In Maths, Year Two have been learning how to partition two-digit numbers. They learned that to partition a number means to split it up into smaller parts. To begin, the children used the base ten equipment to partition numbers into tens and ones using a part-whole model. They had to think carefully about which digit represented the number of tens and which represented the number of ones.
Next, Year Two learned how to partition the same number in different ways. As before, the children began by identifying the number of tens and ones and then used the base ten equipment to represent this on a part-whole model. To partition the number in a different way, the children subtracted a ten from one part and added it to the other. Then, using their knowledge of part-whole models, they were able to record what they had represented as a number sentence. The children continued to subtract and add a ten until only one ten remained in the first part. Once they were confident with the method, the boys and girls were able to partition two-digit numbers in lots of different ways – sometimes writing up to six number sentences for each.
