vital to remember that maths, like language, can be found in all other areas of learning. Cross-curricular maths enables children to integrate ideas developed in maths lessons and to make them meaningful in a wide variety of situations. There are clear links between maths and ICT, and the maths involved in subjects like science and geography is readily apparent in tasks such as working out quantities, ratios and distances. It may seem less clear in some other subjects, but it is definitely there. Think about its use in history; for example, supporting children’s understanding of time; and physical education may involve sequencing, patterns, shape and space. In the sections below we focus in briefly on how maths can be incorporated into the areas of literacy, music and art.
Music and maths are linked in many ways – for example, repeating patterns, beat, rhythm, time, speed and tempo. The role of song in maths is also interesting: music supports memory and we use counting songs, for example, to help young children remember the order of numbers.
Measurements are often needed in art: a good deal of patterning is based on concepts of space and shape, including symmetry. Artwork can be enlarged and reduced, which involves multiplication and ratio.
Learning mathematical vocabulary is a key aspect of mathematical development. As Study Topic 11 highlighted, language and thinking are closely related in all school subjects. ST16 section 6.1
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revisiting previously explored strategies (e.g. subtracting 9 by taking away 10 and adding 1 back on); using doubles wherever possible (e.g. 24 + 26 is double 24 plus 2); and multiplying by partitioning and adding (e.g. 27 × 5 is 20 × 5 plus 7 × 5)