Sarah Mason came back to Thomas Becket this week to continue working with the year 8 Double Club group. They worked on their 3D footballs, cubs and tessellated patterns, making full use of the origami skills they had learnt the previous week to fold the shapes to make them.

Sarah introduced the topic of fractions using cake. (A popular choice!) The children’s knowledge was good in this area and they were able to apply what they learn in normal maths lessons to Sarah’s activities.  She talked them through different fractions and how to work out the answers to equivalent fractions whilst cutting the cakes. Having a visual representation is always better as the students can see exactly what’s happening. They used their mathematical language to full effect while this was going on.

In pairs, the group put a puzzle together (made of many triangles shaped to be a hexagon when put together)  by solving fractions questions. Some they had to find the answers written in a different way, others they had to ‘cancel down’ to find simpler ones. The children used their mental maths skills and realised why knowing times tables by heart and thinking on the spot are so crucial in doing maths.

The whole group worked really hard and concentrated the whole lesson. These kind of practical challenges obviously appeal to them and when asked, they commented that they enjoyed this style of learning because it was hands on, they didn’t mind if it was sports themed or not.  A huge thank you to Sarah for her lessons and teaching style, they made a big impact and the children really enjoyed them, as well as learning a lot. That maths can be fun and not the ‘difficult’ subject they thought it was.

Dirk visited from Leicester City PfS centre to see what the studnets were studying. He is doing a masters where he is looking at practical maths. He interviewed and recorded the children about their thoughts and attitudes about their learning, maths and Double Club.  They all gave positive responses and said how being in sessions like these motivated them and were fun. One girl even commented that you are more likely to learn something from working with your friends and getting them to show you how to do things, than just by listening to the teacher. She likes discovering things for herself.