Class Maths Fair

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1 Getting Started
2 Watch and Notice
3 Try It Together
4 Class Challenge
5 What Did We Notice?
Pupil practice

1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

Today we turn the room into a class maths fair: your investigations on show, and visitors stopping by to look and ask questions.

Each of you will host a stall about one finished investigation from the year. Hands up: what makes a short maths presentation easy to follow?

Key point

Before we go further, check your desk: do you have one finished investigation from earlier in the year ready? If not, you will use a shared class investigation we all know, such as the school-height estimate or the class-shop budget.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+5 XP

2 - Watch and Notice ~8 mins

Two things to watch on the board.

First, a sample three-minute outline for an investigation the class already knows, for example how tall is the school? Listen for one short sentence under question, method, result and surprise, and notice how each sentence helps a visitor follow the maths.

Second, that same investigation shown three ways: as a poster, as a short slide talk, and as a hands-on demo with the real tools or models from the work. Notice which parts of the maths stay the same in every format, and which parts change.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+10 XP

3 - Try It Together ~14 mins

First we shape one stall together. A volunteer shares one finished investigation and we build the four-part outline on the board: question, method, result, one surprise.

Then it is your turn. Place one finished investigation from your year work on your desk now (or the shared class investigation if that is your fallback). On A4 paper, write your own four-part outline and one clear stall label you can stand beside. Choose how you will display it: poster, short talk, or hands-on demo.

Tip

If you are stuck: write only the question in one sentence; or list three method steps; or circle the single number you are most proud of and say why.

If you finish early: write one visitor question you hope someone will ask, and one answer that uses a second method from the year.

Key point

By the end of this step every pupil should have a visible outline and label ready before the fair opens.

After a short shared model, prepare your own maths-fair stall for one investigation from this year. Your stall must show the question, the method, the result and one surprise, and it must be clear enough for a visitor who did not do the work with you.

Write your investigation question in one clear sentence.
List three method steps a visitor could follow.
State the result with units.
Name one mathematical surprise from the work.

Ways to start:

Place one finished investigation on your desk, then write its question in one sentence.
List the method in three short steps a visitor could follow.
Name the result with its units, and one surprise you noticed while working.

Stretch:

Add a second method from earlier in the year that could check the same result, and say whether the two answers agree closely.
Write one visitor question you hope someone will ask, and a one-sentence answer that uses a different strand (for example money, data, or measures).

Answers & strategies (teacher)

Write your investigation question in one clear sentence. — Any clear question drawn from the pupil's own year work (for example: How tall is the school building?)
List three method steps a visitor could follow. — Three ordered steps naming tools or calculations (for example: measure stick shadow; measure building shadow; scale by the ratio)
State the result with units. — A result with units matching the investigation (for example: about 10 m)
Name one mathematical surprise from the work. — A surprise about the maths itself (two methods agreed; an outlier pulled the mean; a scale conversion changed the story)

Four-part outline (question, method, result, surprise)
Choosing one display format (poster, short talk, or hands-on demo)
Labelling units and key numbers clearly for a visitor

+15 XP

4 - Class Challenge ~19 mins

The fair is open. Your outline and stall label stay on your desk.

Wave 1: half the class host at their stalls while the other half visit. Hosts give a short three-minute talk using the four-part outline. Visitors stop, listen, then ask one question that pushes the thinking further: not only what was the answer? but what would change if the numbers were different, which method is more reliable, or how the same method could answer a new question.

When the teacher calls swap, roles change. Wave 2: the first hosts become visitors and the first visitors host.

Key point

After both waves: name one method you saw that could answer a completely different question next year, and say why it still works.

+15 XP

5 - What Did We Notice? ~3 mins

MATHS TALK

Which method we saw today could answer a completely different question, and why does that work?

+10 XP

Pupil practice

Module 9 · Mathematical Modeling and End-of-year Review Mixed

Lesson 128 · Class Maths Fair

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This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2025. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.

Teacher Class Feed

1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

2 - Watch and Notice ~8 mins

3 - Try It Together ~14 mins

4 - Class Challenge ~19 mins

5 - What Did We Notice? ~3 mins

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