Children's Mathematics: Making Marks, Making Meaning

Drawing on their many years′ experience of teaching children 3 to 8 years, the authors explain the development and range of young children′s mathematical marks and representations. They show how to assess and support these early mathematical graphics. The authors believe that this is the key to success in school mathematics and to higher levels of achievement.

Offering a wealth of practical guidance to support teachers of young children, the book is linked to current educational theory. It sets out ways of helping children make sense of mathematics and suggests an alternative approach to the use of worksheets. It is supported by numerous examples of children′s own representations and intuitive methods. Children are then more able to translate between their informal knowledge and more abstract forms of mathematical symbolism, which they meet as they progress through school.

Maulfry Worthington is an Early Years Consultant and Elizabeth Carruthers is a Foundation Stage Advisory Teacher. Previously both have worked as consultants for the National Numeracy Strategy and as lecturers in Early Childhood Education.