How tall are you in leaves?

An activity that can be used as an example of making non-standard measurements and illustrate the importance of using standard measurements. Pupils learn how to measure each other using leaves; they learn that when different leaves are used it makes comparison very difficult. This is activity is ideal for teaching measurement in maths within key stage one.

There is a clear cross-curricular link with mathematics including the topic of measurement and the properties of shape.

Fibonacci, mathematics and plants

There has always been a close link between plants and mathematics. The simple counting of petals can reveal the number sequence that was identified by Fibonacci: lilies have 3 petals, buttercups 5, delphiniums 8 and ragwort 13 onto michaelmas daisies and sunflowers with 34, or even 55 petals. Similar patterns can be seen in seed heads (sunflowers) and tree branches.

Does applying maths to novel or authentic (reference) situations enhance the pupil’s understanding? Perhaps the incorporation of plant material in numeracy lessons will address the issue of application and maybe help children to solve number problems in a variety of contexts. It could also be a way of introducing pupils to plants and plant science. Examples of opportunities include graphical terminology (median, mode, range) that can be introduced while making a prickly pictogram from holly leaves when investigating the spines on leaves. Another idea would be to make daily recordings of the growth of a fast plant (rapid cycling brassicas).

Here we describe an activity (How tall are you in leaves?) that can be used as an example of making non-standard measurements and hence illustrating the importance of using standard measurements.