Big Maths

BIG Maths is a teaching approach that makes progress in maths easy and fun. BIG Maths has been extremely successful both nationally and internationally with thousands of children learning through daily BIG Maths ‘CLIC’ sessions and the weekly ‘Beat That!’ challenges.

Big Maths helps children to understand the links between core numeracy (the basic principles that underpin all Maths) and outer numeracy which is the application of these core principles.

C L I C Sessions

CLIC stands for ‘Counting’, ‘Learn Its’, ‘It’s Nothing New’ and ‘Calculation’. Maths lessons contain each of these elements.

Counting:

Children will count forwards and backwards in all kinds of steps depending on their level e.g. in 1s, 2s, 3s, 6s or even 25s! When counting at home with your child, make sure you go forwards and backwards. Don’t always start at 0 – make sure they can count on from 75 to 106 for example.

‘Learn Its’:

‘Learn Its’ are addition facts and times tables facts. There are 72 Learns Its in total; 36 addition Learn Its and 36 multiplication Learn Its. These are facts that children need to learn off by heart, so when they are asked ‘What is 6+4 ?’ they are able to give the answer as quickly as they would be able to tell you their name. As soon as they know 3x5=15 they also know 5x3=15 

It’s Nothing New:

This is the most important aspect of CLIC. It is the way children become successful and properly numerate. The idea that 5-things and 3-things are always 8-things is a fundamental concept. Once children understand this concept, we can change the ‘thing’ to other units, e.g. ‘tens’, so that 5 tens + 3 tens = 8 tens. Children begin to learn the concept by counting random unit e.g. bananas, aliens, cats etc. It then becomes much easier to use standard measures such as ml, m, cm, kg, whilst understanding the underlying number concepts.  If you know 5 x 3 then you also know  5 x 30,  50 x 30,  5 x 300,  5 x 3000

Calculation:

This aspect of CLIC is when the teacher will focus on developing the children’s understanding of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. 

"Big Maths Beat That" is a weekly timed test of your child’s Learn Its. The aim is to improve their individual score each time!

How can you help your child? 

Big Maths is a very useful tool to help children become numerate… but we still need your support at home.
 

• Help your child with their Maths at home – a few minutes a day is all you need.
   
• Insist that numbers are written the correct way round.
   
• Congratulate your child if their Big Maths score goes up!
   
• Make maths a positive experience (Don’t tell your child you were no good at Maths when you were at school – they will think they should be the same!)