Information for Parents

What does the NEXT UP website offer my child? 

Have you ever wondered about how maths is presented and taught in the classroom? Have you been looking for a few extra practice activities for your child to help them with maths, particularly addition, subtraction, multiplication and division? Well, this new site may help.

This website is designed to support students in learning maths at their own pace in an engaging and interesting way, using technology as part of an extension or support program. It is mainly based on grade 3-6 material, so could be used to extend advanced year 1-3 students, or support struggling year 4-6 students. 

How comprehensive is the site? 

The site is basically a place for extra practice, extension and support. Students can re-watch and re-engage with how teachers are presenting and modelling mathematical concepts in class. Some students need to be exposed to ideas and concepts in different ways to fully understand them and this site offers that potential. It provides students with access to a variety of maths experts who explain content in a similar way to most Australian/Victorian teachers. The combination of sound, visuals and a new voice or way of representing what the digits mean can sometimes make all the difference.  

There's also plenty of mini-projects and links to relevant games for active, online learners. The games have been checked for their suitability, relevance and timeliness. 

It's not an entire curriculum and, to fully consolidate concepts, students need time to practice and complete meaningful tasks in class that are linked to each of these developmental steps. It can help fill gaps in students' development and, thus, give an extra boost to students who are on the edge of missing the point of key concepts or cementing a full understanding and mastery. It could also be used by fairly independent, capable students to push forward into the next material that may above the level of the peers in their physical classroom. 

How should my child work through the material? 

Ideally, students should try to work through each unit part-by-part, step-by-step. That is, unless some parts are too easy - it is wise to discuss the best starting point with your child's teacher. 

It is very important, once you determine the correct starting point in each topic, that students complete them in order because each unit is staged in certain steps that follow on from the previous step. It is also a great idea to match students' online learning to their current classroom topics, e.g. when students are studying addition in class, that is the best time to work through addition here. However, this site could also be used to front-load concepts (ahead of classroom learning) or for consolidation after units have been taught in class (to catch-up or revise key content). 

It's up to you really! So long as students are not jumping ahead to the more advanced content before they have a firm grasp of the basics at the top of each unit. For example, children need a solid grasp of arrays and their times tables before progressing to double-digit multiplication methods.