(ISBN 1 84312 171 9, 18)
Language Development for Maths: activities for home
(ISBN 1 84312 172 7, 12)
Both by Marion Nash and Jackie Lowe
(David Fulton, 020 8996 3610)
Reviewed by Sheila Ebbutt, director of BEAM and co-ordinator of the Early
Childhood Mathematics Group
Marion Nash is an educational psychologist and Jackie Lowe a speech and language therapist. 'Circle time sessions' is a structured programme of 36 sessions with a group of six to eight reception pupils, intended for 'linguistically challenged children'. The clearly defined sessions follow a similar pattern of around six activities, so the children begin to know what to expect. Language is built up in a controlled way, and children are given a model for their responses.
This approach to language development for those who need help is a useful idea, but the maths content and language needs looking at. For example, it's too simplistic to say 'Use the term one more frequently.' Context is everything - which one more is it? You might say, I need one more to have enough, or you have one more than me, or if you give me one more we'll have the same. You might be adding, comparing or subtracting. Similarly, 'Addy the Adder' and 'Sid the Subtractor' reduce increase, decrease and comparison to unworkable simplicity. You can't successfully introduce complex language structures in such sessions. Circle times are helpful for modelling ways of saying things, for getting children to listen and participate, and the books do offer ideas for this.
The activities for home are linked to the circle time activities. Here we hit a major problem. Instead of encouraging parents to have conversations with their children about daily events, the activities turn parents into instructors.
