Area Together With Volume

Every maths division should ain a giant lawn tennis ball! Walk into the classroom amongst a large fluorescent ball nether your arm as well as you've straight off got the attending of the class.

Students stand upward inwards a circle as well as are told they're solely allowed to speak if they're asset the ball. Ask "how could nosotros operate out the surface surface area of this ball?" as well as throw it to a random student. Students throw the ball around the circle equally they part their thoughts as well as advise ideas. At some quest a instructor prompt may last necessary, along the lines of, "why did I convey a lawn tennis ball? Why non a football game or netball or golf game ball?". In my sense this prompt may atomic number 82 some students to 'eureka' moments equally they showtime thinking virtually the markings on the surface of the lawn tennis ball. Eventually person volition topographic point that the surface is made upward of iv circles wrapped around each other, as well as they tin as well as so deduce that the formula for the surface surface area is 4πr². If they demand convincing, present them this slide.

This is a really engaging activity. As pupils can't verbalize unless they're asset the ball, you'll run across them wildly waving their arms about, silently begging their friends to move past times them the ball so they tin part their ideas!

Try it - I'd honey to withdraw heed how it goes.

Area as well as majority is a broad ranging topic, from areas of triangles inwards Year seven to volumes of hemispheres as well as frustums inwards Year 11. Here's a handful of my favourite resources:

• I mitt out these rhymes for the surface area as well as circumference of a circle in Year 7, tell them to alternative their favourite or come upward up amongst their own. Love this silly song too.
• Also for Year 7, these matching cards from the Nuffield Foundation involve calculating the surface area as well as perimeter of chemical compound shapes.
• As always, enough of dandy activities on teachitmaths.com. 
• At GCSE I role this problem solving challenge with questions from Median Don Steward. Pupils operate on A3 newspaper inwards pairs. They demand their brains switched on for this one. There's loads of bright activities on Don Steward's blog that could last used inwards a similar way.
• The Chalk Face has some lovely activities, including: cornflakes problem; Penny Farthing; fuel tank; golden balls and baby surface area. 
• There's a nice activity on finding the majority of dissimilar shaped glasses from Shell Centre. 
• Illustrativemathematics.org has fantastic geometry activities. I honey the rich line of piece of occupation Eight Circles which relates to finding the surface area of a circle.
• The Chalk Face also brings us this dandy harder surface surface area questions from Don Steward.
• Maths Sandpit has a fantastic resources for investigating the surface surface area of a cone.
• Challenging volume as well as surface area revision questions for Year 11. Some of these are quite tricky as well as demonstrate that this topic isn't only virtually substituting into formulae.

For related shape give-and-take - why produce nosotros tell hemisphere but semicircle? Why non semisphere or hemicircle? I believe it's because the news circle is from the Latin news circus (meaning ring), therefore nosotros role the Latin prefix semi, whereas sphere is from the Greek news sphaira (ball), therefore nosotros role the Greek prefix hemi. This article virtually semi/hemi/demi gives to a greater extent than examples. If y'all similar this as well as so y'all powerfulness also similar these lovely maths vocabulary activities.

Finally, here's ane for the teachers. It's non equally obvious equally it seems!

(answer)

5 Maths Gems #29

Hello as well as welcome to my 29^th Maths Gems. This is where I part v education ideas as well as resources I've seen on Twitter.

1. Nix the Tricks Videos
I've long been a fan of the mass Nix the Tricks - I intend it should live compulsory reading for all trainee maths teachers. I'm excited to meet that Owen Tabbert (@OTmath) is making a serial of Nix the Tricks videos for teachers. I intend these videos are going to live incredibly useful - non alone for non-specialists as well as anyone preparing to learn maths for the offset time, but besides for experienced teachers reflecting on how they explicate mathematical concepts. There's alone ii videos thus far, but to a greater extent than to come. This video nearly the concept of 'borrowing' inwards subtraction is excellent:



2. #AlmostMondayMaths
I like @OxfordEdMaths' novel tweeting initiative. Every Lord's Day at 7.15pm they tweet a maths enquiry for teachers to role inwards the calendar week ahead, using the hashtag #AlmostMondayMaths. Here's a duet of examples of what they've shared thus far:

#AlmostMondayMaths - rounding

#AlmostMondayMaths - algebra

3. Radians as well as Quadrants
Thanks to Meg Craig (Unit Circle as well as Radians' from Math Teacher Mambo (@MTMambo) which is nearly education radians using cut-out pieces representing diverse angles (π/4, π/3, π/6 etc).

When I learn Year 12 students to role a quadrant when solving trigonometric equations, they (just about!) empathise where to draw angles inwards degrees but honour it actually difficult to operate inwards radians. I've previously written nearly helping students to understand radians, but I've non seen this lovely template approach before.

4. Problems from MathsPad
MathsPad is ane of my favourite resources websites. I'm actually pleased that James (@MathsPadJames) and Nicola (@MathsPadNicola) from MathsPad are straightaway on Twitter because they're amount of expert ideas. Do banking concern lucifer out the problems as well as weblog posts that James tweets, similar this cuboid problem:

The website MathsPad has lots of gratis resources as well as the residual are available for a modest subscription charge. All of their resources are excellent.

5. Grange Maths Camp

I'm really impressed past times the dedication of Chris Smith (@aap03102) as well as his colleagues who gave upwards a weekend to run a maths army camp for their Sixth Form students. I'm besides impressed that thus many students attended - I can't fifty-fifty larn my students to attend a xxx infinitesimal lunchtime revision session! If yous haven't even thus read Chris' report of the sense as well as then create direct keep a hold back - it's inspiring stuff. It sounds similar Chris' students volition live really good prepared for their upcoming exams. 

Update

I direct keep ane to a greater extent than calendar week amongst my Year 11s as well as 12s earlier they start Study Leave. In my terminal Year eleven maths lesson this Fri I excogitation to role this bright 'last year. 

I'm a Year eleven cast tutor thus there's a lot going on this calendar week (including enough of cake eating!). Next calendar week I'll live making certain that the members of my tutor grouping larn to their GCSE exams on time. After one-half term I start my novel undertaking at Glyn School inwards Epsom (only iii weeks to become - it's been a long hold back since I was offered the undertaking inwards December!).

If yous learn GCSE classes as well as then I recommend yous read '#mathsconf2015 inwards Birmingham. 

Although I've been adding lots of novel resources to my libraries, I've non written many novel weblog posts lately. That's because I've been actually busy both at schoolhouse as well as at home. It was my youngest daughter's Christening on Lord's Day thus I had to create a lot of organising. Now that's done I'll direct keep fourth dimension to write some posts - create permit me know if there's whatever specific topics you'd similar me to write about. Last fourth dimension I asked for shipping suggestions, I ended upwards writing iii challenging posts - algebra, fractions as well as calculus. I'm create for some other challenge!

V For Book (A To Z Blogging Challenge)

Along the lines of my concluding post--units of measurements, this goes along amongst it: volume.  Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional infinite and, only similar lines or distances, it has units of criterion too.  Cubic mL, teaspoons, pints, as well as others powerfulness audio familiar.

We oft mensurate fluid volume.  The easiest means to instruct book is brand a unproblematic recipe.  We wanted to brand Play dough but nosotros got sick at our family as well as accept been trying to larn amend all weekend.  I constitute a recipe at kiddinaround.com that nosotros were super excited to try.  In the recipe the kids volition operate book measurements of cups, teaspoons, as well as tablespoons.

If nosotros produce larn approximately to making it I volition transportation service a moving-picture demonstrate as well as hence : )