Indoors Inservice

Oh dear...Inservice days today and tomorrow so no outdoors for me...

We were discussing a programme/course called, "First Steps in Maths," this afternoon and it was very interesting as the folk who have done the course were showing us some misconceptions children have about number work even though they can get the "correct" answers.  By asking pupils how they got a particular answer it was found some pupils don't really understand but can follow a pattern or process.

When they mentioned the importance of doing lots more exampes, acting out number questions in early stages, it got me thinking how much of this can be done outdoors and using objects instead of numbers. I reminded everyone that outdoor learning was perfect for this and not an add on activitiy as many people still seem to think ("I don't see how I can fit in outdoor learning as well as everything else" - often quoted!)

One idea for upper stages, was to ask pupils to represent a 3 digit decimal (with 2 decimal places) using straws, sticks etc - again great outdoors.  Think I'll try this with my Primary 7s and will let you know what they come up with...

Another indoor day ahead but have some outdoor plans for my class during this next week, including outdoor balancing as part of my gymnastics P.E block.