Numeracy

At Mount Helena Primary School, in 2025, we begun our journey with PR1ME Mathematics for Years 1 - 6. PR1ME is a whole-school Mathematics program that combines research-based methodology with 21st century skill development, provides users with a sense of flexibility, and connects mathematical concepts to the real world.

Based on reserached best practice explicit teaching, PR1ME provides teachers with explicit models of HOW to teach mathematical concepts, strategies and problem solving.

To support with the teaching of PR1ME, teachers have been to professional learning and staff collaborate, share resources and have developed implementation guides to ensure practices in classrooms is consistent and in-line with best practice instruction.

To support the teaching of PR1ME, our teachers continue to utilise the Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract method to explicitly teach problem solving skills. This approach supports all types of learners and enables students to become confident and proficient problem solvers.

To assist with home and school connection, we utilise our Mathletics subscription to provide additional opportunities for student practice. This platform offers engaging activities from Pre-Primary to Year 6 and provides instant feedback on student progress to teachers, parents and the child.

Here are some quick activities you can do at home with your child to help them develop their numeracy skills:

Kindergarten to Year 2:

• Play ‘I Spy’ or other games to identify shapes, numbers and patterns
• Dice are a great addition to any toy collections. Roll the dice and say, make or write the numbers identified. Rolle the dice and add the numbers together to find the total.
• Play number games online with your child
• Play ‘Pop’ and other Paul Swan games – check out the video below on how to play Pop!
• Use coloured pegs, blocks, beads or cutlery to begin a pattern for your child to continue. For example, red, blue, white, red, blue, white…
• Encourage your child to draw, create and describe their own patterns. Use them for borders or greeting cards or on material.

Years 3-6:

• Use sport scores in many different ways and ask your child some questions:
  • How does your favourite sport tally the sore?
  • What maths is presented on the tally?
  • How do other sports tally the score? For example, tennis, golf, cricket, netball, football…
  • What maths do you use to find the total of the scores?
  • Are there other ways to record the score?
  • How long do your favourite sport games fog or in minutes and seconds?
  • Are they divided into halves, quarters or something else?
  • What are the shapes of different playing fields and courts? Talk about the edges and angles.
  • How can you estimate the perimeter and area of a playing field?
• Use weather maps and ask your child some questions: Check our http://www.bom.gov.au/wa/or look at weather maps in the newspaper
  • What is the difference between the minimum and maximum temperature for each day?
  • Find a seven-day forecast then record the actual temperature for each day and compare. Was the forecast accurate? What were the similarities and differences?
  • Use the information on the weather website to explore differences in weather from your area to others. How much rain do you get compared to others? Are there differences in temperature?