Maths Outside

Sometimes when I finish a unit of maths, I tend to find or develop a mathematical scavenger hunt in the classroom. This is a fun way for me to see whether or not they have understood what we have been learning.  It allows me to listen to their conversations, thought process as well as their written work. And it is so much better than doing a test!

I tend to do ‘loop’ questions. This is where they read a question and work out the answer. Their answer will lead them to the next question and lead them back to their starting question. This way they automatically know if their question was right or wrong. It also gives me insight into how they fix/change their mistakes. And it makes students realise what mistakes their making.  

This time I decided to let them develop their own scavenger hunt. We talked about all the mathematical vocabulary that was around the room and how we could use them to create questions relating to objects inside the classroom.

We looked at a range of questioning techniques and went back through our maths book to view our next step questions, question we had asked and set questions we had worked through in our lessons. Giving us an idea of what ways we could ask a question, how to incorporate two step questions and how to make sure our questions were going to extend our thinking.

In pairs the children set off and explored the school environment to develop their questions. I set a few ‘musts’ to keep them on task. From there the students set off and got created. After a set amount of time we gathered back together and discussed ideas and thoughts.

While I had been walking around and prompting ideas, I also set some of my own questions to model with them. I develop some very simple questions and we discussed why these would not be suitable for us (aiming for stage 5/6 questions) and how we could change them to meet the criteria. I also gave them questions that met our criteria and we discussed why these were suitable.

Students then spent time editing and working through their ten questions with their partners so they meet our ‘success criteria’. Once finished the students them typed their questions and answers up. On Friday, my actual class will use them and feedback to my maths class about them.