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STEM Smaointe 9
STEM Smaointe 9
16th September 2021
This edition of STEM Smaointe explores some of the activities and resources that will feature as part of the 'Let's Talk Assessment' Workshops and Connecting Classrooms provided by the Primary STEM team this term. The content is divided into class levels, however some of these activities can be adapted to suit a range of class levels.
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The PDST Primary STEM team invite teachers to engage online in a 3 part series of one hour sessions. "Connecting Classrooms" will provide a collaborative space to connect, share ideas, and enhance teaching, learning and assessment.
Register for PDST Primary STEM upcoming online workshops exploring the How, the When and the Why of assessment in Maths and Science in the classroom. These workshops will comprise of one 2-hour event for junior and one for senior classes respectively.
School Support
School Support
PDST Primary STEM Advisors are available to offer your school bespoke support. If you wish to apply for same, please visit www.pdst.ie/schoolsupport. You will need your school roll number and password (schoolsupport2021).
Contents
Contents
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Connecting Classrooms
Connecting Classrooms
Connecting Classrooms is an online 3 part series of one-hour sessions focusing on a range of topics in relation to Maths and Science. Following the success of the Connecting Classrooms sessions which ran in term three of last year, further sessions will take place this year to provide a collaborative space to connect, share ideas, and enhance teaching, learning and assessment. The sections below outline the topics of the Connecting Classroom series which will take place this year and provides an example of an activity and/or resource that will be explored as part of this series.
Early Maths - Junior and Senior Infants
Early Maths - Junior and Senior Infants
How Many?
How Many?
This is a playful child-led activity with many possibilities for counting. Pupils examine the poster and consider how many they see. They are not told what to count. This task works well in multi-grade classrooms and allows for the inclusion of pupils with differing needs as everyone is able to approach the task at their own level.
Pupils might count the total number of gingerbread men, the number of gingerbread in a row or column, the total of each of the different coloured smarties, the number of arms, legs, eyes etc. that they can see. It is important that pupils explain what they are counting and share their thinking with their peers. These conversations can lead to further quantities being counted. The activity can be repeated with other posters from the Maths Eyes website.
Suggested questions to prompt pupil thinking and promote Maths talk:
What number/ quantity do you see?
How do you see it?
Does anyone see that number/quantity a different way?
I see two. What do I see?
I see four. What do I see?
An extension of this task could involve creating a class book of ‘How Many?’ using images from the classroom/school/home environments of the pupils.
Image from Maths Eyes. This activity is adapted from https://talkingmathwithkids.com/news/how-many-an-invitation-to-unitchat/ and the book How Many? by Christopher Danielson.
Number Sense - First and Second Class
Number Sense - First and Second Class
Numeral Roll
Numeral Roll
A numeral roll is similar to a hundred square except that it is in one long horizontal strip (see images below). This resource is best used by working within a specific range of numbers e.g. 1 - 20, 1 - 30, 28 - 48 etc. rather than using 1 - 100 from the outset. Consider exploring the activities below with your pupils before introducing the one hundred square. The following activities support the development of number word sequences which form an important part of developing pupils' number sense.
Suggested Activities
Invite pupils to name the groups as you show each group (1s, teens, 20s, 30s, etc.).
Name the groups going forwards and backwards. What comes before the twenties? What comes after the fifties?
Display a group on it’s own and ask the pupils to name the group. How do you know this is the 30s group? What do you notice?
Show a number on the numeral roll and with numbers visible ask pupils to say the numbers forwards/backwards from that number. To further challenge the pupils repeat the task with the before/after numbers hidden.
Ask pupils to find a number on the numeral roll. E.g. 26. Take note of how they do this. Do they start from 1 or go straight to the 20s? Do they move up and down the roll showing they are not sure where the number is in relation to the other numbers?
A numeral roll template can be found here. Click here for an online alternative.
Problem-Solving - Third and Fourth
Problem-Solving - Third and Fourth
Fraction Splat by Steve Wyborney
Fraction Splat by Steve Wyborney
Fraction Splat is a problem-solving activity taken from Steve Wyborney’s maths blog which can be accessed here. In this activity, pupils must use their reasoning skills to investigate what is hidden underneath the splat. In the example shown, pupils can see that the total amount must equal 7 and must use the information that they can see to talk about the different possibilities that could be hidden under the splat e.g. I can see two whole circles and five quarters, this is the same as three and one quarter so there must be three and three quarters hidden underneath the splat. Encourage pupils to suggest different ways that the number underneath the splat could be shown.
The following questions could be used:
How many circles can you see?
What do the fractions that you can see add up to? How did you do this?
What is the total of the circles and fraction pieces that we can see?
What number is hidden under the splat?
How could this be shown? Could it be shown in a different way?
The splat activity can be used in a number of different ways, for example, using numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages etc. For further examples of how splats can be used click here.
Maths Anxiety - Fifth and Sixth Class
Maths Anxiety - Fifth and Sixth Class
Headline Story
Headline Story
A headline story is a set of information presented in words or pictures, providing the setting for a problem without specifying a particular problem. In this activity, pupils are challenged to create mathematical questions, which can be posed and solved, based on the information presented. By creating their own questions, pupils have an opportunity to use mathematical language in a meaningful context. The example shown captures how a sample headline story can be used to generate a range of different mathematical questions. These questions can then be explored individually, in pairs/groups or as a whole-class and some questions could also be shared with other classes in the school. For further information on headline stories, please click here.
Headline stories will feature in the Connecting Classrooms series on Maths Anxiety 5th and 6th Class. Headline stories can be used to support pupils who experience Maths Anxiety by relating Mathematics to real-life experiences and providing pupils with opportunities to create their own Mathematical problems.
Science Inquiry - Senior Classes
Science Inquiry - Senior Classes
Science Inquiry
Science Inquiry
Science inquiry provides pupils with an opportunity to take part in inclusive, open-ended, child-led investigations. Through Science inquiry, pupils are building and testing their knowledge and developing their scientific skills by focusing on questions or problems rather than answers.
The following questions could be used to begin inquiries with pupils:
Are all magnets the same strength?
What material is the most waterproof?
What is the best material to stop an ice cube from melting?
When is my shadow the longest?
Pupils can also be encouraged to devise their own inquiry questions and use this to direct their investigations. Some questions that pupils ask may not be testable questions but they might be able to research the answer to these questions themselves. The image below shows a list of testable questions capturing a scientific inquiry into shadows, a video examining this activity in greater detail can be viewed here.
Investigation sheets, such as the example linked below, can be used to guide pupils through the process of investigating and experimenting.
Let's Talk Assessment
Let's Talk Assessment
The Let's Talk Assessment workshops will examine the How, the When and the Why of assessment in Maths and Science. The workshops will comprise of one 2-hour event for junior and one for senior classes respectively. The section below offers a sample of the assessment supports that will feature as part of these workshops.
What do I think about Maths?
What do I think about Maths?
What do I think about Science?
What do I think about Science?
Assessment is “the process of gathering, recording, interpreting, using, and reporting information about a child’s progress and achievement in developing knowledge, skills and attitudes” (NCCA, 2007 page 7). The surveys shown here can be used to get a general sense of pupils’ thoughts, feelings and dispositions about Maths and Science. The statements included are not prescriptive and can be adapted to suit your context and pupils’ individual learning needs.
Further strategies for assessment in Maths and Science will be explored in our upcoming workshops. Registration is linked above.
Primary STEM Assessment Supports are linked here.
School Support
School Support
PDST Primary STEM Advisors are available to offer your school bespoke support. If you wish to apply for same, please visit www.pdst.ie/schoolsupport. You will need your school roll number and password (schoolsupport2021).
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