The Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) approach is a key foundation of teaching for mastery. Concrete resources are essential for introducing a concept and allowing children to build understanding using ‘concrete’ (ie physical) objects or ‘manipulatives’.

We have invested in sets of Cuisenaire rods as we believe them to be a powerful learning resource.

For information on what they are please click here.

The Ronit Bird YouTube channel has many great videos on how these rods can be used effectively. The Story of 8 is a great example of how they can be used to secure understanding of key number facts. We would recommend exploring the other videos on her page if you wish to understand these rods further.

We also make use of Numicon and a range of other concrete resources.

The mathsbot.com website is fantastic for displaying these concrete resources on screen.

We also encourage the use of drawn, pictorial bar models to aid conceptual understanding and to help solve more complex worded problems.