This case study tells the story of P6 at St Andrew’s RC Primary School in Falkirk and their teacher Ebony Gray bringing their learning on angles into a real world context with this simple yet effective idea.
Context
After a previous lesson on angles, I found that some children were struggling to remember the names and properties of different type of angles. I thought that the best way to engage them and consolidate their learning was to put it into a real life context.
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What did you do?
For this lesson, the children were using the camera to take pictures of angles they could identify around the classroom. They then used the mark up feature to draw in the angles to make them clear. The final step was to upload the marked up image to Padlet which was set up in columns, the children had to identify their angle and sort it into the correct place.
At the beginning of the lesson, I used my Apple TV to screen mirror my iPad to the smartboard. I used the camera app and spoke through the examples of angles with the children. We are very familiar with using the mark up feature in P6, however we introduced the new skill of using the ruler within mark up to make sure that the angles were drawn in accurately. After the children had taken photos of an acute, right and obtuse angle within the classroom and marked it up, they then went onto the class Padlet and uploaded their image under the correct heading.
Start with the Camera – Primary 6 worked independently with their iPad camera to explore their immediate real world environment and find different types of angles they’d been learning about.
Make it clear with Markup – Once they had their photos P6 used Markup to clarify where their angle was in the image using the drawing tools and the ruler for accuracy.
Sort your stuff with Padlet – Finally P6 went to a whole class Padlet and uploaded their individual images by identifying their angle by its proper name and placing it into the correct column.
What was the impact?
All pupils were very engaged during this task! They especially loved the fact that they were finding these angles in a real life context around their classroom. The task also gave the opportunity for peer feedback as all angle images were visible. I enjoyed watching the enthusiasm from the pupils when discovering the angles and discovered that by putting the task into a real life context, this really aided in consolidating learning.
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Pupil Voice
“I valued the way we can find angles in real life and they way we use our iPad in learning to help with that. I gained more knowledge about angles. I learned how to find obtuse, right and acute angles.” – LH
“By learning about angles in a real life situation it makes me understand and remember the different angles better.” – MM
“I learned there are lots of angles around us that we don’t see. I gained more knowledge on angles and how to identify them. I think it’s helpful that we got to use our iPads for our maths like this.” – CJ
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Where next?
I will definitely continue incorporating digital learning throughout all areas of the curriculum but particularly to increase engagement and consolidate learning. The children have responded so well to having their 1-1 device and I love teaching them new digital skills to continue to expand their knowledge and ability.
