BLOG: Back to school with Satchel
Even though the sun is currently shining and the summer days are long, in the back of their mind, every parent knows that the dreaded ‘back to school’ is lurking on the horizon.
You may not yet have bought the new school-approved shoes, uniform, pens, pencil cases, protractors and all the other school paraphernalia yet, but now might be a good time to consider your child’s education as the enter the new school term.
Did you know that your child’s levels, particularly in maths, tend to drop considerably during the summer holidays? That’s why their new teacher will typically spend several weeks reviewing the previous year’s topics at the start of term. Has your child been finding a subject at school challenging in the past year? Are they achieving their expected levels in maths and English?
Improve maths and English
Whatever your current situation, at Satchel Learning we can help. Whether your child has been struggling at school or is currently at their top of the class, we provide tailor-made programmes to help your child improve their maths and English. We can also prepare them for 11 plus exams, SATs, school exams and GCSEs.
Your journey in Satchel starts with a free assessment. This is designed to identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses, and help your tutor understand your goals.
Once you decide to go ahead, your child will attend a Satchel class once a week either in person or on Zoom, and also complete individually-designed Satchel materials to work on their maths and English. Satchel courses follow the national curriculum and are designed for children of all ages and abilities.
Spelling and vocabulary
In maths, children study materials from…
- Number module – with a focus on mental arithmetic and calculation skills.
- Reasoning module – word questions and booklets helping children understand maths at a deeper level.
- Shape module – from identifying simple 2D shape all the way through to trigonometry.
- Measure module – including time, money and units of measurement.
In English, children spend the majority of their time on the Reading and Comprehension modules, developing their reading skills and learning to answer questions from a passage. They also work on the Writing module (from short pieces of writing through the GCSE standard questions), Spelling and Vocabulary modules, as well as the Grammar module.
If you would like to find out more information about how Satchel Learning can support your child’s learning, please get in touch.
Read more: BLOG: The importance of corrections and the 11 plus
Read more: BLOG: Divided by Coronavirus
BLOG: Divided by Coronavirus
The debate about how much of a negative effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on children’s education in the UK will go on for many years.
We are, however, just starting to see some of the evidence for ourselves.
We would normally expect a Year 4 child, particularly one that wants to go on and do the ‘11 Plus’, to be able to divide both with and without remainders, and to use bus stop division appropriately.
However, Year 4 children who we have been working with at Satchel in recent months, all with above average ability, can just about do division without remainders and are struggling with the other two areas.
Times tables
The key to successful division is a thorough understanding of times tables and the ability to work backwards – known as inverse operations.
At Satchel, we work hard to make our children learn that not only that 7 x 8 = 56, but also that 56 ÷ 7 = 8 and 56 ÷ 8 = 7.
The answers to the 7 and 8 times tables need to jump out at children to enable them to perform division properly.
This becomes more important when they are faced by a question such as 61 ÷ 7.
They need to know the nearest answer in the 7 times table is 7 x 8 = 56, then work upwards from 56 to 61 to obtain remainder 5.
Children also be able to know when to use the so-called ‘bus stop’ division method appropriately.
Bus stop method
They need to know that a question such as 28 ÷ 4 doesn’t need the bus stop method as the 4 will not divide into the initial 2 in 28. They end up writing 0 remainder 2, taking the 2 to the 8 and still end up with 28 ÷ 4.
The bus stop method is more appropriate for a question such as 68 ÷ 4.
We will shortly be publishing a video to help children with their divisions. Please look out for this.
Read more: Find out more about our maths tutoring
Read more: Does your child need help preparing for an 11 Plus exam?
2021 Calderdale admissions test date announced
North Halifax and Crossley Heath Grammar Schools have recently announced the admission test dates for children currently in year 5 who are looking for entry in September 2022.
The exam this year will be on Saturday 25th September.
The schools have yet to announce whether they will be hold open evenings this year. They are normally in June.
Further dates and details on the registration process can be found at the Crossley Heath school website:
Admissions
Brilliant at maths and sciences, hate English!
We see a number of secondary school children at Satchel who are extremely able at maths and science subjects, but who seriously struggle (in terms of motivation and results) with English.
Whilst they will almost certainly drop English as soon as they have finished their GCSE, it is vitally important that they achieve a minimum of a 4 or 5 in English language or literature to secure a place at a Sixth Form college. However if they hope to go on to a career in medicine, for example, they should aim for at least a 7.
We believe it is important to get these children reading. Many will have not picked up a book since primary school. We have a number of books in our class libraries that can engage these children. Comprehension and understanding is not something that can easily be taught; there are numerous skills involved. However regular reading is a proven way to facilitate this process.
Writing can often be a particular chore for these children. We use a number of techniques to help. We start them on Short Writes, asking them to write around a paragraph of high quality work. We also use Sentence Sheets to help them craft their work, getting them to use a semi colon or a sentence that starts with an adverb, for example. As they approach longer pieces of writing, we spend a large amount of time on the planning process. We may also get them to redraft and improve the quality of certain sections.
It is not easy to turn an English hater into an English lover. However with the right encouragement and preparation, we can develop a grudging tolerance for the subject and help these children achieve academic success.
Finger Counting
A number of primary school children come to Satchel because they are struggling with maths. At their free Starting Satchel meeting, it is clear that a high proportion of these children rely on their fingers to help with even simple calculations such as 4 + 3 or 8 – 5.
Finger counting is encouraged in many schools as a way of helping calculate additions and subtractions. However many children continue to rely on this method for years to come.
Finger counting is inefficient because if causes children to continually calculate the answers to questions. It slows them down, means they make mistakes if they miss a finger and hinders their ability to see patterns in numbers. If uncorrected, it creates problems for the future. How many calculations will they have to do on their fingers when they tackle column subtraction or two digit multiplication?
Just as children learn their times tables, we believe it is vital that children know all their additions and subtractions by rote. At Satchel we first show them techniques such as reversing the question (8 + 2, rather than 2 + 8), using times tables (7 x 2 = 14, therefore 8 + 7 is one more) and inverse operations (If 3 + 5 = 8, then 8 – 5 = 3), but also ensure they receive sufficient practice on additions and subtractions to break the (bad) habit of finger counting.
Generally, the longer a child has relied on finger counting, the harder it is to break the habit. However with the right commitment and encouragement, children of all ages can overcome it. Once they do, it can quickly restore their confidence in maths and set them on the road to long term success.
- Published in Maths