Let's do Mental Maths - YES PLEASE!!!!

It is that time of year again, when teacher's are desperately trying to prepare for SATs tests and looking for ways in which to get those all important results. The Year 6 teachers asked are there any really good apps to help with revising different topics. I have previously blogged about ways in which I use the iPads to make the SPAG more bearable - read here. I have recently discovered two new apps from Andrew Brodie, focusing on Mental Maths and they both are BRILLIANT!

The two apps are aimed at KS1 and KS2 and both are great ways for children to practice every objective of their mental maths.

They can enter their names and keep a running assessment of their progress through practise questions and a range of different tests.

Each test orally reads the questions for children who may struggle with their reading. They provide a variety of different question types and even has a hint button that simplifies the answer for the children.

What impresses me most about this app is the fact that children can pick a particular area they struggle with. When they click a area they want to practise they then see all the objectives building up by difficulty. Children can then click the objective and answer a range of questions linking to it. This means the app can be easily differentiated so children can work at their own level and pace.


They Year 6 team are using this app almost daily and the Year 2 teachers are also using it to help practise different aspects of numeracy in the run up to SATs. Here is what one Year 6 teacher thinks of the app:
"An incredibly useful resource for teachers and students looking at improving mental maths and rapid recall of a range of maths topics. Children are instantly corrected and can work at their own level with banks of questions differentiated linking to different objectives. It is also easy to monitor progress as children's scores are saved and recorded into charts for teachers to use for assessments. For competitive children, it encourages them to beat themselves and improve their scores. I would strongly recommend this app to Year 6 teachers preparing for SATs as a useful tool to have."

Both apps are priced at £1.99 and well worth the cost. You can download Mental Maths 6-7 here or
Mental Maths 10-11 here. 


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