Probably none of you will care, but then again I don't care about cricket or HTCs either but I've decided to start 'Investigation Fridays' at school in maths, where, believe it or not, the children will carry out investigation in maths, on - you guessed it, a Friday! They will have to work in small groups (not decided yet whether 2 or 3 would be more ideal), and decide how to carry the investigation out and how to present/record their findings. They are going to get a special brand spanking new book for their group to put it all in. I think the real tricky bit for them will be coming to terms with the fact that they may not always get a 'right' or 'complete' answer. I can see tears of frustration and lots of rubbing out initially, but I'm hopeful they will soon see it as risk free and be happy to just have a go. The first one is 'frogs' or 'leapfrog', where they will have to find out the minimum number of moves it takes to move all the frogs from one side to the other, for any numbers of frogs. You can have a go here, too, if you like: http://www.transum.org/Software/Investigations/Leapfrog.asp I've got lots of ideas for future investigations, I'm getting giddy!!
Ok, I lied, I'm very excited! It can be used for any age really from KS2-KS3. I'm going to be using it with top set year 4, but I remember doing a project about it in year 7. Edit: Congratulations
I also like Fridays - someone normally brings a cake to work, we have sausage sandwiches, finish early, then go for a few beers
maybe they could do a calculation as to how long it may take... teacher to get clear from Rehab.. Cold Turkey could be the name of the game.... seriously What on earth are you smoking/injecting here... is it any wonder our children are emerging from what we laughingly call 'Schools' as semi or totally illiterate future citizens.... *sigh*
Re: maybe they could do a calculation as to how long it may take... Pardon? You realise this is for Maths right, not Literacy? Also, it builds up logic, problem solving and communication skills, which are high level skills for 8 and 9 year olds to master.
Pardon ? really ... no come on REALLY how the hell is that Mathematics. I respect you wanting to get kids up and running and becoming pillars of society , but sorry I am at a loss to how swapping frogs about will achieve that in the slightest. What is needed is the OLD SCHOOL approaches ... and also making a qualification mean something... GCSE's don't make me laugh ... a 'c' grade is great they think.... sorry in my day it was GCE 'O level' and 'A level'and it was a pass/fail 80 + %.. and it was like the 12 labours of Hercules for them too , they were hard earned. But today they come in a cornflake box.
Re: Pardon ? really ... no come on REALLY I edited before you replied explaining how it links to Maths. You do realise that there is an entire strand dedicated to applying Maths right? If you were to do the acitivity you would find that number patterns begin to emerge, and you can solve future scenerios through the use of alegbra without the need to 'swap frogs about'. It's not the activity that is important, it is the thinking behind it.
Right, you've got me going now Dragon Tyke, seen as though you asked, here are the link to maths and the levels it teaches/assesses. Children in year 4 should be working at around level 3 to be average, mine are working between middle level three and middle level 4 so this is an appropriate activity for them. Solving the problem • Starting with a small number of frogs on each side 1 - 2 (Level 3) • Increasing to 1 – 3, 1- 4 etc(Level 3) • If children draw diagrams they should be the children’s own ideas, as this will be more relevant to them (Level 3/4) • Do the children suggest placing results in a table? (Level 4) • Can the children see a pattern in the least number of moves? (e.g. if they have 1 frog on one side and increase the number of frogs on the other side the least number of moves increases by 2 each time. etc)(Level 4) Reviewing and continuing • If the children can see the pattern in the minimum number of moves can they choose a larger (sensible) number of people, predict the answer and then try it out, using their method of recording (probably diagrams) to check their hypothesis? (Level 4) • Do the children see any mistakes in their working? If so do they correct them? (Level 4) • Can the children see the relationship between the patterns when one set of frogs is kept constant (i.e. when we have 1 frog as the constant the difference between the numbers of moves is 2. When we have 2 frogs as the constant the difference between the number of moves is 3 etc) (Level 4) Solutions • Can the children explain the pattern to a partner? (Level 3) • Can the children write the pattern down in their books? (Level 4) Extension work (Level 5) • Can the children see the pattern for the minimum of moves using any amount of frogs? (that the sum of the frogs is added to the product of the frogs) • Can the children choose a larger (sensible) number of frogs, predict the answer and then try it out, using their method of recording (probably diagrams) to check their hypothesis? • This work will begin to work towards the formula. • Can the children explain the pattern to a partner? • Can the children write the pattern down in their books?
JamDrop ... I do 100% respect you , but sorry I still believe that we need to go back in time in schooling to some degree. I really do wish you well and I so hope the kids emerge better for your care,in you I do see/feel a person who does totally care about what she is doing... and for that I have a massive respect. But I cannot feel that our society is very lacking in teaching our kids the very very basics... and the first basic that seems to be left behind is ... RESPECT. Teach them that. instill them that and we will never look back.
Re: JamDrop ... Why does this activity make you believe that I never, at any point, teach them about respect? This teaches them to respect the ideas of others in their group (which may not always be the same as theirs) if nothing else. How else do you want me to teach about respect in a maths lesson?