Maths and Numeracy
Many of the requirements for the daily maths and numeracy lessons can be satisfied just as well during an educational visit as in the classroom, and often better.
Here are some suggested ways in which teachers can use museums for maths or numeracy.
- Include numeracy or maths activity with other curriculum subjects (especially history, technology, science, geography and art at KS 1 and 2). An Archaeology session which might include drawing in order to reconstruct an object can include measurement and geometry.
- Look for the maths dimension in existing programmes. It may well be there already, e.g., a Victorian Washday session might look at patterns and shapes of objects, or count numbers of legs, ridges, and rotations (of mangle or washing dolly). A visit to a museum in a house might look at patterns of brickwork, tiles and how they fit together or measurements of rooms. You could also measure area and note how displays are fitted into the area available.
- To take maths out of the classroom you could ask a local museum if you might be able to arrange a specific maths INSET to explore the mathematical and numeracy possibilities in that setting.
- You may also be able to get funding for teacher cover to develop numeracy/maths work with a museum. (This kind of collaborative project has been highly regarded by OFSTED, which sometimes gives schools an incentive for participation).
- Teachers have found it difficult to find real statistics that are suitable for primary students to use in data handling. This is an area in which museums can help by providing simple statistics and easy-to-read charts and graphs or even by involving students in contributing data to a collective statistical pool.
Useful Websites
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English Heritage for the publication Teacher's Guide to Maths and the Historic Environment by Tim Copeland.
The Weald and Downland Open Air Museum demonstrates how a museum visit can be used to support mathematics.
Royal
Armouries, Fort Nelson sessions to support Maths and Numeracy.