Mathematics crew manual : mission duties
Space has the ‘wow’ factor that children instantly recognise.It’s big, strange, different, often beautiful and full of extremes.
- There are big questions with big answers.
- Space engages the imagination as well as demanding understanding.
- We’ll take a short trip to other worlds to see some ways that mathematics will help us understand more.
These ideas were offered originally to a conference of Derbyshire primary teachers.
Re-fuelling numbersEquipment
- Calculator
- Paper
This activity addresses the concept of place value as well as the key idea of dividing and multiplying by 10, 100 and 1000 /
- You can re-fuel your rocket as you travel by collecting “space numbers.”
- You collect these numbers by capturing each digit of the number...one at a time by subtracting the digits of the number using your calculator.
- You can only capture a digit that is in the units place.....and you have to finish in less than 10 calculations.
Choose any 3-digit number or work in pairs choosing numbers for one another.
Extension
- What if you found a re-fuelling number higher than 1000?
- What if you choose a decimal number [e.g. 12.3, 7.42, etc]
- What if you can only capture numbers which are in the tens place?
‘What’s my shape?’ game
Group task for 3 or 4 pupils
Equipment
- Set of 3D shapes.
- Set ofattribute shapes... different sizes, thickness....as well as shape.
- compare and classify geometric shapes, including squares, rectangles and triangles based on their properties and sizes
- justify and reason their answers.
- Each child describes a shape by giving a single property clue and asks partners for guesses as to what it could be.
- Keep giving more clues until the shape is identified.
- identify and remove a particular shape from a collection in a feely bag
- put a shape into a child’s hands behind their back and asking them to identify it by feeling the faces, edges and vertices
- encourage children to identify a hidden shape by asking yes/no questions about it.
Space messages
A group problem / investigation
Curriculum area
- generate and describe linear number sequences
- use simple formulae expressed in words
- If there are 4 rockets in the fleet, how many messages will this be?
- What if there are 5 rockets? How many messages?
- The Fleet Space Commander wants to find a quick way to find the number of messages for a large fleet of 20 rockets without having to count. Can you help?
- Is there a way to find how many messages there will be for ANY number of rockets in the fleet?
Space fleet rockets
1
/ 2 / 3 / Counting rockets
- Count the squares for each rocket
- Measure how many squares high is each rocket
- Make a table like this for your answers
Rocket 1
Rocket 2
Rocket 3
All the rockets are made like this.
- Can you work out how many squares there are in a rocket that is 12 squares high?
- If another rocket was made with 20 squares, how high will it be?
In this hands on activity children learn about algebra by using cubes to build rocketsof differing heights but the same base.
- By countingthe height and number of cubes for each rocket,children can discover a simple algebraicrelationship involving constant and variable.
- Foreach rocket the height plus 5 will give thenumber of cubes.
- Children will predict the number of cubes neededthen build rockets for any height.
- Others may involve finding the height of a rocket for any number of cubes.
Always, Sometimes, Never true
Equipment
2 bags: one containing a selection of 3D shapes and the other containing the word cards always, sometimesand never
Curriculum area
This activity will prompt reasoning skills in children.,...as well as allowing them to become fluent in their knowledge in several areas / Tell the children that the 3D shapes were brought back on the last inter-stellar mission and they have to sort them out for the space scientists.
- Put some copies of cards with wordsalways and neverand sometimes in the bag.
- A child picks a shape and card out of the bags and says a fact about the shape that is always, never or sometimes true, depending on the word card that is selected.
- Other children can then take turns to offer their ideas using a different card.
Tickets to Mars
Curriculum area
- Problem solving
- Creativity...and possible links with literacy in writing stores and Art or Computing (designing brochures)
- Adult single tickets...... children’s tickets
- They can decide the cost. Will a return ticket be double the single?
- Every member of the family must have a different ticket.
- What will be the cost for tickets to take their own family to Mars and return home, or will they be stuck there?
- What about special deals? First class fares?
- What about other planets?
- Design some package holidays on other planets. Flight...hotel...?
A possible Assessment for Learning approach might be to get children to reflect on their learning in terms of this “space passport”. A few ideas are provided. Teachers – and pupils – may well find more.
Upper KS2 Space Passport
- I can write Space word problems for my partner to solve.
- I can explain how I found the answer to a Space problem.
- I can read and plot coordinates on a Space map.
- I can make up a Space song to help me recall mathematical information .
- I can draw a net and make a container to store Space food.
- I can find out how old I am on different planets.
- I can research the distance of planets from the Earth.
- I can budget for a Space mission.
Lower KS2 Space Passport
- I can create a rocket using 3D shapes.
- I can make up a Space song to remember my times tables.
- I can make up Space word problems for my partner to solve.
- I can use fractions to describe the phases of the moon.
- I can measure what my footprint would be on the moon in mm, cm and metres.
- I can tell make up a ‘time’ quiz for my partner to complete.
- I can use the correct measures to make a Space smoothie.
- I can draw a Space picture using 2D shapes and find the right angles.