BBC Radio 4’s news this morning included a mention of British Education Minister Elizabeth Truss visiting Shanghai to see their maths teaching in action. I’m sure I heard the mention of the importance of verbalising maths concepts. The English language is rich in many aspects but sadly it can also be confusing. There are so many multiple meanings for the words we use around maths concepts. And so many ways of saying the same thing! The children need these for everyday exchanges before they try to use the mathematical operations.

In the section Number and counting these two resources are particularly relevant:

• ILLUSTRATED MATHS WORDS
• MATHS CONCEPT WORDS AND PHRASES – WORKSHEETS