The Maths Week posters for Junior Primary Pupils’ has been posted here with activities and sent to all schools on the island.

The activities include:
1) Identifying objects
2) Numbers & counting
3)Spatial Awareness and positional language
4)Number Stories
5)Creativity
6) Suggested rhymes and stories

The activities cover topics such as

1) Identifying objects
2) Numbers & counting
3)Spatial Awareness and positional language
4)Number Stories
5)Creativity
As the teacher, you know your pupils best and suggestions can be adapted to suit your class. We would also like to hear about the activities you do in your own classes. Please drop a description of the activity and how it went along to our email mathsweek@wit.ie

The learning points revolve around identifying objects, numbers, and spatial elements, fostering vocabulary development, sentence structure, thinking skills, turn-taking, and memory. Additionally, they include recognizing numbers, counting, understanding odd and even numbers, identifying objects by colour, and developing number sequencing skills. Spatial awareness involves counting, size description, and positional relationships. Finally, number stories and creativity are encouraged for an indepth understanding of concepts.

We would also like to hear about the activities you do in your own classes. Please drop a description of the activity and how it went along to our email mathsweek@wit.ie

Let’s have a look at the poster and think about what we see. Allow 2-3 minutes for children to look at the poster individually. If necessary, remind them, ‘Thinking is quiet, first, let’s think about what we see, then we’ll share ‘.
In pairs, take turns telling your partner what you see in the picture.  Try not to repeat something your partner has said.
During this time, the teacher should try to encourage children who are stuck by thinking aloud, ‘I can see something behind the …’, ‘I see some shapes.’ and not by prompts.
At a later stage, First Class children, if reasonably proficient writers, might be asked to list what they see in writing, either individually or as pairs, with each partner using a different coloured pencil.

How many volcanoes are there?
How many trees are there?
Can you count the number of triangles on the shoot of the tree?
How many cubes do you see on the floor?
How many circles are there in the poster? (large number counting)
How many Dinosaurs are there? How many are flying?
How many flowers are present?
Identify the number of yellow flowers.
How many eggs are present?
Do you see any numbers on them?

Show me the number that comes before 5. What is it?
Show me the number that comes between 3 and 5.
Show me the odd numbers on the eggs.
Show me the even numbers on the eggs.
Show me the number that is two less than 4. What is it?
Show me the number that is three more than 1. What is it?

Can you see any cubes? Where are they placed? Where are the clouds?
Number the dinosaurs from left to right, starting at 1, then arrange them according to (ascending) shortest to tallest and then descending (tallest to shortest).
Compare the sizes of different dinosaurs and use words like bigger, smaller, taller, shorter, etc.
Identify dinosaurs that are near or far from the volcano. Now count the number of dinosaurs closer and those further away.
Identify the shapes and colours of different dinosaurs in the image.
Identify the dinosaurs that are above or below the river.
Identify if the dinosaur is looking towards the left or the right.
What can you see in/on/in front of/beside/next to/behind the _________?

I can see 4 dinosaurs with spikes and horns and 3 more in the shadows. How many are there altogether?
3 dinosaurs are in front of the tree and 3 behind the tree. There is also one dinosaur in the river. How many are there in total?
Some dinosaurs walk on two feet, whereas others walk on all four. Can you add how many dinosaurs roam on two feet and how many on four? Can you now tell the total number of legs in the poster?
How many dinosaurs with wings are there in total? There are eight in the sky. Four are behind the sun, and one is in front of it. Where are the rest positioned? How many dinosaurs with wings can you see clearly?
If you have six dinosaurs on land and two go swimming in the river, how many dinosaurs are still on the ground?
For every four dinosaurs, we have one hatched baby dinosaur. So, how many adult and baby dinosaurs do we have in total?

It does not need to be exactly the same, but it should have the main elements. Perhaps you have ideas of things that can be added.
Work by yourself or with a friend or group.
What will you use as the background? Perhaps a box to make a diorama or a page to make a collage or picture.
Create your own dinosaur (draw) using common shapes and colours. For example, you can use a circle for the head, a rectangle for the body, triangles for the spikes, etc.
Then, name your dinosaur and describe its features.
What can you use to make it? Can you make different sizes, types and colours of dinosaurs?
Can you tell a story about the Dinosaur and other creatures in your scene?