Doing Maths without 'Doing Maths'!

Over the past 18 months I have taken a temporary break from my previous teaching/admin role that I was in. In this time I have been lucky enough to take on a number of roles, one of which is teaching STEM, something somewhat new to me, but something which I have loved.

If anything, it has shown me how much maths is involved in the many things we do in schools, even when we do not realise we are doing it.

I'd like to share one activity in particular that children of all levels have loved and is so open to modification. The amount of maths in this is limited only by how far you want to take it, or how creative your children can, want to, or are encouraged be.

Making Catapults

All that you need to start with is:

• rubber bands

• Popsticks

• bottle tops/cupcake pans

• marshmallows/ping pong balls

At first I give the kids 6 sticks and 2 rubber bands, and see what they can create from these.

I've often found that I have needed to backtrack a little at this point, as many children are unaware of what catapults are. It just goes to show how we should never take too much for granted about what we think they may know.

By showing some photos and clips of what catapults are and what they can do at this point really helps to charge up the lesson, and create more engagement.

After a bit of fluffing around, various designs are produced, displaying different levels of success.

At this point I introduce a basic design for them to try if they want, but always emphasising that I want them to modify their designs constantly in order to get the result they are after.

By just using the rubber bands and sticks we now create a simple design that works really well.

I then add a bottle top or cupcake pan to one stick to hold whatever projectile we want to discharge. I like to leave a finger space between the end of the stick and the cup so that there is room for the finger to press down and launch.

Throughout this introduction there have been many maths concepts being used, without any reference being made to them. Let's just not kill the engagement too early by turning it into a 'lesson'.

Think of the trial and error being used, comparison of shapes and lengths, estimation etc.

Now that they have various models being trialled, we now want them to launch their projectile. I find that table tennis balls are perfect, as they are safe and light.

Use one finger to hold the front of the catapult to the ground. With another finger, press down behind the cup, then let it flick back up.

You may need to actually demonstrate this, as I find that many children may not have done this before, and it is an entirely new skill for them.

The ball may go just vertically at first, which then welcomes the discussion about how to get it to go high, and across. Use the term 'arc' here, or 'make it go like a rainbow'.

At first you just want to see how high they can go, then as they experiment further, how far they can go as well.

This requires much modification of their design, and opening up the angle between the sticks.

I have seen children rest their catapults on other things so as to increase the angle, eg against the spine of a book, or by having different thicknesses of pencils underneath the bottom of the catapult.

They might lengthen the stick where the cup is by adding another stick to it with glue or tape.

Whatever they try to do in order to alter the performance should be encouraged, as the last thing we want is for them to just reciprocate something that we show them.

Okay, so now you have a catapult, and you know how to use it. You also know how to alter it for height and distance.

You can even make simple catapults at home with items from the kitchen!!

Introduce a further challenge by creating a target of some sort.

Here is one that I have used and the kids loved it. Plus, it was very easy for them to make.

Basketball Rings

All you need are some pieces of cardboard for the base and backboard, and some popsticks for the pole.

Make a ring from the green paper strip.

Glue it to the backboard.

Glue two sticks together and glue them

to the base with the two smaller pieces

for extra support.

The hot glue gun comes in very handy here!

So now you have a catapult, and now a target!

Start small, and see if you can get a goal from up close.

As your skill develops, increase the range and angle from where you shoot.

See more maths being involved here, not just in the shooting, but throughout the construction phase?

At this point, you may find that your kids will want to have shots at each other's rings. This is a great moment to listen to the discussions being held, and will only give you further insights into what skills they may have developed further.

So what else can these catapults do?

As I said earlier, what can be achieved with these is only limited by our own creativity.

Try setting up 10 paper cups in a group on the floor. Number them 1-10.

Draw a circle around them, with the cups in the middle and the edge of the circle about 1-3 meters away. Children shoot from outside the circle and try to...

• Calculate their score from 10 shots

• Try to land 1 ball in each cup in order

• Aim for a specific Number target eg Aim for a total of 20

• Land in each of the Odd/Even numbers

• etc

Lay a tape measure along the floor.

As each child has a shot, place a counter where their ball hits the ground in line with the tape measure.

You won't need to check their distance, as they will instinctively do this themselves!!

The talk about the numbers will show who is ready to learn more about them.

Record their scores and just place them on the wall or on the floor and see if they can put them in order. This always results in good discussions about where numbers belong, and I find that the children are more engaged in this type of number line as the numbers are theirs, and were created within a rich context.

Finally...

Take this lesson further by taking it outside. Are there materials around that they can use to create a larger ( but still safe!!) catapult?

Can they make one that will shoot a basketball through an actual basketball ring?

Can they shoot beanbags into a bin?

The world is at your feet!!!