3 Act tasks
One of my favourite fun and thought-provoking maths activities, as everyone knows if you have been on my NQT course, is the world dog balloon breaking record which I will show to whoever will watch! The concept has been dreamed up by the fabulous Dan Meyer in this TED talk.
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Act 1 shows the context for the enquiry and allows children to generate questions - what do they wonder? What extra information do they need? In act 2, more information is provided; children are then given the chance to speculate and calculate before the solution is revealed in act 3!
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Here are some the tasks and the link to the ingenious Graham Fletcher who dreamed them up.
Section Title
Year Group
Reception
Title
Description
On each 'ding' a new circle appears; count the sounds to work out the number of circles in the final pattern.
Year Group
Y1/Y2
Title
Description
Oh no - the egg box is knocked to the floor: how may eggs are broken?
Year Group
Y2/3
Title
Description
The cookie monster has found a packet of biscuits: how many does he eat? Act 2 shows how many left in the packet!
Year Group
Y4/5
Title
Description
How many ways can Zoolander be dressed? Think systematically to find the solution!
Year Group
Y5/6
Title
Description
It takes three people to get the gigantic Krispy Kreme box into a van: how many donuts?
My Favourite
World record Balloon Dog - by Dan Meyer
This works every time, I mean who doesn't love a balloon popping dog?
I've tried this with Key Stage one and two and adapted it each time and its a real winner! KS2 children can examine in detail the frequency/time graph whilst the younger children love the prediction and real-life maths excitement and wonder that comes from the video.