Town Planning and Map Making

Town Planning and Map Making on PhotoPeach

We have been learning to-

•  Give directional instruction..
•  Describe position relative to a person or object.
• Use the lanuguage of direction using compas points, left, right, clockwise and anti-clockwise.
• Use the language of fractions to describe how much we have turned - 1/4 turn anticlockwise, 1/2 turn clockwise. 

Geometry-Position and orientation

Geometry- Position and Orientation

We have been learning to follow directions.
Take five steps forward.
Make a quarter trun anticlockwise.
Take another five steps forward.
Make a quarter turn closkwise.  etc

This week we explored the language of position and direction.

Forwards, backwards, left, right, clockwsie, anticlockwise , 1/2 turn, 1/4 turn.

We looked at the hand movement of the clock to determine clockwise.  We discussed "anti" - meaning "to do the opposite", so anticlockwise is the opposite direction to clockwie.  We also used the clock to work out 1/4 past and 1/2 past.  Our understanding of fractions keeps growing.  It is amasing in how many different places they are found!

We had a lot of fun following directions to find treasure!
A great activity for home is to hide some treasure or an object for someone else to find.
Tall them what you have hidden.
Give insturctions to help them find the object.
You are not allowed to point.

Word Problems

How many soldiers were standing to attention if you could see 5 soldiers in the front row and you could see 4 rows?

We are learning to show our thinking in different ways.

We are seeing the connections between multiplication, (groups of), repeated addition, skip counting, division and subtraction.

If 10 more soldiers lined up how many more rows would there be?

Seeing fractions in different ways!

Draw a square.

Colour 1 quarter pink.
Colour 1 half yellow.
Colour the rest black.
Find at least 3 different ways to show this.

Fractions in reality

We built on our thinking from yesterday-

After eating pizza I have this much left over-
1/2 meat lovers
1/2 cheese and tomato pizza
1/4 mushroom pizza
1/4 chicken pizza
Show your thinking in different ways...

Thinking Problems

After eating pizza I have this much left over-
1/2 meat lovers
1/2 cheese and tomato pizza
1/2 mushroom pizza
1/2 chicken pizza
How much pizza have I got left altogether?
Show your thinking in different ways...

Fractions

Fractions on PhotoPeach
We are learning to read and follow instructions.
Read and think about each instruction.
Re-read.
Discuss your thinking with others.
Is your thinking the same?
Are you going to change your thinking? Why?

Our Learning in Week 7

This week we have been exploring fractions.  Fractions of objects and fractions of sets.  We discovered that fractions, division, and repeated addition are all related.  I wonder if subtraction is related too?  Can you get repeated subtraction?
We explored the question - "What is a fraction."  The equal sharing of a whole object or set.  We see fractions all around us.  When baking, sewing, building, telling the time, measuring, sharing pizza and toast.

Fractions on PhotoPeach

Our learning in week 6

We had some fun sessions last week exploring number and place value to 1000.  We also enjoyed using the calculator to help us skip count forwards and backwards.  Please encourage the children to show you their learning through the maths blog.  The last posting shows how you can use playing cards to explore numbers to 1000.  Ordering numbers, counting and talking about numbers before and after is knowledge we are consolidating.  The children have expecially enjoyed playing the game risk which also explores number and place value.  It is a fun and educational game to play with the whole family.  

When practising writing numbers we found the tricky ones were numbers with 0 as a place holder - 105, 409, 306; numbers in the teens 114, 215, 616 and numbers that are tidy 150, 340, 590.  

Another fun activity that has helped with skip counting and algebraic patterning is found by using the constant key on the calculator.  The children are starting to see and hear the patterning that occurs when skip counting in 2's, 5's and 10's and can continue these patterns using larger numbers.  We even found out about negative numbers.

Place Value and Ordering Numbers

Using a pack of cards deal 3 numbers.

What is the greatest number you can make with your 3 cards.

952
What is the smallest number you can make?

259
What other numbers can you make?

295

529
Put the numbers you made into order from smallest to biggest.

Calculators and skip counting, what fun!

Calculators and skip counting, what fun! on PhotoPeach
   

We have been using the calculator to help us explore the  patterning in skip counting.

Do you know I made this pattern?  Can you think of the number I am skip counting in?  What happens when I get to zero?

We know this person is skip counting in 5's because the number aways ends in a 0 or a 5.

What number was this person skip counting in.  All the numbers end in a 0?
Have fun skip counting!

The meaning of equals

We have been exploring the meaning of equals.

So if equals means to balance, or is the same as, what could it look like in a number equation?

Here is some of our thinking where we were looking at balancing 10.

We began to see patterns in our thinking...

11-1

12-2

13-3

14-4

15-5

16-6

Can you carry this patterning on?

 We found other patterns...

29-19

33-23

56-46

44-34

Can you carry this patterning on?

Even more patterns...

130-120

140-130

150-140

160-150

Adding 3 numbers together-

4+4+2

6+2+2

7+2+1

5+4+1

What other 3 numbers can you join together to make 10?

How about groups of...

2X5

5X2

1X10

10X1

So what would skip counting look like?

What would skip counting sound like?

We explored doubles and halves...

So what is 10 a half of?

Number in Algebra...so what is Algebra?

Number in Algebra

We are learning to-

·      Explain and talk about counting, groupings and equal-sharing using words, numbers, symbols and pictures.

·      Explain and talk about what a mathematical symbol means.

                            =   +  -   x   <   >

·      Record number equations accurately.

 We have been learning about the meaning of equals.  It acts like a balance in an equation.

We have also been comparing numbers and making statements using the symbols greater than and less than.

  

                                                                                   

Risk

Here is a fun games we'd love to share with you.  It has helped us make, read, order and understand number and place value to 999.

 Risk

What you need

• Two to four players
• One pack of cars with all picture cards and 10's removed

The objective:

• Have the highest number at the end (999 is the highest number)
• The maths is reading numbers, ordering numbers and learning place value e.g. In 342, the 3 is worth 300, the 4 is worth 40 and the 2 is worth 2.
• The "risk" is the element of chance involved...calculated by what cards have been played and what needs to be changed to win.
• It's the questions that the "adult" dealing for the game asks, and the maths language used by the children, which makes the maths worthwhile, not just the swapping of cards or the winning.

How to play

• Deal one card to each player.  They choose to put it in the hundreds place, or tens or ones.
• Deal a second card and choose the place.
• Deal a third card to the vacant space.  You now have a three digit number.
• Now deal to the first person again and they must change one card.  Repeat for all players.
• Repeat this once or twice where the card is seen and cards are changed.
• Now the "risk" begins. Players have to select which card they will change before they see the card.  They may gain or lose points on the turn of the card, Repeat once or twice more.
• Winner is the highest number.

Questions to ask

• Read the numbers in order from highest to lowest or v.v
• Round numbers to the nearest 10/100
• If we added 10 to each score what would it be?
• If I put the new card in the hundreds what would you win/lose? in the tens? in the ones?
• What is the difference between each score?
• What would you need to get on the next card to take the lead?
• Estimate answer adding up all the numbers

Update - end of week 3

Wow, we are at beginning of week 4!  Where has all that time gone!!  Last week we spent the first session exploring halves and quarters of our metre piece of string.  We then had to work out how many centimetres equalled half a metre and then quarter of a metre.  Number properties were worked through and we now know that 25 is half of 50, quarter of a metre is 25 centimetres, two quarters makes ½ a metre and 50 + 25 = 75.  We looked at strategies for adding and touched on Place Value.  Needless to say we didn’t quite get through our area challenge of designing bench tops and kitchen floors.  We’ll carry these concepts through this week along with the new context of Algebra and Algebraic Equations. 

Here are our future kitchen designers!

 Using 12 tiles we had to design bench tops with 4 sides.  How many different shapes could we produce?

Number in Measurement

Measurement-Length

You are going to make your own metre rule with string.  You only have a 30 centimetre ruler…how can you use this to make 1 metre rule?

                   

We are at the end of another week and what a lot of thinking, learning, discussing and fun has been had in our maths sessions!  The children have certainly learnt about how accurate they need to be when measuring and have a new appreciation for the jobs builders, plumbers and dressmakers do and how maths plays such a valuable part in their jobs!  We have been exploring the meaning of equals, bonds to 100, basic facts and place value!  We are also learning to show our thinking in different ways.