Reality Maths

VC1 and follow-up

Overview of project
 

This long project is about the maths that we find all around us in the real world.  The project will begin by focusing on the maths of schools, buildings and outdoor environments with an emphasis on shape, space, estimation and measurement.  This will involve very practical and hands-on activities and will culminate with the students producing a maths trail based around the school grounds.

We will then use Google Earth software to move beyond the physical bounds of the school and to explore the maths that we can find across the globe. Students will discover the meaning behind the numbers that appear on airport runways and they will have the opportunity to decide whether The Pentagon is regular or irregular.  This part of the project will make use of statistical averages (mean, median and mode) as well as providing an introduction to the fractal qualities of coastlines.

The project will finish by looking the mathematics that we find in the natural world.  Much of this work will be based around the Fibonacci Sequence which occurs naturally in many places.  We will look closely at the mathematics that we find in fruit, vegetables, plants and shells as well as learning about how the same mathematics decides how beautiful a person looks and is used in magic tricks.

By the end of this project, the students taking part may well be looking at the world in a completely different (and more mathematical) way!

VC1

• Shepshed School's introduction and pictures [1], [2], [3]

Resources required in VC1:

• 21 Doors
• Chocolate Bar
• Ferry Timetable
• Five Dice
• LCD Windows
• Maths Photography Worksheet
• Pebbles and Crosses
• Scrabble Letters
• Spiral Staircase
• Square of Numbers
• Maths Trail

Follow-up activities:

1. The main activity is to plan and make a maths trail for your school.  Perhaps it could be used for new students to do as a way of familiarising them with the school.  You might want to print out the activities and get them laminated, so that they can be used over and over again.  As well as thinking of things like measuring and counting, try to be creative in your ideas - there is maths all around you, how much of it can you find?
2. You could also find or take photos which have maths in them.  This could be part of your maths trail, so that it can be done in the classroom as well as outside.
3. There wasn't time to do more than scratch the surface of the resources above in the VC, so have a go at some of them also.

For VC2 on 1 December, put together a 7/8 minute presentation on the work you have done on your maths trail and the other activities above to show to the other schools.  You will need to be prepared to answer questions from the other schools also.