Maths Activity - Celebrations

This activity is excellent to do at the beginning of the year to find out more about the different cultures of the children. This activity involves finding out about the occasions the children in the class celebrate.

Resources

• Paper
  
• Graph paper
  
• Class list
  
• Equipment to colour in with e.g. felts, coloured pencils, etc.
  

On a class list, ask each child about the different occasions they celebrate. Depending on the age of the children, the children could actually survey themselves.

With the information, model to the children on the mat how to organise the information and present it as a graph. Ask the children to share and compre the ways have organised and presented the same information. Discuss the different formats the children used to present the same information. Focus on selecting formats that can be easily understood by others. When modelling and discussing with the children, emphasise using the mathematical language to explain the procedure used to collect, represent and interpet information.

Different graphs to explore:
-Bar/column graphs
-Line graphs and locating position using co-ordinate
-Picture graphs where each picture represents more than one picture
-Pie Graphs

Extension:
-The children could integrate ICT skills by using Microsoft Excel to present a variety of graphs
-This lesson could be integrated into an integrated unit of work with Social Studies by exploring the different cultures. Record the information onto a class calender and throughout the year celebrate some of the occasions at school.

References: Mcmillan Resources