Training guide

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Good numeracy skills

Having good numeracy skills is an essential foundation for a successful education, opening up choices that can make a huge difference to a person’s life. Learning to be confident in using numbers takes a lot of practice.

By encouraging learners to use numeracy in all subjects, you can really help them to not only build their skills, but also to see just how widespread and important numeracy skills are.

Activity 7.1: Finding numeracy everywhere

Working individually, think through the kinds of numeracy that occur in daily life. Try to list ten ideas. Now share your ideas with other teachers and make a list on a board of all the ideas that the group has come up with.

Teachers planning together.

Now consider subject areas other than mathematics. Make a list of the kinds of numeracy that occur in every subject.

Examples might be:

  • measuring in physical education
  • understanding big numbers and relative sizes in geography
  • helping learners understand, spell and pronounce numeracy terminology in literacy.

See Resource 3 for more ideas.

Compare the lists. Which daily life numeracy skills are used in several subjects? Which might only be used in mathematics and perhaps science? Consider how some of the list of everyday numeracy ideas could be part of every lesson, so that learners become confident and skilled in their use.