1. Use the pre-requisites chart

On the Planning Guidance page on ActiveLearn there is a chart that gives a pre-requisite for each unit in Y2-6 from the year below. This helps teachers identify related content from lower year groups if they need to. This will be useful for pre-teaching (see below) and addressing gaps in learning. In some cases it may be valuable for sourcing lesson content (see 'Use the materials flexibly' below). 

To address gaps in learning, use the end of unit check from the pre-requisite unit to gauge children’s understanding. You can then follow up as necessary with the strengthen activity or use targeted lesson content from that pre-requisite unit. (e.g. use the Textbook pages for the ‘key lesson’ given in the chart or go back earlier in the unit and build towards this.) 

2. Plan some pre-teaching time

Find a 5-10 minute slot before the lesson to work with the children you feel would benefit. The afternoon before the lesson can work well, because it gives children time to think in between. Recap previous work on the topic (addressing any gaps you’re aware of) and do some fluency practice, targeting number facts etc that will help children access the learning. For instance, practising bonds to 100 might be useful before a lesson on percentages. Ideally a teacher should do the pre-teaching, unless a highly skilled TA is available.

3. Don't go too fast

The materials set out the small steps children need to take to build understanding, but it won't work for strugglers if the pace is too quick. It's better not to cover everything, keeping the pace steady for these children, rather than rushing through all the sections.

Remember though, that you have more teaching days than Power Maths lessons. There is slack in the plan so you can go at an appropriate pace, revisit key learning and ensure all children are ready to move on.

4. Focus on the key concepts

Another recommendation is to focus on the concepts rather than the very specific objective, if children are a long way behind. It depends on the topic, of course, but take addition as an example: the increasing number of columns from one year to another isn't conceptually a huge stretch. Sometimes the focus on what year level the work is can get in the way of thinking about the key concepts for children to engage with. If a child can advance their understanding of the topic, the fine detail of the objective for that year group may be less important. 

5. Don’t forget the ‘Ready to Progress’ matching 

Remember there is a matching of Power Maths lessons to the NCETM’s ‘Ready to Progress’ criteria (on the main planning page on Active Learn). This will help you identify what learning is essential for individual children who are struggling, as well as for the class as a whole. If you can’t do every topic justice, you can at least focus on doing the most important topics really well. 

6. Use the materials flexibly 

It helps some teachers to know that they are allowed to be flexible! Power Maths gives you a carefully-sequenced progression of questions to build children’s understanding in each lesson, but as the teacher you can decide how best to turn this into a great lesson for the children in your class.

Here are some key ideas and approaches for using the lesson material flexibly and selectively with children who are behind the expected level:

• Go through the questions, and the corresponding Teacher Guide pages, before the lesson. Ask yourself what key idea or nugget of understanding is at the heart of the lesson. This should help you form a clear of idea of which questions are essential for all children.
• E.g., you might decide to do Discover A but not B, Share A but not B, and Think Together 1 but not all 3 questions. You could decide this during the lesson, where those questions enable rich discussion and children are really thinking about the mathematical ideas, or you might plan this beforehand.
• Consider beforehand which questions children will find hard and what support they might need. Look at the 'Strengthen' guidance for specific questions in the Teacher Guide.
• For the starter, some children could tackle a few related questions from the previous year (see 'Use the pre-requisites chart' above) while the rest of the class do the Power Up. This will depend on the topic and how well you feel certain children will access the lesson.
• Fluency in the lesson: if you think some/all children would benefit from additional questions to consolidate before moving on, write one or two of these on the board. (This shouldn’t be at the expense of reasoning and problem-solving opportunities: take longer over the lesson if you need to.)
• You can annotate questions to provide extra scaffolding or hints if you need to, but aim to build up children’s ability to access questions independently wherever you can. (Children also tend to get used to the style of the Power Maths questions over time.)   
• Fluency outside the lesson: fit in as much practice as you can for number bonds and times tables etc at other times of the day. Plan a short, afternoon ‘maths meeting’ for this if you can - you could use a Power Up you haven’t used already. 
• If you feel that using content from a lower year group is appropriate for some children, see the 'Use the pre-requisites chart' section above. 

7. Make the best use of print and digital resources

Having Textbooks and the e-Textbook gives teachers flexibility. If you are using the Textbooks, you don’t have to give them out right at the beginning. The Discover page works well using the e-Textbook on screen. Then you can give out the books when you are discussing the methods used by the class and the characters in the Share section.

If you don’t normally use the Textbooks, it might be worth considering whether specific children would benefit from using the printed book. This may allow them to focus in more easily on the mathematical representations, read the text more comfortably, and revise work from a previous lesson that you are building on. Also, it may help children who can’t see the board as easily from their position in the class!   

8. Support struggling readers 

Each Power Maths lesson starts with a problem in context and provides plenty of opportunities for reasoning and problem solving throughout. The questions prompt children to develop their conceptual understanding, and this can mean there is more to read than if the questions were more procedural. This article explains the importance of giving slower-grasping children access to problem solving and reasoning questions and gives provides tips for supporting children with reading problems.   

Reading the text together may be relatively easy for the Textbook questions. For independent work, some teachers have shared examples where they have annotated the Power Up or e-Practice Book page to help children see what the question is asking, or stem sentences to help structure their answer. The books do provide scaffolding, but some children may benefit from a bit extra, especially if you can model the process to support them towards fully structuring their own answers.

Could you pair weaker readers with stronger readers for independent work? Or you might prefer that the children who need help understanding what to do are on the same table, so that you can read questions with them together. 

9. Keep going with same day intervention

This blog covers how to support and include those that have fallen behind, but don’t forget the crucial importance of a continued ‘keep up’ focus. 

Remember that same day intervention can be within the lesson, as well as afterwards (see p29 of your teacher guide). As children start their independent practice, you can work with those who found the first part of the lesson difficult, checking understanding using manipulatives.