Max Maths, Year 2, Learn together, Adding and subtracting

In the 'Max Maths' programme for Year 2, children are exploring the concepts of adding and subtracting in a section called 'Learn Together'. The lesson begins with an example where Tya adds six numbers together in a specific order: 5, 36, 57, 4, 6, and 5. By rearranging these numbers to 6 + 4 + 3 + 7 + 5 + 5, the addition becomes more straightforward, resulting in three groups of 10, which equals 30. This demonstrates how rearranging numbers in addition can simplify the process and lead to the same answer.

Following Tya's example, the children are then encouraged to try rearranging calculations themselves to find the answers. However, they are reminded that while the order of addition can be changed, the order of subtraction must remain the same. The activity presents several calculations involving both addition and subtraction, challenging the students to rearrange the additions for ease of calculation. For instance, in the subtraction example, subtracting 18 from 27 gives an answer of 9, but reversing the order to 18 - 27 does not yield the same result. The lesson emphasizes the importance of order in subtraction, contrasting it with the flexibility of addition. Through these exercises, children learn to strategically group numbers to make adding simpler and understand the fundamental differences between the operations of addition and subtraction.