Strategy Congress
Progression 1 (Years 1–2) Number | Comparing and justifying strategies (count-on, make-10, doubles, part-part-whole) in zoo/conservation problems.
Learning Intentions & Success Criteria
Te Mātaiaho: quantify, order, compare small collections
NZC L1–2: choose/justify strategies to 20
Key idea: strategy choice matters
Ākonga are learning to:
- Choose an efficient strategy for addition/subtraction to 20.
- Explain and compare strategies with peers.
- Record thinking clearly for others to follow.
Success looks like:
- I can solve a problem and say which strategy I used and why.
- I can follow a peer’s representation and restate it.
- I can suggest an alternative strategy that also works.
Teacher prompts
- “Which strategy is most efficient here?”
- “What did you make first?”
- “Can you solve it a different way?”
Kupu / Vocabulary
- strategy / rautaki
- efficient / pai ake
- explain / whakamārama
- compare / whakataurite
- justify / whakamana
- representation / whakaaturanga
🎥 Media Anchor (8 mins)
Video: Early Number Sense Strategies for Young Learners
- What counting or grouping move from the clip can you use in our warm-up task?
- How could you teach this strategy to a classmate or whānau member?
Materials
- Problem set (6–8) across contexts: feeder counts, bird visits, seedling trays.
- Chart paper for congress posters; markers; frames; number lines.
- Strategy icons (count-on, make-10, doubles, part-part-whole).
- A5 Handout: generator “Mixed,” range 0–20, 20–24 Qs for practice before congress.
Lesson Flow
Hook (5 mins)
- Two strategies for 9+6 shown side-by-side (make-10 vs. count-on); quick vote: which is clearer?
Prepare (10 mins)
- Pairs pick one problem; solve using any strategy; create a clear poster (representation + equation + explanation).
Congress (20 mins)
- Gallery walk: 3–4 posters presented; peers ask “What did you make first?” “Why that strategy?”
- Teacher highlights efficiency, clarity, and accuracy; record go-to strategies on class chart.
Independent practice (10 mins)
- Solve 3 fresh problems; circle the strategy icon used; be ready to explain one.
- Support: offer two pre-drawn representations to choose from.
Exit Check (5 mins)
- “Which strategy fits 7+8 best? Why?” quick oral response.
Place-based options
- Use photos/maps of Hamilton Zoo or Tiritiri boardwalk: craft a story problem and choose the best strategy.
Focus on discourse: sentence frames “I used ___ because ___”; “I agree because…”; “Another way is…”
Differentiation & Support
Scaffolds
- Provide a strategy choice card with visuals for each method.
- Limit to addition only for some learners.
- Use sentence frames for explanations.
Extensions
- Compare two strategies and decide which is more efficient.
- Create a poster showing two different strategies for the same problem.
- Lead a mini-conference to teach a chosen strategy.
Common Misconceptions
- Belief that only one strategy is correct. Remedy: require two strategies for some tasks.
- Mixing representations (line vs. frame) without explanation. Remedy: label and narrate each step.
- Choosing a strategy that does not fit the numbers. Remedy: prompt for efficiency.
Assessment & Evidence
- Poster clarity and correctness; note strategy diversity.
- Independent problems: match between chosen strategy and problem structure.
Whānau Connection
- Send home a “strategy card” and ask whānau to solve a simple sum two ways.
- Invite a short audio or note: “Our strategy at home was…”
Handout Link
Use the Progression 1 generator set to “Mixed,” range 0–20, 20–24 questions. Encourage annotating each with the strategy icon.
Curriculum alignment
- Algebra — Practices: - The symbols + and - represent addition and subtraction, and the equal sign shows that two sides of an equation represent the same quantity. - An open number sentence is a st…
- Number — Practices: - Arrays and groups can be used to represent and solve multiplication and division problems. - Multiplying and dividing by 1 gives the same number (the identity property of mu…
- Measurement — Practices: - Arrays and groups can be used to represent and solve multiplication and division problems. - Multiplying and dividing by 1 gives the same number (the identity property of mu…
- Statistics — Practices: - Arrays and groups can be used to represent and solve multiplication and division problems. - Multiplying and dividing by 1 gives the same number (the identity property of mu…
- Algebra — Practices: - Arrays and groups can be used to represent and solve multiplication and division problems. - Multiplying and dividing by 1 gives the same number (the identity property of mu…
Curriculum alignment
- Te Mātaiaho (2025) · Mathematics and Statistics · Phase 1 (Years 0–3) · Geometry (Practices): “- Adding or subtracting 0 does not change a number (the additive identity property). - Changing the order in which numbers are added does not change the result (the commutative property of addition). - When subtracting numbers, the order of numbers is important (i.e. subtraction is not commutative).”
- NZC (2007) · Mathematics and Statistics · Level 2: “Use simple additive strategies with whole numbers and fractions.”