Primary maths planning fits well with science and technology, so set your class a challenge to build an alarm clock that measures a minute and then give them the ‘Just a minute challenge’.
Floating bears make it very easy to make a water alarm clock. Attach a bendy straw to Daddy Bear with tin foil on the end of the straw. Make a tin foil lid to go on a yoghurt pot with a small hole in the bottom. Use a battery and buzzer, wire up the circuit and as the water level goes down, the straw gets closer to the lid, until…!
The test for my class was could they make the alarm go off in exactly 1 minute.
I’ve attached a page with instructions for this alarm clock taken from the very first book I wrote with Peter Patilla and Ann Montague-Smith for LDA back in 1994. Compare-Bears Science and Technology was great fun to write – basically how many different maths, science and technology ideas with Compare-bears could we think of that would work in a primary classroom.
The test for my class was could they make the alarm go off in exactly 1 minute.
I’ve attached a page with instructions for this alarm clock taken from the very first book I wrote with Peter Patilla and Ann Montague-Smith for LDA back in 1994. Compare-Bears Science and Technology was great fun to write – basically how many different maths, science and technology ideas with Compare-bears could we think of that would work in a primary classroom.
Once they have made the alarm clock use it to measure a minute in the ‘Just a Minute Challenge’.
• How many times tables questions can you answer correctly in 1 minute?
• Can you talk on a subject without stopping for 1 minute?
• Count how many times you can hop in 1 minute.
• How many piles of 10 counters can you make in 1 minute?
What can you do in ‘Just a minute’ ?
• How many times tables questions can you answer correctly in 1 minute?
• Can you talk on a subject without stopping for 1 minute?
• Count how many times you can hop in 1 minute.
• How many piles of 10 counters can you make in 1 minute?
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