A teacher’s role is fundamental to the acquisition of the much-needed mathematical skills and knowledge that form part of children’s early development and beyond. From the year before learners enter formal schooling (Grade R) to the end of the Foundation Phase (Grade 3), teachers contribute to the most important learning cycle and lay the groundwork for learners for the rest of their schooling years. Teaching Foundation Phase Mathematics is an essential guide to preparing classrooms, planning lessons and teaching mathematics with confidence in a multicultural classroom.
Teaching Foundation Phase Mathematics provides crucial insights into basic principles that are applied both globally and locally, with an in-depth discussion of the concepts and theories that underlie the teaching of mathematics to learners at a young age. The terms Africanisation, decolonisation of the curriculum and ethnomathematics are discussed. With careful consideration of the CAPS documents issued by the Department of Basic Education in 2012, themes revolve around the physical, social and conceptual knowledge that learners need to acquire and build on in mathematics in order to fully comprehend and develop their skills for the future.
In recognition of the technological demands of the modern era, each chapter integrates elements of coding and robotics to demonstrate the natural links between mathematical reasoning, problem solving and computational thinking. These examples help future teachers connect mathematics to digital literacy and prepare learners for participation in a technology-driven world.
Contents include the following:
Chapter 1: How (and why) Foundation Phase learners learn mathematics
Chapter 2: Teaching mathematics to culturally diverse learners in the Foundation Phase
Chapter 3: Teaching mathematics in Grade R: A play-based approach
Chapter 4: How Foundation Phase learners develop a number concept
Section A: Developing a number concept: counting
Section B: Developing a number concept: order, compare and describe whole numbers
Section C: Teaching the four basic operations in mathematics through problem solving
Section D: Teaching place value which leads to the composing and decomposing of numbers
Section E: Mental mathematics
Section F: Teaching fractions to Foundation Phase learners
Chapter 5: Patterns, functions and algebra in the Foundation Phase
Chapter 6: Learning about space and shape in the Foundation Phase
Chapter 7: Learning about measurement in the Foundation Phase
Chapter 8: Data handling in the Foundation Phase
Chapter 9: Assessment of mathematics in the Foundation Phase
