, backed by nearly £30 million, in order to support and encourage reading at all levels.
What gets talked about a lot less is the idea of doing maths
for pleasure. There is plenty of importance laid on doing mathematics outside
of school, the role that homework
plays (provided it is well set and followed up with), and involving kids in
maths around the house (like weighing and measuring ingredients or estimating
the weekly shop). This is despite the fact that young children seem to enjoy
mathematical activity tremendously, as much as they do reading. Pre-school
children typically love sorting objects based on colour or size, stacking
blocks, learning to count and measure, or playing shop with toy money and
items. All of these are mathematical in nature but, as children age,
mathematics seems to be relegated purely to the classroom, whilst reading is actively
encouraged (for the most part) by both home and school.
No doubt, societal attitudes and maths anxiety play a part. It
is estimated the nearly half of
working-age adults only have the equivalent numeracy of an 11-year-old, and
that one in every
five adults have felt anxious when faced with a problem that is
mathematical in nature. However, one possible way to reverse this for the next
generation is to normalise the idea of “recreational maths”, playing with maths
and numbers as a hobby, or a form of entertainment, as much as escaping into a
good book is normal. Furthermore, there is good evidence that engaging in
recreational mathematics increases both attainment and engagement with
mathematics.
So, how might schools and parents engage children with continuing with mathematics for pleasure? Well, here are a few ideas:
- Schools - include maths puzzles and games as part of homework: The EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit page on homework (mentioned above) suggests that shorter homework tasks set twice is a week leads to the highest impact. Puzzles like Kakuro puzzles or Futoshiki puzzles are wonderful ways to prompt retrieval and develop reasoning strategies that can then be harnessed as part of the curriculum. You can also then highlight online sites where children can continue to play them on their devices, at different levels to suit them.
- Parents - play or compete with your children: There are some very simple games on sites like “Mathszone” that can be played together or form a competition (I play the Ooodle, OoodleMax, TimesSquare grid and Countle every day on this site just for fun). The first two are very much like the popular word game “Wordle™” and provide similar stats, so you can see who is using the least guesses over time, how big a streak you and your children have built up. It doesn’t even matter if they are beating you, it is all in good fun!
- Schools - Highlight sites like Wild Maths to your pupils: Wild Maths is basically nrich but for pupils rather than teachers. It has lots of different challenges that pupils can get stuck into and, importantly, they can comment to each other and even submit solutions that can be showcased on the site. The site is part of Cambridge University’s “Millienium Maths Project”, which also includes the site Plus Maths. The articles here are perhaps a little heavy for all but the best A-Level students, but the puzzles (some shared with Wild Maths) are accessible to at least KS4 pupils.
- Parents - Take a look at the National Numeracy Family Maths Toolkit: This wonderful pack contains fun, maths-based activities for primary age children, but also resources to support mindset development for children all the way up to 16 as well as further information for parents themselves about helping boost their own confidence with numbers and supporting children in develop positive maths attitudes.
- Schools - Support parents with their own maths anxieties: Negative attitudes to maths often stem from home. Parent’s may well have had a bad experience of maths from their own childhood. Offering opportunities to support parents with maths, in-person, on-line and through written communication (guidance for support and the like) can go a long way to allaying those fears, and providing parents with the confidence to talk with their children at home about mathematics. I know there are schools out there that have run parent maths workshops to great effect, so it is well worth considering.
- Parents - Look out for maths-themed events: There are many maths-themed events going on in local communities, many of them free. Check your local library for listings, or give search on Eventbrite for “maths” to check for opportunities like these free STEM Masterclasses by the Royal Institution. These can make a great day out for children, particularly as an activity for the school holidays.
Positive attitudes to maths (and school in general) are
easiest to forge when parents and schools work together. Hopefully this gives both
some guidance for both to help children develop positive attitudes to maths and
start doing maths simply for the pleasure of it.