Math planning assignment – 2

Week unit planner

Subject: Math

Name: Cass Prowse

Unit theme/Topic: Where am I? Mapping and using positional/descriptive

language.

Year level: Year 3.

Introduction
Rationale
In this unit, ‘where am I?’, students are introduced to many different types
of maps used in everyday situations. Therefore this is a very practical unit
of work and relevant to the students’ lives (Bobis, Mulligan & Lowrie,
2000). Students will use these maps to identify landmarks and to give
descriptive directions of how to get from point A to point B, and to also
develop their language positioning. This is a very important skill that
students will need to learn, so if a student gets lost, they will be able to
describe their position well enough for someone to be able to locate them.

Spatial abilities are extremely important for everyday living, as they are
needed for purposes such as navigation, sporting, furniture adjusting and
especially driving (Bobbis, Mulligan & Lowrie, 2000, Ministry of Education).
It is also important for many jobs to be able to describe exact positioning
(Ministry of Education).

School/student background
This school is situated approximately 150km north of Adelaide, in
predominantly farming country. Some students have to travel far to get to
school, as they live on large farming lands outside of town. The town and
surrounding area has only a small population; therefore the school is a
combined community school consisting of levels reception all through to
year 13. As this is the only public school in the area, most of the
kindergarten children will attend this school, it’s only those that decide to
send their kids off to boarding school which don’t attend.

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The classes, including year 3, are not very culturally diverse as a result of
being in a small country town, where many generations reside here.
However, the class is ability diverse as there are only enough students for
one year 3 class, and there’s only one school to attend. The class has 23
students.

Students have basic knowledge on everyday maps, such as symbols

represent points of interest and the legend informs you of what the
symbols mean. Simple grid point referencing and locating using grid points
has been taught in previous year, but only at beginning stages and some
of this teaching may need to be revisited and recapped with some
students.

Presentation of the Unit

Description
‘Where am I?’ is a two week unit consisting of ten to eleven math lessons
and one of these lessons being in the computer room, and can be
integrated into other curriculum areas. This unit is based on the SACSA
strand of Spatial sense and geometric reasoning (Department of Education
and Children’s Services, 2004) and has been specifically developed for
year 3s, however can be altered to cover year 2s and 4s. Within this unit,
students will use varying maps to identify places of interest, interpret
simple keys and legends, use simple grid references, and describe
pathways and positioning of objects. Students will also have the
opportunity to use simple compass directions such as North, South, East
and West.

Resources
Resources for this unit of work include:

ICT’s Materials Texts

• Computer. • Plain A4 paper. • A lion in the
night by
Pamela
Allen.
• Online • Coloured pencils, markers • Treasure
computer etc. hunt in the
game lost city by
Taxicab. Dan Abnett.
• Microsoft • Lego or other similar pieces,
Excel. which can be used as
building blocks.
• Over head • Farm animals.
projector.
• Smart • Map of the school.
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 board if
access.
• Map of the Adelaide zoo.
• Positional work sheet
• Battle ships game.
• Town map
• Paint brush.
• Tea for tea stains.
• A3 paper
• Grid paper, Math books.
• Junk materials.
• Coloured coins.
• Zoo destination queries.
• School treasure hunt
instructions.

SACSA connections
Band: Primary Years.
Strand: Spatial sense and geometric reasoning.
Standard: Towards standard 2.
(Department of Education and Children’s Services, 2004)
(Also see conclusion).

Mathematical language
Students will learn and use mathematical language throughout this unit.
The focal language for this unit includes:
position, describe, left, right, between, path, map, above, across,
along, around, after, back, before, behind, below, beneath, beside,
between, centre, close, down, far, forward, further, further away,
here, in, in front of, inside, into, last, low, middle, near, next, next to,
on, onto, on top, turn, under, underneath, up, upside down, chart,
direction, route, sketch, turn, backwards (K-6 educational resources
board of Studies NSW, 2008)

Technologies
This math unit plan will use one lesson in the computer room, using the
Taxicab treasure hunt game on the Internet and also using Microsoft Excel
so students can use directional language on reaching a cell reference
destination.

Teaching and learning sequences

Finding out about the learner
Lesson 1

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This lesson begins with the teacher reading the class the book ‘The Lion in
the night’ by Pamela Allen, as this has descriptive language, such as out,
over, into, past and across.
Emphasise the descriptive directional words in the text. When the text is
finished, have a discussion with the class, about the journey that the lion
and the baby took (for example questions see appendices 10).

To find out how much the students understand about positional language,
give each student a copy of the ‘positional’ sheet (appendices 1) and get
the students to follow the directions on the sheet. For example, the first
instruction is to draw a person between the two trees.

Lesson 2 – adapted from K-6 educational resources board of studies NSW

(2008)
Within this lesson, students are grouped in table groups, and are given a
variety of concrete materials, including, various junk materials, Lego and
farm animals. They are to use these materials to construct a farm and
record their farm, including the use of labels, on grid paper in their math
books.

As the students are creating their farm and recording it in their books,
teacher walks around questioning students about the positioning of certain
objects (for example questions see appendices 10).

After students have recorded their farm in their books, they are then
required to create a pathway for the farmer, so he/she can visit all the
different animals in the mornings. This can firstly be done with concrete
materials if needed. They are to then write underneath their farm map, a
brief description of their farmer’s pathway. Students should hopefully be
able to write their farmers pathway using descriptive language such as
left, right, past, behind and in front of.

Exploring the idea

Lesson 3 – adapted from the K-6 educational resources board of studies
NSW (2008) & Ministry of Education
Lesson 3 begins with handing out half completed maps of the school to the
students (see appendices 2). As a class, the students and teacher will
complete the rest of the map, by walking around the school, and
completing drawings of missing buildings and features and filling in labels
as we go.

Once back in the classroom, the teacher gets students to follow her/his
direction, by tracing their fingers along their maps.

Students are then required to make two markings on their school map.
Students are then to describe to their partner (the person they sit next to),
where their first spot is on their page and give them directions on how to
get to the second point. The partner is to then say where they ended up,
and the student will tell them whether they are correct or not. All this is
done, without seeing the partners map. Roles are then reversed.

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Hopefully, the students will use descriptive language, and it will turn into a
bit of a competition of more complex instructions.

Teacher is to walk around and listen to the language the students are
using and to ask various questions (see appendices 10).

Lesson 4
This lesson begins with a little discussion on what different types of maps
there are, what maps main functions are and what are some key features
that all maps have.

This lesson is to get the students used to the concept of grid referencing
on maps. Discuss what grid references are and why the students believe
they are used and why they are useful.

To get used to the idea of using grid references, the students will play
games of ‘battleship’ (see appendices 3) using coloured coins as their
markers.

Lesson 5
Students will now look at a map of the Adelaide Zoo (appendices 4).
Teacher will firstly ask the class if they can identify a few common
features, using the legend, and reading the labels of the different animal
enclosures. Teacher once again gives the students directions to follow and
students must follow by tracing their finger along the pathways. Teacher
then asks the class a question, of how to get from one exhibit to another.

Students are to then partner up, and give their partner directions on how
to get from the main entrance to their chosen exhibit destination, and then
roles are reversed. This is to go on for three turns each. Table groups will
then be given a destination to explore (see appendices 5), and find out:
• How do they get from point A destination point to point B destination
point?
• How many various ways there are to get between their destination
points?
• What is the quickest route?
• What if you had to stop for lunch? How would you get there then?
• For those that can, use the grid reference.
Students’ record answers in their books. Discuss some of the students’
answers and if they found anything interesting they would like to share.

Getting the idea

Lesson 6 – adapted from Ministry of Maths
This lesson begins with the students examining a street directory map of
their country town. This may be the first time the students have been
introduced to street directories, therefore a map of their town will be used,
so it will be familiar to the students, and possibly easier for them to grasp
(see appendices 6).

Begin this session by discussing North, South, East and West, showing the
students the symbols, and discussing what they mean. It may also be
helpful to try and teach the acronym Never Eat Soggy Wheetbix.
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As a class, examine the street directory, discussing what the different
symbols represent, and what is next to, across from, east from, north of,
what direction is point a to point b and other varying questions. It would
help to have the map up on the smart board or an overhead projector so
all can see.

Organising & practicing the idea

Lesson 7 – adapted from the K-6 educational resources board of studies
NSW (2008)
This will be the computer based lesson. Students are to all go to the
computer room and open up Microsoft excel. Teacher may need to show
students how to do this via the over head projector.

Students are to be in pairs, sharing a computer. Student A chooses a cell

and enters their name. Student B does the same but in a different cell.
Students are to then find varying paths on how to get from student A’s cell
to student B’s, using crosses to show where they’ve been. As teacher
walks around, the students must describe their path, and explain shorter
and longer routes, and getting from cell to cell using only a certain number
of steps.

The second part of this lesson is playing an online game called taxicab
treasure hunt (see appendices 7).

Applying the idea

Lesson 8
Read Treasure hunt in the lost city by Dan Abnett on the overhead
projector so all the class can see. This book uses a treasure map to find a
lost friend, and is a role playing book, as you have to get the correct
answers to get to the correct page. Therefore it’s interactive and will show
students the use of treasure maps. Have a discussion on treasure maps,
and identify key purposes and key features.

Students are to take out their completed maps of the school, and the
teacher gives each table group a series of instructions (see appendices 8).
Students are to follow the instructions, and using their maps, walk out
their instructions, and mark with pencil where they have been, and the
first table group back gets a classroom privilege. As students arrive back,
teacher checks their pathway and students spend the rest of the lesson
playing battle ships.

Lesson 9-10 or 11 if needed

Students create their own treasure maps, using A3 white paper. Students
can crumple their paper and paint over it with tea stain to give them the
authentic look. Treasure map must have an ‘X marks the spot’, legend,

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title, and various icons. For those who are confident, grid references and
compass directions can be used.

Students are to write up directions on how to get to their treasure, using

various tracks. Examples include:
• Getting to the treasure via the water hole.
• The shortest route.
• The longest route, so the pirate has to by-pass everything.
• The shortest route, but pirate still has to by-pass all features.

Conclusion
Assessment
As Reys, Lindquist, Lambdin & Smith (2007) suggests, teachers need
varying ways to assess their students. Within this unit of work, a lot of the
assessment will be based on observation and questioning. For individual
lesson questioning examples, see appendices 10. However, when
observing, the teacher needs to make various notes, based on these
questions:
• Is the student making sense of the maths?
• Can the student clearly explain their directions?
• Can the student find alternate routes?
• Does the student use appropriate terms when describing their path
ways?
• Does the student create instructions clear enough for someone else
to follow?

The final product of lessons 9-10 will be the main assessment piece and
will be marked according to the rubric (see appendices 9).

Curriculum Outcomes
Throughout completion of this unit, students have completed tasks which
can be linked to the following SACSA key idea (Department of Education
and Children’s Services, 2004):

Key Idea: Students develop and extend their capacity to solve problems
in multi-layered and abstract ways in order to produce accurate maps,
graphs and models.
T C KC6
Throughout completion of this unit, students should have achieved the
following outcome:

Outcome: 3.14 Produces, uses and critiques scaled maps and plans and
envisages alternative possibilities.
F T KC3

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The activities within this unit have allowed the students to experience the
following essential learning’s and key competencies (Department of
Education and Children’s Services, 2004):
Essential learning’s:
• Futures
• Thinking
• Communication
Key competencies:
• Solving problems
• Planning and organizing activities

Across curricula links

This unit of work on mapping can be linked to other curricula areas. Some
examples include:

Society & Environment = Traffic safety, different types of mapping, using

maps in a unit on foreign countries.

Drama = Focus on moving left, right, up and down etc. Face partner and
both move left hand what happens? Mirror your partners’ movements,
dancing to the ‘Hokey pokey’.

English = Plan an imaginary zoo trip, where students describe how to get
from exhibit to exhibit and what times they want to be there (i.e. lions get
fed at 2pm), their treasure map write up, positional language for spelling
words.

Summary of student learning opportunities

Throughout this unit, students have had many opportunities to expand
their mathematical language and terms, especially in describing pathways,
and positioning of objects in relation to other objects. Students have also
had the opportunity to explore similarities and differences between
different types of maps and identify and use key features such as legends,
title, grids and compass directions. Students should now also have an
understanding of how maps are used and why they are needed.

Recommendations for follow up teaching

After completing this unit of work, students will need to further develop
their use of using compass directions, including many practical lessons on
using a compass. This may range from simple navigation, such as around
the school, or writing more complex instructions for others to follow.
Students will also need more experiences with using grid references on
varying different maps. Students will also need to look at the other aspect
of this SACSA topic and key idea, which is describing the ‘view’ from

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different perspectives. An example is; which classroom has the best view
of the library?

References

Abnett, D 1996, Treasure hunt in the lost city, Koala Book Company,
Redfern NSW.

Adelaide Zoo, Zoo Map, viewed 12th April 2009,

http://www.zoossa.com.au/adelaide-zoo/zoo-information/zoo-map

Allen, P 1985, A Lion in the Night, Puffin Books, Melbourne.

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Bobis, J, Mulligan, J & Lowrie, T 2000, Mathematics for Children, 3rd edn,
Pearson Education, Australia, NSW.

Department of Education and Children’s Services 2004, R-10 mathematics

teaching resource, DECS Publishing, Hindmarsh, SA.

Funorama 2000, Battleship activities, viewed 13th April 2009,

http://www.funorama.com/battleships.html

Positional sheet
K-6 educational resources board of studies NSW 2008, Sample units of
work
Follow– thestage 1 work
instructions and samples, viewed where
draw the object 11th you
April 2009,
think it
http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/files/maths/maths_k6_ws_s1.pdf
is meant to be.
Ministry of Education, New Zealand Maths – Geometry and Maths, viewed
Inth the
10 Aprilbox below,
2009, draw a person in between the two trees.
http://www.nzmaths.co.nz/node/1273

Ministry of Education, New Zealand Maths – Geometry and Maths, viewed

10th April 2009, http://www.nzmaths.co.nz/print/823

Reys, R, Lindquist, M, Lambdin, D & Smith, N 2007, Helping Children Learn

Mathematics, 8th edn, John Wiley & Sons Inc., MA.

The Annenberg/CPB Math and Science Project 2009, Teachers’ Lab – Shape
and Space geometry – Taxicab treasure hunt, viewed 10th April 2009,
http://www.learner.org/teacherslab/math/geometry/shape/taxicab/index.ht
ml
In the box below, draw a dog on the left of the tree.

In the box below, draw a bird above the tree.

Appendices 1

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Appendices 2
This is a completed school map of Burra Community School, where I had
my second prac in the first year. Just using this as an example of a school
map the students may receive, however this one has not been edited,
unlike the one the students will get.

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Appendices 3

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Appendices 4
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Your destination is from the Penguins to
the Sumatran Tiger.

You want to see the Nocturnal House

and then the Pygmy Hippo.

Your journey begins at the Main Gate,

and you want to go see the children’s
zoo first.

You begin at the Big Cats and then you

want to go see the Giraffe.

You want to see the Australian Animals

and then go see the Sun Bear.

You want to see the Jewel of Asia and

the go see the Beavers.

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Appendices 5

Appendices 6
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This is not the map that I would use, as I didn’t have a detailed map of a
country town. I chose this for an example, as it has a lot of icons.

Appendices 7
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Appendices 8
Below is just one example of school treasure hunt instructions.
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Start at the front of the Library.
Turn left and keep walking until you get to
the centre of the oval.
Now head towards the Music room.
Turn right at the music room and keep
walking until you get to the senior science
lab.
Make a left turn and head towards the gym.
Once at the front entrance of the gym, head
down the stairs and stop at the first building
you come across.

Where did you end up??

Appendices 9
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Name Map features Presentation Directional
present language
Student 1 Minimal Poor None
Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student 2 Minimal Poor None
Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student 3 Minimal Poor None
Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student 4 Minimal Poor None
Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student 5 Minimal Poor None
Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student 6 Minimal Poor None
Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student 7 Minimal Poor None
Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student 8 Minimal Poor None
Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student 9 Minimal Poor None
Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student Minimal Poor None
10 Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student Minimal Poor None
11 Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student Minimal Poor None
12 Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student Minimal Poor None
13 Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student Minimal Poor None
14 Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student Minimal Poor None
15 Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student Minimal Poor None
16 Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student Minimal Poor None

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17 Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student Minimal Poor None
18 Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student Minimal Poor None
19 Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student Minimal Poor None
20 Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student Minimal Poor None
21 Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student Minimal Poor None
22 Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied
Student Minimal Poor None
23 Some Standard Simple
All Excellent Varied

Appendices 10
Lesson 1
• Where did the lion and baby’s journey begin?
• Where was the next place they went?
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 • How far do you think they travelled? How can we tell?
• How did the lion and the baby beat the rest of the people back to the
castle?
Lesson 2
• What is to the left of your farm shed?
• Where are the horses kept?
• What is next to the cows?
• Is the house near or far away from the sheep paddock?
• Which is closer to the house, the cows, or the farm shed?

Lesson 3
• How did you know to turn there?
• How did you end up where you are?
• What was the last instruction you were given?

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