Danes class began their Maths week with some outdoor learning. First, they practised their estimation skills by searching for natural materials of given lengths. After that they applied their understand of ratio and proportion to estimate the heights of trees. This involved holding a 10cm strip of card and stepping further and further away from the tree until the card appeared to be the height of the tree. Finally, the children measured the circumference of tree trunks in order to estimate the age of different trees.
Later in the week, Danes attended two maths presentations which were delivered remotely. The aim was to inspire children about mathematics: to show some practical applications of Maths in a real-life context in a fun and engaging way, and to highlight some of the exciting careers options available. First, we learnt about the maths in computer games and then about how satnavs work. The children learnt that finding the quickest route relies upon a clever algorithm called Dijkstra’s algorithm and they even got to have a go at applying it in a simple context.
Another highlight of the week was learning how to construct a cardioid using a mapping of n to 2n (mod 60). Many children then chose to experiment with mapping to 3n, 4n or 5n to construct different patterns.
During Maths Week England, Danes class competed in ‘England Rocks’ – a national competition on Times Tables Rock Stars. We were very proud to achieve 20th place as a class nationally (thousands of classes took part). As a school, we were placed 17th nationally and 2nd in Hertfordshire.
On the final day of Maths Week England, we came to school in maths themed fancy dress. Our costumes were very creative – some were mathematicians, factor bugs, Rock Stars and more!
