Having Fun with Maths Investigations

We carried out a simple maths investigation today which both enhanced the children’s critical thinking skills and boosted their confidence as mathematicians and problem solvers.
Here at Dragontree we have enjoyed using Scholastic’s resource book “100 Maths Framework Lessons”:
http://www.scholastic.co.uk
Today’s investigation concerned the calculation of “happy” and “sad” numbers and involved the number skills of addition, squaring [...]

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Lo Shuh Magic Squares

Why magic? Because no matter which line of three numbers (diagonally, up and down or across) you choose, they all add up to a total of 15. Lo Shuh, or Magic Squares,  are based on a tale of Ancient China where the Emperor Fu Hsi is said to have watched a turtle rise up out [...]

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Climatic Zones – an Interactive Treat

In Geography and Environmental Studies we have been learning about the different climatic zones. We have used a range of sources, from the fabulous David Attenborough on DVD (we love the BBC), Key Stage 3 study guides from CGP (good as a starting point of what to cover in a topic), a variety of books [...]

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Using our DS Lites for Learning

Since returning to our studies after the Christmas break, we have been experimenting with the use of Nintendo DS Lites in our learning activities. We spend 20 minutes at the beginning of the morning session and 20 minutes at the beginning of the afternoon with our DS machines. I work on More Brain Training (yes, [...]

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BBC Skillswise – A Fabulous Resource

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the BBC provides a fantastic online resource for teachers and learners.
I was searching for a good resource for teaching ideas on spelling patterns, homophones, prefixes, suffixes, etc. when I came across this :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/spelling/
It has some useful factsheets, online games, quizzes and printable worksheets. (English spellings, [...]

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Designing a Box – Puppy’s New Bed

In geography this week we have been looking at scale on maps, so it was a nice opportunity for us to use scale drawing for ourselves when we tackled our latest technology  design project on boxes.
The children were asked to design a box for a purpose, e.g to hold a toy, to present a cake, [...]

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Creating Number Sequences

In maths, we have been investigating number sequences. Today, M and A designed some of their own. Why don’t you try and solve them .. and maybe design a few of your own?
3, 10, 24, 52, 108 …
7, 13, 25, 49, 97 …
5, 7, 11, 19, 35 …

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A’s Odds and Evens Game

“A” thought up a new game to play with her set of Disney Heroes Top Trumps set …
First, share out the cards. Then, the youngest player chooses a catagory, e.g courage, cunning, honesty or greed. The players subtract the lower value away from the higher value. If  the answer is even,  Player 1 wins [...]

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