Maths Trail Findings

This morning we started the day by sharing our findings from yesterday. It was interesting to note that many children had to have very random guesses about measurements as they didn't have any knowledge to base their estimations on. For example some children didn't know how long a metre was, so they couldn't make accurate guesses for how long or tall something might be. One of the questions asked the children to estimate how tall the big tree by the sandpit was. We had answers ranging from 7 metres to 60 metres. The question asking the children to estimate how long it would take to walk around the outside of the school also produced some interesting answers - ranging from 5 minutes to 200 minutes.

But perhaps the most interesting results were around the question about our blue rubbish bin. The question asked the children to estimate how many litres of water it would hold. There were many different answers but most children didn't know what one litre of water looked so had no way of working this out.  Some had used what they knew of milk containers to guess, but most thought it probably held about 2 litres.

We used the pyrex jug to find out how much a litre was and then had an interesting discussion about whether 1 litre in the pyrex jar was the same as one litre in our water bottle - eventually we decided it was.

















The next step was to find out how much water our bin would actually hold. Firstly we poured 15 litres in and then marked this on the side of the bin.

Children then had to use the 15 litre measurement to work out how much the bin might hold altogether. The results show we have a very imaginative bunch who enjoy a challenge. Many of them actually used their knowledge of fractions and thirds - without even realising it!

After completing the maths trail I now have a good feel of what the class needs to learn in the measurement area. You can help at home by pointing out how different units of measurement are used for weight, length, capacity, etc. Being able to visualise these units of measurement from their everyday lives will help them to make connections in the classroom.