Times Tables Tracker

Why is it necessary? 

Once children have a solid understanding of place value and are ready to manipulate numbers, instant recall of times tables facts is vital to enhancing their speed and fluency in mathematics.  Each year, children would come into year 4 with differing times tables knowledge.  It was difficult to know where each child was at and how best to help them.  For this reason, I've been keen to have something in place which tracks times tables knowledge so we know what children can do and, more importantly, what they are struggling with and help them.  For the last few years, we've experimented with various reward schemes similar to something my previous school did and this year we've launched the finished product (if you like!) across KS2.  

How does it work? 

Based on a suggestion made by Stephen Lockyer at TeachMeet Sussex, we've created an order of learning linked to different awards.  Children learn the multiplication and division facts linked to the times table they are working on.  On a given day each week, they complete a test with 40 questions.  In Year 4, they have 4 minutes to complete it however the time given can easily be adapted for different year groups.  We decided 6 seconds per question was long enough for them to think and write the answer but short enough for them to not be able to count up on their fingers.  

When the time is up, children swap tests and mark someone else's. To help with this, we created booklets of answers to all the tests however once some children have finished the tracker they can help with marking.  They move onto the next test when they get all the questions right and they revise all previously learning times tables before completing an award.  We encourage children to keep all their tests so they can see themselves improving even in the weeks when they don't get them all right.  Children can monitor their progress on an individual tracker (we use stickers for this) and teachers can update a class tracker each week.  This takes around 10-15 minutes each week, especially once the children are in the habit of it. 

Individual Tracker

Class Tracker

What do you need to use the tracker? 

Firstly, you need to download all the resources in this free Google Drive Folder.  These include:

• All the tests (and an editable version),
• A tracking card for children to keep (and an editable version),
• An editable letter to send out to parents with all the information,
• A class tracker for teachers to use.

Also, some stickers are useful to keep children motivated.  We use these diddi dots on the tracking cards and these stickers (click the links) for when Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond awards have been completed.

Children can practise their times tables for free on TimesTables.me.uk by ticking the correct boxes and choosing the appropriate settings.  We also use Times Tables Rockstars to compliment the tracker.  A feature on Times Tables Rockstars means you can split a rock band (year group or class) into five sections.  We've named these sections after the awards and scheduled the appropriate times table to each section.  Children are put in the correct section then are practising the correct multiplication and division facts when they play online.  

Times Tables Rockstars Schedule

10 Reasons Monopoly is the Best Educational Board Game Ever

In a previous blog post, I urged parents to play board games with their kids because many help children to practise maths and social skills.  For KS2 children, I believe Monopoly is the best board game to support learning. 

Here are 10 reasons why:

1) Compliments to 10 and number bonds - With ten steps along each side of the boards and two dice, children are forever practising these simply but vital mathematical skills.  Encouraging them to jump the steps and count up to the next corner can enhance their speed and fluency. 

2) Multiplication - (utilities) Multiplication skills come in handy when a player must roll a dice and pay 4 or 8 times the amount rolled.  Also, many elements of the game use multiples of £50 (cost of houses around the board / rent on a station).

3) Doubling - Once someone has all of a set, the rent payable is doubled.  In most sets, this amount isn't specified so must be calculated by players. 

4) Adding/subtracting money - One of it's most obvious benefits for children is the understanding of money transactions, including change.  Put a child in charge of being the banker, be patient with them and watch them become faster and more confident with maths.

5) Percentages - When a player is really short of money, they can mortgage a property.  Once they are ready to return it to play, they must pay the banker the mortgage amount plus 10%.  This amount must be calculated by the player. 

6) Multiple Editions - Whether you like Doctor Who, Star Wars, Disney or Minions, there's a Monopoly board for all! 

7) Entrepreneurial skills - When most of the cards have gone, some bartering and negotiating must take place to secure a full set.  Players must decide which sets could be the most profitable as well as considering the cost and benefits of building houses and hotels.  

8) Rent - Quickly, players learn that nothing comes for free.  If you want to stay somewhere, you must pay them rent.  

9) Taxes - The chance and community chest cards help children to begin to understand taxes.  I remember playing as a teenager and adding in a "pension" element to the game too! 

10) Chance - The most important thing that children learn is that, mostly, life is about chance and that you never really know what's around the corner. You just have to adapt and make the most of what you've got.  

10 Free Websites I Couldn't Teach Without

In this day and age, free websites which save time are worth their symbolic weight in gold.  Here are a few which I use weekly to plan, teach or organise my life!  All are free and most require no login or setup.  Click on the title of the website to visit it - it will open in a new tab.  In no particularly order:

1) Primary Curriculum 2014

Michael's curriculum website is my one-stop shop for all things new curriculum.  This lays out the whole 2014 UK Primary Curriculum in a simple but easy-to-navigate format.  Whenever my team are considering which objectives we are yet to cover or exactly what we should be teaching, we always make a quick check to this website.  

2) Trello

I have previously written about how discovering Trello has literally changed my life.  As a self-confessed to-do list junkie, this online tool, which syncs across browsers and apps, has meant I can mostly ditch the paper-based lists.  Read all about it here and then sign up and start saving time! 

3) Literacy Shed

Rob has created a brilliant site full of short video clips.  These are ideal for inspiring writing and reading activities as well as being a lot of fun for kids.  Clips are organised by genre but are easily searchable.  Rob has also kindly included many curriculum ideas based around the videos.  

4) Class Tools Timer

If you ever needed any proof that music inspires productivity, just watch my children tidy up with and without this countdown created by Russel.  The Mission Impossible and Star Wars countdowns are our favourites but I also like introducing the children to some other famous pieces of music included for longer countdowns.  

5) Online Stopwatch

Some may ask why I require two separate timers on this page.  Honestly, I've never really thought about it but I use this site almost daily as well.  It contains a countdown and a stopwatch, can be used in full screen, and it can be inserted into PowerPoint presentations with a simple understanding of Flash and HTML.  I use this to countdown our times tables tests, arithmetic papers and for a silent timer (it simple rings when the time is up).  The stopwatch can be used to time how long it takes to complete various loop cards around the room and get ready for lessons or events, always aiming to beat our previous times.

6) Maths ITPs

These maths teaching resources, which originate from the now-extinct 2002 National Numeracy Strategy, may seem quite old-school.  The NNS has since be replaced and archived but these interactive teaching programs can still be used to teach many elements of the 2014 curriculum.  When we start a new unit, I always check here to see if there is a simple, pictorial way of demonstrating the new concept for children.  As well as the interactive hundred and multiplication squares, the Fractions and Thermometer ITPs are particularly useful.  

7) Wibki (Links to my Y4 bookmarks) 

Wibki is an online bookmarking tool which makes it easy to provide links for children to access from various devices.  Websites can be organised into sections (on the left) and Wibki automatically finds the logo to go with each link.  It is completely free to sign up and children just require the URL to access the bookmarks.  Only the teacher with the login details can edit the Wibki page.  I have yet to find a bookmarking tool which does a similar job but better.

8) Pinterest (Links to my pin boards)

If you don't have Pinterest, there's a good chance you're a hoarding teacher; keeping things just in case you may need them later in your career.  Whenever I find a brilliant teaching idea (or recipe!) on the internet, Pinterest is the place I go to save it.  Using virtual pinboards, you can save images and return to them at a more appropriate time - no need to print and file.  I've written about the Wonderful World of Pinterest and how to use it as a primary teacher here.

9) Top Marks
This website has a plethora of educational games and teaching tools.  Some are hosted on the site and others are links to tried-and-tested activities on other websites.  A few highlights are the Moving Digit Cards (for teaching multiplying and dividing by powers of 10), the Calculation Balance (which has an enormous amount of options to choose from) and the brilliant Hit The Button game (doubles, halves, times tables, square numbers etc)

10) BBC Bitesize Primary
The BBC have an extensive selection of resources based on many subjects and topics.  There are teaching tools, interactive sections and revision games.  If I had to only keep one part of their site, it would have to be the Dance Mat Typing section.  As a child, I learned to type using the Mavis Beacon CD Roms - the free, online BBC lessons follow a very similar pattern and children feel they are making progress very quickly.  

Time-Teller of the Day

Having previously blogged about how I organised teaching time in my classroom, fellow edu-blogger, Jo, inspired me through her response to my post, to try her Time Teller of the Day idea.  She explained how she had bought a simple watch which children wear to be the Time Teller of the Day.  I thought this was a really easy thing to introduce to encourage children to interact with each other about the time.  Full of inspiration, I set to starting this up in my classroom.

I searched for the perfect watch to use for my Time-Tellers.  I wanted two so that children get a turn approximately every month.  Ideally it needed to have the "to" and "past" language on it with minutes and hours labelled as well.  Eventually, I chose this watch from Amazon which, although advertised as a product for boys, is fairly gender-neutral and very easy to read.  Also, I bought some clock stickers from PTS and personalised them so they said, 'Ask me: "What's the time?"'

UPDATE RE: The Watch

The straps and links broke after a couple of months so I wouldn't recommend buying one of those.  I have replaced them with two of these below. I went for the green one as that matches our school uniform.

Click on an image to open the Amazon Link.

Each morning, as part of registration, I choose two children to be our Time Tellers.  In the box which contains the stickers and watches, I put a class list on which I can tick them off as they get their turn.  If they are chosen, they get a watch and a sticker and wear both proudly for the whole day.   I started off with children opting to be Time Tellers and, after we'd covered analogue clocks in maths, it became more random.  

Since starting this, the most visible impact is children are now happy talking about the time and discussing the different ways of saying the same time.  They love wearing the watches and are happy to have a go at saying what time it is.  Children help each other and give hints and tips when others are struggling.  Other classes have asked what the time is and why they get to wear a watch so I think it might be something that could work across a school.  As with most things in school, the enthusiasm children have gained from this has allowed them to improve in their understanding.  

Using Highlighters in Primary

In recent weeks, there have been a couple of blog posts (from Alex and Jon) about the use of highlighters in school.  Reading these made me think about my use of highlighters so I decided to go on a highlighter hunt in books for how both the children and I use them to have an impact on learning.  I was completely surprised by how much they are used in my classroom so here are some examples of what I've found they can help with.

CHILDREN'S USE

Sentence Structure

I have written previously about how I have tried to help children sort out there sentences.  Below, you can see how the child has serious errors in their sentences.  Using the highlighters to indicate a change of sentence makes it very clear.  The pupil can then re-write the work in the correct structure.  For more information about how I tackle ingrained misconceptions about sentences, please click here.

Maths Word Problems

I know often teachers ask children to highlight the information in work problems.  I get children to highlight the question as many times children have done the working out right but have chosen the wrong piece of information for the answer.  This helps them answer the actual question they are being asked.

Thinking Blocks

The children also use highlighters in their workings out.  As a school, we use thinking blocks to help children visualise mathematics.  Sometimes, it is necessary to colour some blocks so using highlighters is much quicker than colouring in or shading.  The child below is finding fractions of a number so she has used highlighter to indicate the amount which showing her understanding of the maths concept.

Here you can see highlighters used in fraction word problems and the calculation of the answers.

Long, Chunking, Bus-Stop, Column Division Method (Or whatever else you want to call it!)

Here, highlighters help the children locate where the answer is in their working-out notes.  

Subordinating Conjunctions

When using subordinating conjunctions at the beginning of sentences, children often forget the comma.  I can't remember whether this highlighting was done by a peer or the children themselves but it has helped to highlight the important parts of the sentence: conjunction at the beginning, comma after the clause and ending punctuation.  This serves two main purposes; it helps the children do corrections if they have missed elements and it highlights the key learning so it's easier for me to mark.  

ADULT'S USE

Stampers

I have a few stampers which give different options - highlighters make it clear which part refers to the work.  Our success criteria is organised into Good/Amazing/Awesome and I have a stamp to indicate that a child needs to remember Capital Letters or Full Stops.  You can see these highlighted below. 

Addressing Misconceptions

For children who can read and understand my comments, highlighters help me in explanations of their misconceptions.  Below, I have written out the calculation and the highlighter has helped me focus her attention on her target.

Pink/Green

Many primary schools use this: Pink = Tickled Pink = Evidence of great work  Green = Growth = Things to improve.  As you can see from the photos below, I use this across their work and on our success criteria which is titled Good / Amazing / Awesome (inspired by Ian).  Sometimes I provide corrections for the green areas but often it is the child's job to correct their work.  A simple pink or green mark near the end is accompanied by a comment to show an overall assessment of their work.