School Direct Twilight 23/4/15

Cut the paper in such a way that it makes a ring that each person in the group could step through.

A is for angleB is for………C is for……….

Check in Activity . . .

1

32

4

1

3 6

10

15 21

A B

C

D

E

A memorable picture?

A Powerful Force

‘Imagery is a powerful force for perception and understanding. Being able to “see” something mentally is a common metaphor for understanding it. An image may be of some geometrical shape, or of a graph or diagram, or it may be some set of symbols or some procedure.’

Open University

Aims

To reflect on current practice in providing opportunities for developing visualisation

To engage in a number of activities that involve visualisation and reflect on the key skills and attitudes involved

To explore ways that visualisation can be incorporated into classroom practice

To consider resources that might be useful

Current Practice

Consider the visualisation opportunities you offer your children in your mathematics lessons.

Activity

Shape Reveal Game

shapereveal.exe

Shape Target Board

Guess my shape/bingo etc

The Importance of practical resources. Common sense? I’m afraid not. . .

Don’t believe me?

Level 5 64%

Level 4 25%

Level 4

Plan Front View Side View

THE TOWER

Can you build the tower from the seven pieces drawn below

How many nets of a cube are there?

Create 2 squares and 4 triangles

using 8 matchsticks

Nets

What shape does this net make?Which face is opposite GHJK? Which edge meets IL? Which points meet at A?

Progression in visualisation

Practical experiences

Visual experiences

Abstract experiences

Applying it- the ultimate aim .. .

Draw a rectangle in which the area and perimeter are numerically equal. . .

Understanding big ideas, how could you work out the area of this trapezium?

9cm

14cm

8cm

How many squares can

you see?

How about now?

Board Number of small squares

Total Number of squares on the board

1 1 12x2 4 53x3 9

Can you see a pattern?

How many

squares on a

chess board?

I wonder how many squares there would be on a chess board that

was 16 x 16?

Points to consider

1. The ability to visualise representations, pictures or images and then adapt/change them is an important tool in learning mathematics.

2. Children need extensive practical experiences in all aspects of mathematics.

3. Visualisation is not about blue-sky thinking.

4. Visualisation activities in YR might look quite different to visualisation activities in Y6.

Key Messages

Visualising is a critically important skill in developing mathematical understanding.

Visualising does not tend to appear in published schemes.

As teachers we need to ensure that we are very aware of all the processes of mathematics and so we must always attempt to know what our students are visualising.

Resources

•NNS Shape and Space booklet•nrich website •Beam – ‘Eyes closed’•Anita Straker – ‘Talking Points in Mathematics’ •Maths Trails - Visualisation•Talk for maths – mind’s eye•Open University – Learning Space – ‘Using Visualisation in Mathematics Teaching’

d.taylor@wentworthcofe.co.uk

@taffy_dave

Good luck for the rest of the year!