Activity 1:

Before watching the video reflect on the following questions:

• How much time do you spend teaching basic facts ensuring your pupils understand them as well as being able to recall them?
• How do you teach them? 
  With materials?  Through flash cards?  Something else?
• How explicitly do you talk about the basic facts that pupils are using to solve more complex calculations? 
  Do they see the links and can they apply their facts or do they just have a list of memorised facts that they are unable to use effectively?
• How do you ensure your pupils have depth in understanding? 
  Do you ask thought provoking questions? 
  Encourage pupils to spot patterns and relationships? 
  Provide a range of examples including word problems, missing number problems and problems where the equals sign is on the left or in the middle instead of always on the right hand side?

Activity 2:

While you are watching the video:

• Have the Basic Facts assessment with you and follow it along with the video.

• You may also wish to have the Coding Sheet and the Guidance Notes for Implementation of the Knowledge Assessments (open to the Basic Facts sections)

• Pause the video as frequently as you like to make sense of the pupil's responses and discuss (or reflect individually) whether:
• An item was knowledge or whether they have used a strategy to work it out.
• If they appeared to 'just know' the answer, decide whether you feel they understand their answer as well.
• Are there any questions where it's hard to decide?  How would you deal with these either during the assessment, as part of your future teaching or in reassessment.

Video length (with commentary): 16m 24s