What did I learn in Maths this year?

On the front page of our school reports we have a section where the students have to write a paragraph, reflecting on their experience over the previous 6 months. It's a great opportunity for them to reflect on what they did, what progress they made and what they aim for next time.

Reading through the comments written by my class, I found there were lots of comments about Maths. So here is a selection of comments about what the students had to say about their learning in Maths in 2013:

Long Division

Long division was a bit of a preoccupation for Year 6 this year. The kids came in at the start of the year expecting this to be the ultimate experience of Year 6 maths. This came out strongly in their reflection comments:

One of my favorite things about this year has been long division. When I first tried it I had no clue but once it had been explained to me on how to do it I found it easy. I hope that next year I learn just as much.

I have enjoyed maths and art this semester because I liked learning about long division and long multiplication.

This year I have got a lot better at maths, learning lots of new things like long division.

Year 6 has gone so quickly but I have learnt many things. I learnt how to use a defibrillator, what happened at Cowra and how to use long division and long multiplication.

Math was the second best thing for me. I learnt how complex it really is. Long division was hard for me.

Place Value, Fractions and Decimals

This semester I have found decimals and chance in maths fun. I had fun doing chance because it was fun working in groups and completing activities. I liked decimals because it made everything a little harder.

I think I have also displayed a good understanding of long multiplication and regular multiplication.  Next year I hope to improve on my handwriting and learn how to do fractions because I just don’t understand them at all. 

Don't understand fractions at all? That's a bit of a worry...

My main strengths would be some aspects of maths like percentages, Mandarin and most things in music. My weaknesses would be most things in maths and some things UOI.

Fun, Enjoyment and Improvement

These are the ones that put a smile on my face and make me think I've done something useful this year.

I have greatly improved in my maths and I enjoy it a lot more than I used to.

I have learnt to enjoy maths because of all the activities that have been creative and challenging. Even though I still have a long way to go I think I will be more open to the new ideas of mathematics.

My goal for Year 7 is to have a deeper understanding of mathematical calculations.

Some of my strengths for this year would be P.E and maths.

I like solving maths algorithms.