CATAPULTS – DOING MATHS WITHOUT REALISING IT !!

This is a great activity, suitable for all ages and abilities, plus it fills in so much time!

More importantly, whenever I have done this with children, we discover we are doing so much maths without really knowing that we are doing maths at all!!

Often, children can be turned off just by the word ‘maths’, but by doing this activity they are employing a vast range of maths concepts without even knowing they are doing so.

I have used this at a number of schools, and each time I do it, it is even better than the last time as we discover new ideas and strategies.

So, here we go…

Materials:

Popsticks/icy pole sticks

Rubber bands

Plastic bottle tops/ small cupcake bases

Table tennis balls (better than hard objects, safer and less damage) Marshmallows are good also. You can use large or small ones.

Paper/plastic cups

You can also make these catapults with skewers and marshmallows, cling foil rolls and wooden/plastic spoons, as the pictures show.

I find that by letting the children experiment with different materials they come up with designs that suit them best.

The popstick model:

Start with 4 sticks on top of each other. Loop a rubber band around one end.

Slide 2 popsticks in between the 2nd and 3rd popsticks to make a cross. As you slide them down towards the rubber band at the end, it will creat a V-like opening.

Now glue a plastic bottle top on the end of the top stick.

You will now have a catapult like this.

You can choose whether to have to use 1 or 2 sticks at the top or bottom. The number of sticks used in between will determine how much angle you will create.

When gluing the lid on, leave just enough room to place your finger tip at the end of the stick so that you can launch it better.

Place your table tennis ball in the lid.

Place one finger on the end where the rubber band is to steady it.

Now press down on the stick holding the ball, and let it go so that it flicks up.

Your ball should now launch!!

Things to do with your catapult: (no formal maths involved yet!)

· At first, just play with it!!

· How high can you flick you ball?

· How far can you flick it?

· How accurate are you?

· Place a series of cups with numbers written on them nearby. ( eg 1-10) What is your highest score from 10 shots? Can you land the ball in each cup in order? Can you and a partner land a ball in each other’s cup at the same time?

Now for some number work:

· Using a tape measure, record the distance for each shot eg 123cm, 256 cm

· After each shot, write these numbers on small pieces of paper.

· Place these pieces of paper in a line on the floor, creating a number line.

· Compete with a partner to see who can get three of the same number in a row.

· Once you have worked out your maximum range, try a game of Catapult Bingo. Each player writes down 9 numbers on a grid. Take turns shooting the ball, one shoots, the other pinpoints where it hits the ground first. If either of you has that number, cross it off. Be the first to get all 9 numbers crossed off.

· Shoot the ball 100 times. Record which numbers come up the most. Graph them.

· Set yourself a target number eg 1 000. How many shots does it take to make that total? (If you go over the total, aim for smaller numbers and keep subtracting until you hit your target number.

Some other Catapult models

Using kitchen tools.

Using marshmallows and skewers.

The beauty of this activity is that it is totally open ended and the children can discover new versions of catapults, techniques for greater height, length and both.

They will discover new materials for making their catapult, and games to use them with.

Finally, something else I do to help launch new concepts, ideas, activities and lessons is to make short movies about what is going to happen, and also as a summary of what we have done.

There are so many maths concepts at work when creating these movies, and are a great way for children to create a report about their work.

I use iMovie, as it is very easy and quick to create movies with.

Hopefully the one I have here works for you! (You’ll quickly see that I like to have a bit of fun with these!!)