Outdoor Math Adventures: Grade 3 – 5

It’s Autumn in UK & FALL in the USA so it’s the perfect time for a little bit of outdoor math for Grade 3-5 with AUTUMN leaves. Of course, you don’t need FALL LEAVES for this exercise, but it is colorful.

This fab idea comes from Juliet Robertson, an outdoor education consultant in Scotland. Her blog Creative star learning is one of the most inspiring outdoor maths blogs you will find.

Check out Mathpig’s protractor joke here.

Another fab idea from Juliet Robertson.

 

Maths Mystery Box 10: LETHAL

Middle School Maths Challenge

Symmetry, geometry plus guts and determination.

Make a paper plane that can fly as high as a 5-story building and test it.

You need:

– Half A4 sheet

– Scissors

– A rubber band

The physics of paper is complex. Folder paper is very strong. Here students create a world record folding a piece of paper 13 times.

Crumpled paper is also very strong. Crumple a piece and try and flatten it. More here.

From Instructables blog

Test it but be careful you could take out an eye.

Thanks INSTRUCTABLES.

Now for the BIG challenge:

The above paper plane has 5 wing folds. Can you make a bigger paper plane with more folds. For instance, you could try an A4 sheet.

More from Instructables here:

 

Outdoor Maths Adventures: Grade 3 – 5

This fab idea comes from Juliet Robertson, an outdoor education consultant in Scotland. Her blog Creative star learning is one of the most inspiring outdoor maths blogs you will find.

Check out Mathpig’s protractor joke here.

Another fab idea from Juliet Robertson.

 

6 Bring on the Bucky Balls

Maths-is-Awesome Activity

Bring on the Bucky Balls

Skills: Geometry, polygons, measurement  …. and creativity.

Levels: Junior School & Middle School

In this activity students will create their own, preferably life-sized cardboard igloo. Igloo structures can be complicated or simple and in this project students must design and then build an igloo using a standard hexagon. Here are some inspiring designs.

The first igloo was built using computer generated constructive geometry. It uses a basic – but distorted – hexagonal cardboard unit and was built by by the students of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Porto. You can see the construction method below. More info here.

The next cardboard igloo is based entirely on circles. It was designed by  students of ETH Zurich in Switzerland. More info here.

The following cardboard igloo based on triangles looks simple but has a very strong construction. More info here.

But the Granddaddy of the geometric or geodesic dome was Buckminster Fuller, who has been honoured by having a carbon-based nano-molecule named after him. They’re called Bucky Balls. If you look at the geodesic dome below you can see the HEXAGONAL PATTERN also visible int he Bucky Balls.

9 Build Your Own Battleship

Maths-is-Awesome Activity

Build Your Own Battleship

Skills: geometry, measuring, angles, construction and engineering

Years: Middle School

You will find your inspiration here:

Different maths classes build their own cardboard boats. Call for volunteers  and then stage a race in a local pool.

Heaps of fun.

Good PR for maths. And some schools do it already.

10 DYI Construction Set

Maths is Awesome Activity

DYI Construction Set

Skills: Geometry, measurement, symmetry, area, angles.

Year Level: Year 7

You will find more info here.

This idea is gobsmacking. We live in a consumer world so the thought of making your own construction set is foreign to us.

Building your own cardboard construction set involves:

* Lots of maths

and if

* Every pupil made 20 construction pieces now you can make something huge for a maths display. eg. giant parabola, π, √2

Or

think really BIG.

More info here at Building Blogspot.

 

11 Fashion Statement Geometry for Hipsters

Maths-is-Awesome Activity

Fashion Statement Geometry for Hipsters

Skills: Geometry, measurement, polyhedrons, symmetry and creativity

Year Level: Year 7-9

Ask students to design and make a GEOMTRIC FASHION STATEMENT. This could involve a dress, hat or hair. Then they stage run a MATHS FASHION parade. The point is the fashion statement must involve specific maths such as geometry or  trigonometry, calculus, quadratic equations … any maths you like.

Here from Lancia Trend Visions is the work of Amila Hrustic, a fashion design student in Sarajevo. These samples come from  her “Plato’s Collection” inspired by the idea of Platonic solids. Her collection includes dress based on tetrahedrons, cubes, octahedrons, dodecahedrons, icosahedrons.