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Allotment Maths
The DCSF published its manifesto 'Learning Outside the Classroom' in 2006. This article from NCETM explores a 'Farming and Countryside' project. The Allotment & Maths Project describes how an allotment has been created in the grounds of St Joseph’s primary school; and how effective links were built between numeracy skills & the outdoor environment.
Allotment and Maths Project [NCETM]
Earth Day Maths
Take your maths work outdoors... Some interesting resources and ideas from GoogolPower.
Sneaky Snake Lengths
An activity to engage young children in estimating and comparing lengths.This is adapted from an idea originally published on the Teacher Resource Exchange by Katie Robinson, University College Chichester.
Objective
Estimating then comparing directly two lengths, using language: longer, shorter and the same as.
Activity more >>
Playground Design
This is a useful measuring activity for Key Stage 2 children. the work has potential for excellent cross-curricula links to geography, design, pshe and citizenship.
Get the children to work in small groups to design an 'ideal' playground based on the school's existing playground. First they discuss what they would like to see/use in an ideal playground. They could design the area for themselves, or for an identified group. more >>
Meaningful Maths Trails
A very useful article for anyone using (or creating) a maths trail.
Avril Crack (nrich.maths.org) explores the learning potential Maths Trails offers learners of all ages. Trails can provide a clear context for learning; and their scope is endless, since they can be adjusted to fit within almost any theme or cross-curricula topic.
Meaningful Maths Trails [nrich.maths.org]
Outdoor Maths Trail Cards
A set of 20 outdoor maths trail cards from Sparklebox. These simple (but colourful) resources are free to download, and offer a useful starting point for work on early counting skills.
Maths Trail Cards [SparkleBox]
An Interesting Angle
Working with the outdoors provides us with the space to teach maths in some truly imaginative ways. This is at the core of enabling learners to see how mathematics is part of the world around them. The challenge of working in the outdoor environment can also help learners to 'take risks' and be more willing to share ideas or offer suggestions than in more 'traditional' teaching situations. more >>
Where Maths Grows on Trees
Find out how one school in Morocco is using a grove of olive trees planted in their school playground to teach students about maths.
The students care for the trees, harvest the oil, visit the camel-driven olive press and sell the resulting oil in their local market, all using maths. more >>
Data Handling in Forest
After extensive work on different types of graph and chart, we went down to the local woods and allowed the children to come up with questions realted to woods. If you click the attached file you will be able to see the what types of questions the children came up with. Getting real data made a massive diffferce and they all produced bar charts, line graphs and one group even did a radar chart to track locations of trees! Really great!
Bird table visitors
Following this weekend's Great Garden Birdwatch and with Spring just around the corner (I've always been an optimist), it might be opportune to set up a bird table or bird feeder(s) within sight of a classroom window to do a bit of statistical analysis on the avian visitors. more >>
