Position and movement
Teacher's notes
- In a range of activities uses and responds to positional language.
- Knows left and right.
- Also makes whole turns, half turns, and quarter turns.
- Uses ordinal numbers: first, second, third…
- Solves the practical ‘position' problem of how to be polite by holding the door but arrive at the dining room in the same part of the line as his friends.
Next steps
- Using one 'landmark' on each wall of the classroom, such as the window, whiteboard, door and computer, face a partner towards the whiteboard and predict the direction he will face after a whole turn, half turn, quarter turn.
- Use turns to the right or left.
- Use turns clockwise or anticlockwise.
- Ask the partner to check the predictions by making the turn as instructed.
- Instruct a programmable toy to move along a given pathway.
Measuring
Teacher's notes
- Measures in a range of situations.
- Suggests linking paperclips, as uniform non-standard units, to compare the lengths of a set of pencils at the beginning and end of the week.
- Chooses to use a metre stick to check if the floor of the classroom is square.
- Uses several metre sticks and 'leapfrogs' them along the floor, placing them end to end carefully.
- Measures the length and width of the classroom to the nearest metre.
Next steps
- Measure in a wider range of situations and for a purpose, e.g.:
- use strips of paper calibrated in centimetres to measure around objects, such as around heads and then to measure heights
- use the cut strips of paper to represent the head and height measurements for each child in a 'graph'
- make the same measurements at the end of term and compare the 'graphs'
- talk about how many measurements have stayed the same and which have changed.
What the teacher knows about Daniel's attainment in Ma3, Shape, space and measures
Daniel knows the names of 2-D shapes such as circle, triangle, square, rectangle and pentagon. He has less experience of 3-D shapes but he recognises and names a cube, cuboid, cone and pyramid. He talks about the features and properties of 2-D shapes, for example the number of sides and corners. He sorts the class set of plastic 2-D shapes by type, for example putting all of the squares in one compartment of the storage tray, all of the circles together and so on. He visualises familiar shapes to solve problems such as, 'I fold a square in half. What shape could one half of the square be?'
Daniel uses ordinal language to describe positions in everyday situations such as queuing for lunch. In PE lessons Daniel follows and gives instructions to make whole and half turns. He is beginning to use quarter turns. Daniel knows his left and right and uses this consistently when following instructions to move sideways or to turn on the spot.
Daniel measures lengths using uniform non-standard units such as linked paperclips. He also uses a ruler to measure smaller lengths to the nearest centimetre. For example, he used a ruler and centimetres to find the width of the widest mini-whiteboard. He uses a metre stick for longer lengths. He used several metre sticks to measure the length of the classroom, for example 'leapfrogging' them along the floor and placing them end to end carefully. He estimates whether lengths are longer or shorter than a metre and whether containers hold more or less than one litre. He estimates which of two objects is heavier or lighter and uses a balance to check. Daniel reads the time on an analogue clock to the nearest hour and knows the times of regular daily events.
Summarising Daniel's attainment in Ma3, Shape, space and measures
In the two assessment focuses, Properties of shapes and Measures, his teacher decides that Daniel's attainment is best described as level 2. In Properties of position and movement, she decides his attainment is still best described as level 1. Reading the complete level descriptions for levels 1 and 2, his teacher judges that level 2 is the best fit for shape, space and measures overall.
There are level 2 assessment criteria that Daniel does not yet meet and others that he has yet to demonstrate fully or in a range of contexts. Consequently, his teacher refines her judgement to low level 2.
To become more secure in level 2, Daniel needs to develop his understanding of 3-D shapes and their features, distinguishing curved surfaces, flat faces and edges, for example. He should begin to distinguish between straight and turning movements and apply this to instructing a programmable toy, for example. He should refine his understanding of turns and angles and begin to recognise a right angle in turns and in shapes. He should read scales in a wider range of contexts, for example read a kitchen scale with increments of 100 grams and read an analogue clock to the nearest half-hour.
