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Extra Maths
Extra Maths
Problem solving, why maths is so important
The Foundation of Life Skills
The Foundation of Life Skills
Why Extra Maths?
Maths is all around you. It is in your everyday life. Buying the groceries, the trip to school, telling the time, these are all problem solving
skills at work. Problems don’t have to include numbers to be about maths. Mathematics is about developing logic skills and
processing the world around us.
Tips to Working Out Story Sums
• Read the question
Reading is the foundation of story sums. Too often students don’t read the question properly, and therefore answer it incorrectly.
It is heartbreaking to study and know your work off by heart but a small error in reading would cause you to lose marks.
• Highlight the ‘maths’ words
Maths terminology is so vital in understanding the question. If you don’t know what a word means you have a reduced
chance of getting the answer right. Words like quotient, multiples, prime numbers and product, are a few examples
of terminology that may come up in a test. Highlight these words to help figure out the meaning of the question.
Finally highlight any numbers that come up in the problem.
• Translate
Once you have read the question properly, and have highlighted key words and numbers, you then need to translate.
Maths has its own language. Take the story sum and convert it from English into ‘Mathematics’ in the form of a number
sentence. This makes it easier to calculate the answer.
• Calculate
Show your working out if they have given you space. And pay close attention to the marks allocated, the more marks,
the more information you need to include. If working out is not asked for, work it out on a spare piece of paper
this limits possible errors in calculation. Slow down, take the problem step by step, don’t rush and make silly mistakes.
• Write an answer sentence
Too often learners just write the number down. When the problem is given as a sentence, give the answer as a sentence.
Depending on the space provided for the answer make sure you give the answer with the subject next to it
(i.e. 120 flamingos/students/kg)
Knowing how important a subject is for the future helps with motivation.
When you are motivated you remove barriers to learning. Start observing occasions in everyday life, where you
naturally use problems solving, to help realise how essential it really is. Take the time to practice problem solving story
sums each day in order to become more adept in this area. Read, highlight, translate, calculate, and answer in a sentence.
Think of each problem as a mountain, take it step by step and you will reach the SUM-IT
skills at work. Problems don’t have to include numbers to be about maths. Mathematics is about developing logic skills and
processing the world around us.
Tips to Working Out Story Sums
• Read the question
Reading is the foundation of story sums. Too often students don’t read the question properly, and therefore answer it incorrectly.
It is heartbreaking to study and know your work off by heart but a small error in reading would cause you to lose marks.
• Highlight the ‘maths’ words
Maths terminology is so vital in understanding the question. If you don’t know what a word means you have a reduced
chance of getting the answer right. Words like quotient, multiples, prime numbers and product, are a few examples
of terminology that may come up in a test. Highlight these words to help figure out the meaning of the question.
Finally highlight any numbers that come up in the problem.
• Translate
Once you have read the question properly, and have highlighted key words and numbers, you then need to translate.
Maths has its own language. Take the story sum and convert it from English into ‘Mathematics’ in the form of a number
sentence. This makes it easier to calculate the answer.
• Calculate
Show your working out if they have given you space. And pay close attention to the marks allocated, the more marks,
the more information you need to include. If working out is not asked for, work it out on a spare piece of paper
this limits possible errors in calculation. Slow down, take the problem step by step, don’t rush and make silly mistakes.
• Write an answer sentence
Too often learners just write the number down. When the problem is given as a sentence, give the answer as a sentence.
Depending on the space provided for the answer make sure you give the answer with the subject next to it
(i.e. 120 flamingos/students/kg)
Knowing how important a subject is for the future helps with motivation.
When you are motivated you remove barriers to learning. Start observing occasions in everyday life, where you
naturally use problems solving, to help realise how essential it really is. Take the time to practice problem solving story
sums each day in order to become more adept in this area. Read, highlight, translate, calculate, and answer in a sentence.
Think of each problem as a mountain, take it step by step and you will reach the SUM-IT