Aug 2, 2012 | Maths Outdoors
Although I’ve blogged before about right angles, one summer term I had the rare opportunity to work on a series of activities, both indoors and outside to introduce the concept with one class. I thought I’d just blog about the mix of indoor and outdoor...
Jul 4, 2012 | Maths Outdoors
A few weeks ago I blogged about the stick stacking maths challenge undertaken by a Primary 4 class. The work on measurement and other outdoor activities using sticks has continued. Firstly the children were asked to estimate the height of the buildings and other...
May 26, 2012 | Maths Outdoors
The maths sticks continue to get well-used. Each time I bring them to a class I see something unique and creative demonstrated by children. One time I had the pleasure of working with a P4 (Year 3) class who have been working very hard on developing their mental maths...
May 12, 2012 | Maths Outdoors
Almost one year ago I blogged about a class that created fraction walls with wind-fallen sticks. This was very successful and really required a bit of organisation and thought by the P6 (Y5) children. Earlier this year I noticed that Muddy Faces was selling a maths...
Apr 30, 2012 | Maths Outdoors
Whenever I facilitated whole day of maths training, one of the outdoor activities would involve looking at information handling outside. As one participant said, “We’ve always done traffic surveys, but that’s it.” Now the beauty of information...
Feb 12, 2012 | Maths Outdoors
There are some wonderful maths activities which naturally lend themselves to outdoor work. This past year I’ve been messing about with fractals and thought I might as well blog about this… A fractal is a never-ending pattern that repeats itself at...
Feb 4, 2012 | Maths Outdoors, RME Outdoors
Now that the Chinese New Year has arrived, 2012 is officially the Year of the Dragon. This is extremely exciting and for an interesting maths challenge, one has to try making a fractal dragon. First all all your need a flat open space. My back garden was fine. And you...
Nov 9, 2011 | Maths Outdoors
Here in the UK we are leaving autumn and definitely heading into winter. Whilst many teacher believe that this means more time indoors, I tend to see the opportunities to do activities which can’t be done at other times of the year. One example is aspects of...
Oct 20, 2011 | Maths Outdoors
During this past term, I’ve always taken a stick with me when going out and about. I stuck masking tape at 10cm intervals. This means that children can measure the size of anything when we are out and about. I haven’t made this a prescriptive activity. I...
Sep 3, 2011 | Early Years Outdoors, Maths Outdoors
One reason why I like meeting other teachers and visiting different places is that I see lots of different ideas. This one is so simple. It was undertaken during the “Mulle” Walk in the International Skogsmulle event when we visited an outdoor I Ur och...
Jul 7, 2011 | Maths Outdoors
Recently, I observed a super lesson about angles. I knew things were looking up the moment I arrived in the classroom. To begin with, the teacher had this written on her board: If you look, the focus is on the maths. Very often, teachers assume that “outdoor...
Jun 29, 2011 | Maths Outdoors
I am reluctant to force children outside to learn. I think it can breed resentment. Also in many schools in which I work, children do not often have the necessary clothing and footwear to stay warm and dry. Several months ago I walked into a Primary 7 (Y6) classroom...
Jun 23, 2011 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Maths Outdoors
Almost every Scottish school likes to have a few playground markings adorning their acres of tarmac. Most schools fundraise and buy standard markings from a company who specialises using in thermoplastic tough material. There is also the DIY option. At Fraserburgh...
Jun 18, 2011 | Maths Outdoors, Social Subjects Outdoors
This post is written by Jamie Mundie, a Primary 7 teacher who designed this simple project-linked outdoors maths activity. Thanks for sharing, Jamie. This lesson was designed to tie in bearings and angles works that a maths group were currently working on, alongside...
Jun 11, 2011 | Maths Outdoors
A very simple outdoor challenge for children to try, is to find a thin stick, break it into a number of pieces, e.g. four and put it back together correctly. This is a nature jigsaw. It’s much harder than it sounds. A similar activity can happen with leaves....
May 30, 2011 | Maths Outdoors
This weekend I ventured down to the Central Belt of Scotland for an exploration into unknown territory. It was my first venture through Bathgate, my first visit to a scout camp and my first ever TeachMeet. This was TeachMeet Beyond with a focus on outdoor learning...
May 22, 2011 | Maths Outdoors
The concept of a right angle can often stump children. After all, surely when any two lines meet, it’s an angle, right? Using right angle detectors of various shapes and sizes and going on a right angle hunt around a school can be helpful. But past experience is...
May 19, 2011 | Maths Outdoors
The sticks are getting a serious amount of use at the moment. Last week I used them for an activity in a P5-7 class to reinforce the language of shape. This is what happened: The children had to get into groups of 4 and take 12 large and 12 small sticks. The challenge...
May 6, 2011 | Maths Outdoors
I’m coming to the conclusion that sticks are an essential resource for many outdoor activities right the way through primary school. Since the start of 2011, I seem to be using them in so many different activities. My eyes were really opened last July when I...
May 3, 2011 | Maths Outdoors
Last week I was visiting a school where the P5-7 class had just begun to look at scale. This is a super topic that lends itself naturally to outdoor work. With the Scottish experiences and outcomes, there is no mention of scale within Level 1 in the Maths or Numeracy...
