MATHS300
Lesson 91
Mounted: October 2000 ... Reviewed: July 2006
Years: K - 2 ... Time: 2 - 5 lessons
Around Our Neighbourhood
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Overview
Lesson Plan
Classroom Contributions
Maths300 is a living site. This lesson will be enriched through further teacher development in classrooms
across the world. You are invited to contribute to that process by submitting:
variations ... extensions ... inspirations ... photos ... student work
Please email material to: [email protected]
MATHS300
Lesson 91
Around Our Neighbourhood
Overview
Each MATHS300 lesson serves two purposes. On the one hand it is a professional
development experience offering opportunity to try something new, hopefully in
conjunction with your staff, in the knowledge that the notes record the successful
experiences of your colleagues elsewhere. On the other hand it is a well trialed lesson plan
which provides clear information about 'what to do in maths tomorrow'.
Years: K - 2
Time: 2 - 5 lessons
Summary:
Let's go for a walk! is a statement that children usually greet with delight. In this lesson the
walk is the starting point for lots of mathematics. There is also plenty of opportunity for
lessons in other curriculum areas. Children visualise and predict before the walk; estimate,
measure and count while on the walk; sort and classify, count, make patterns and maps
during the lessons that follow.
Resources required:
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Paper and materials for drawing and/or collage
Blocks of various sizes
Construction materials - various 'junk' from the art room
Clipboards or similar to hold recording sheets when walking - some schools have a
class set of these in the staffroom for this purpose
Large size map of the area - sketched by the teacher and preferably on a sturdy
material like plastic
Additional responsible parents or senior students to be group leaders
Content Outcomes\Links To Curriculum Documents
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estimation and measurement of length, area and time
counting
sorting and classifying
build structures and investigate geometric models
spatial and numeric patterns
informal use of scale
language of 2D and 3D shapes
recognise and interpret two dimensional models of three dimensional space
Lesson Stages
1. Prepare for the walk - visualise, talk, represent and interpret.
2. Take a walk - observe, discuss, measure, record and gather.
3. Follow up the walk - talk, sort, classify, build, map and make.
All of these stages can involve extended group or individual project work.
Issues or Discussion Points
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Lessons like this are fun. However, is it sufficient though that the students go home
saying We had fun.? Is it not better if they go home saying We had fun and I learnt ....
Should we spend as much time helping children to see what they have learnt, as we
spend planning that they have fun while they are learning?
Straw Vote
After teaching the lesson, please rate each of the following features (out of 10) as to its
contribution to the overall quality of the learning experience. This exercise will provide a
basis for staff discussion of curriculum development.
1.
Informal learning
2.
Actually going for the walk
3.
Cross-curricula links
4.
Concurrency - teaching several maths topics together
5.
Group work
6.
Sorting & classifying
Features
Informal discussion: In many ways, this is an open-ended activity so teachers sometimes
have to leap on serendipitous moments to highlight mathematical content. Certainly teachers
who have contributed to this lesson have found the informal chatter during the walk to be a
doorway into the knowledge children have stored away and are able to apply. Equally it has
been frequently observed that child/child discussion has been a factor in helping some
children learn new things on the walk.
Sorting and classifying: is a major mathematical tool. Right into university mathematics,
proof often depends on classification. For example proofs involving number might look at
all the examples which are prime numbers separate from all other examples. Children need
to be frequently challenged to look for characteristics on which sorts can be based, in order
to become more proficient at using the tool. This lesson presents many such opportunities.
Physical involvement: When children return home from school they are frequently asked
What did you do at school today?. Children who have been involved in a walk like this are
likely to respond with considerable detail because of the kinaesthetic component of the
learning. This can open doors for parents to continue drawing attention to and discussing
mathematics. They can be encouraged to do so by a note home, or a parent night to view the
work which develops in the lesson. Many parents will find 'family projects' like the
following can develop reasonably easily.
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Let's look for all the different shapes we can see while we drive to Grandma's.
Find three patterns in the house and I will photograph them so you can take the
photos to school to show your teacher.
How about we build a model of Uncle Bill's farm with the blocks.
Cross-curricula opportunities: are many and varied in this lesson. Whenever oral language
is used there is the option to record it and achieve outcomes related to the written language
curriculum or the dramatic arts. A comparison of our neighbourhood with a neighbourhood
from another culture, as shown in photographs or film, will raise similarities and differences
which address fundamental concepts in social sciences.
Most of these opportunities have not been played out in the lesson plan because the focus of
the lesson is mathematics. However, there is plenty of room in the Classroom Contributions
section for your input describing how you shifted between disciplines through this lesson.
Working Mathematically connections: One of the main links this lesson has with the
Working Mathematically process is the collection, organisation and display of data. Another
is in recognition and prediction related to spatial and numeric patterns. These are important
features of being a mathematician. There will be many opportunities for teachers of young
children to value these principles that provide framework for the school maths curriculum,
even as simply as making comments like: I am so glad you noticed that pattern. Searching
for patterns is something mathematicians do a lot, so you must be a good mathematician.
email: [email protected]
MATHS300
Lesson 91
Around Our Neighbourhood
Lesson Plan
Each MATHS300 lesson serves two purposes. On the one hand it is a professional development experience
offering opportunity to try something new, hopefully in conjunction with your staff, in the knowledge that
the notes record the successful experiences of your colleagues elsewhere. On the other hand it is a well
trialed lesson plan which provides clear information about 'what to do in maths tomorrow'.
Years: K - 2
Time: 2 - 5 lessons
Summary:
Let's go for a walk! is a statement that children usually greet with delight. In this lesson the walk is the
starting point for lots of mathematics. There is also plenty of opportunity for lessons in other curriculum
areas. Children visualise and predict before the walk; estimate, measure and count while on the walk; sort
and classify, count, make patterns and maps during the lessons that follow.
Resources required:
●
●
●
●
●
●
Paper and materials for drawing and/or collage
Blocks of various sizes
Construction materials - various 'junk' from the art room
Clipboards or similar to hold recording sheets when walking - some schools have a class set of
these in the staffroom for this purpose
Large size map of the area - sketched by the teacher and preferably on a sturdy material like plastic
Additional responsible parents or senior students to be group leaders
Content Outcomes\Links To Curriculum Documents
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
estimation and measurement of length, area and time
counting
sorting and classifying
build structures and investigate geometric models
spatial and numeric patterns
informal use of scale
language of 2D and 3D shapes
recognise and interpret two dimensional models of three dimensional space
Lesson Stages
1. Prepare for the walk - visualise, talk, represent and interpret.
2. Take a walk - observe, discuss, measure, record and gather.
3. Follow up the walk - talk, sort, classify, build, map and make.
All of these stages can involve extended group or individual project work.
Lesson Notes
Your Photo Opportunity:
Maths300 is frequently updated with contributions which help others 'see' the
lesson. You are invited to send your electronic photos of this lesson to Doug.
[email protected] for possible inclusion.
We will need written permission from the parent of any child who could be identified.
These notes are a compilation of the ways the lesson has been used in various Year K, 1, &
2 classes. You may like to leave out some steps if you are teaching very young children.
1. Before The Walk
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There are many ways to introduce this lesson. It may grow from a comment during class news
time; it may develop from a need to alert children to the safety houses in the area and how to use
them; it may develop from a book in the library.
We had a wordless Big Book called Niki's Walk. Being wordless was great. We could
concentrate on the pictures. We used the book for lots of things, even added our own groupnegotiated text during the unit. For maths there was plenty to observe on each page related to
number, shape and measurement and the children were usually the ones who volunteered the
observations that started the maths discussions. I used it for prediction too. One page gave
clues to the next, so I also asked the children what clues they had used to answer questions
like:
What shapes will we see on the next page?
What will they be part of or what will they be used for?
How many floors will the buildings on the next page have? Why?
How many houses will there be on the next street?
What numbers will they have?
Editor's Note: Niki's Walk (Jane Tanner, Macmillan Southern Cross, 1987) is out of print, but this
teacher's ideas can be adapted to any number of picture/story books in your library.
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Another approach is to prepare in advance a map of the streets in an area of two or three blocks
around the school - basically the area where you will walk later. Make this is as big as possible to
fit the classroom floor space. Draw it on plastic if possible, so it lasts longer. Name only the street
in front of the school.
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Gather the children around the map and have a doll of some sort ready to 'take for a walk'. Place a
sign saying 'school' in the appropriate place on the map.
This is a big map of our area. This is where the school goes. This doll is
Sarah. I am going to take her for a walk and you are going to tell her what
she will see.
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Walk the doll out of the school onto the front street and begin the journey which will match where
you will later take the children.
Ask the children to tell her the significant landmarks on the walk and write and place signs for
them. Make sure there are enough signs so that each group of 3/4 children will have something to
build/make/draw later.
Also ask questions like:
❍ Is Sarah turning left or right here? This can be a very difficult question for young children
who might be facing Sarah from where they are sitting around the mat, so you may have to
try something like Imagine you are inside Sarah's body and looking out of her eyes. Is she
turning left or right here?.
❍ Will it take Sarah longer to walk down this street than it did to get to this corner?
❍ How many minutes might it take Sarah to walk from here to here?
❍ Does anyone know the road sign on this corner? What shape is it?
❍ When she is standing here, what roads is she between?
When Sarah's walk is completed, make a list on a chart of other things she might have seen such as
houses, fences, birds, other animals, road signs, ponds, trees etc. This is the 'Before' of a Before/
After list which will be returned to following the children's own walk.
Organise the children into groups and give them each a sign from Sarah's journey. Provide
appropriate materials and ask them to construct the object mentioned on the sign. Place it on the
map when finished.
Ask each child to draw the map as it currently stands. They will take this with them on the walk
and check off the landmarks as they see them. They can also add other things to their drawing as
they go.
I had prepared some rectangles pieces from the sides of a couple of cartons. The children
built on these and that made them easy to carry back to the map.
Our school is on the edge of the CBD so we have lots of buildings all around. I gathered a
heap of cardboard boxes - milk cartons, chocolate boxes, cereal packets and so on. Before we
even started this Neighbourhood lesson we had a lesson on sorting them into groups and
talking about the language associated with their shapes and cross-sections.
There are three of us teaching the youngest classes. We have access to the Multi-Purpose
Room every afternoon, so together we teachers made a gigantic map and took turns using it.
We just folded it up when we finished and brought it out next time. The children did the
making and building in each classroom and carried their structures to the map when it was
their class's turn.
2. On The Walk
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Arrange the children into groups of about six, and pairs within these groups. Provide a clipboard
for each pair and make sure they bring their map and a pencil.
Arrange for a parent or senior student to accompany each group and prepare them to encourage
observation and ask estimation questions on the way.
Issue each leader with a metre ruler and stop watch. There may also be other appropriate
equipment, such as a trundle wheel or 20m tape, in the school.
On the walk point out the less obvious features such as:
❍ shapes in fences, houses, other buildings, signs and road markings
❍ patterns in paving, fences and brickwork
❍ sizes of flower beds, roundabouts, plants, pets
Bring estimation into the walk:
❍ How long do you think it will take us to walk to the corner where the letter box is?
❍ How high do you think this fence is?
❍ How many paces to that telephone box?
We made a day of it. I arranged our walk so we would go by one route to the local park for a
picnic lunch and return via another route. At the park we played games like tunnel ball and
sack races, but I also had a chance to do some timing activities like jump on the spot for 10
seconds or hold your breath for ten seconds.
3. After The Walk
This teacher has indicated where each student's home is.
Now they have somewhere to sit on the map.
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Add to the map with more construction as appropriate.
Do the 'After' chart to match the predicted list of additional observations.
How can we make groups for all these wonderful things that you saw?
Which ones belong together?
What names could we use for these groups?
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Explore the children's suggestions and come to an agreement on categories. Each group selects
several items to draw from each category. Make a collage of the drawings on a large wall display
which uses the children's headings. Appropriate magazine pictures can also be added.
Discuss the mathematics children have learnt. If they are not aware, then deliberately point these
things out and celebrate them. Make a whiteboard list.
Remember when Anton told us that the box was square because all its sides
were the same length? Well that is an important part of what mathematicians
know about squares. Now you know it too. Finger claps for Anton.
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Ask the children to write a letter to, or do a drawing for, Sarah to show what they saw on their
walk which she forgot to see.
Change the whiteboard list of 'mathematics that has been learned' into a display for a parent night
to show off the learning. Children can draw or collage to illustrate the items.
Related Activities
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Clear the class map of the objects the students constructed and replace the labels which were
originally there. Over the map, lay a clear plastic sheet which has a grid labelled with letters and
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numbers like a street directory. Teach the students how to read the position of each object using
the street directory convention.
Some schools have made a giant plastic map marked in a grid. Others have drawn one on the
asphalt. Information about these mats and activities using them can be found on this web page:
http://www.blackdouglas.com.au/resorce.htm
One class used their school mat by naming the lines as streets (the children thought up the names)
and labelling other invented key features like a school, shops and a park. Then the students 'walked
the streets' following instruction cards and recording on worksheets which their classmates had
prepared. For example:
Start at the school gate, turn right, walk to the corner of Grevillea Street and Wattle Way, turn
left - what do you have to do now? (cross the road) Write down the rules for crossing the
road.
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If cars have become a discussion point during the lesson, visit the teachers' car park and ask
questions about the numbers in the licence plates, eg: Find all the cars with a licence plate that has
a 9 in the tens place.
Make a list of all the carriage way names that children can find, eg: lane, street, close, road, way ...
A street directory index can be helpful here.
Make a list of ways of moving along a street, eg: limping, dawdling, jogging ... In Physical
Education act these out and in Language discuss how the words change to show their tense, eg:
adding '-ed', doubling letters, dropping the final 'e'.
Graph the house numbers of the children's homes.
MATHS300 is a living site. This lesson will be enriched through further teacher
development in classrooms across the world. You are invited to contribute to that process
by submitting:
●
●
●
●
●
variations
extensions
inspirations
photos
student work
Please email material to the address below. If it is included it will be acknowledged. You
can review current contributions in the Classroom Contributions folder for this lesson.
email: [email protected]
MATHS300
Lesson 91
Around Our Neighbourhood
Classroom Contributions
We are grateful to the teachers, schools and students listed below for:
i. taking time to use this lesson
ii. taking time to add to community knowledge of its educational value by sharing
additional information
Victoria, Australia
Year 1/2
Peter Van Grunsven
We went for our walk then used our projector to show Google Earth (a free download). We zoomed in on
our school and the surrounding streets and discussed some of the landmarks we had walked past. We used
the ruler function to test how far we had walked and the To and From direction functions to show a bird's
eye view of where we'd walked.
The students were Grade 1/2. They were learning about location and using language appropriately such as
left, second street on the right. We had a projector set up on the wall and discussed the route we'd taken
on our walk.
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There's the bridge we walked over, did we turn left or right there?
If we wanted to go from our school to the local shopping centre, describe the route we would
follow and show us on the map.
The children thoroughly enjoyed the walk. When we showed them the Google Earth footage, we had their
undivided attention. The children consolidated what they'd learnt on the walk about directions by being
able to see a bird's-eye view of where we'd gone and the things we'd seen were on the map, turning the
map into a more concrete concept.
email: [email protected]