Mathematics
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50 mins
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+65 XP
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End-of-primary Maths Fair

Present one mathematical investigation you've completed this year to a small-group stall, structuring your explanation as question, method, result and surprise. Listen to classmates and ask questions that push their thinking further.

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    1 - Getting Started ~5 mins

    Key point

    Choose one investigation you did this year — the school-yard area, a celebration budget, a survey, a scale drawing, anything you are proud of — and you will present it to a small group at your stall. If you don't have a piece ready, you can present one of our class investigations instead.

    Here is the question to hold in your mind as we begin: what makes an explanation so clear that someone who wasn't there could carry out the same maths and get the same result?

    👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

    +5 XP

    2 - Watch and Notice ~8 mins

    A strong short presentation has four parts. Watch how the same investigation fits each one.

    • Question — what did you set out to find? ("How big is our school yard, really?")
    • Method — how did you work it out? ("I paced two sides, changed paces into metres, then multiplied.")
    • Result — what did you find? ("About 380 square metres.")
    • Surprise — one thing that caught you out. ("My pacing estimate and the map estimate agreed to within 10%.")

    The very same investigation can be shown three ways: as a poster on the wall, as a short demonstration where you act it out, or as a quick talk. Choose whichever suits your work best.

    👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

    +10 XP

    3 - Try It Together ~10 mins

    Let's rehearse the four-part shape together using one volunteer's investigation.

    Key point

    As a class we will fit the volunteer's work into: Question, then Method, then Result, then Surprise — in that order. We will also agree the one question an audience member could fairly ask at the end.

    +10 XP

    4 - Class Challenge ~15 mins

    Key point

    Now the fair opens. We split into small groups of four or five, and every stall runs at the same time. Inside your group, take turns presenting your own investigation, using your Question, Method, Result and Surprise. Aim for about two minutes to present, then take one fair question from your group before the next person starts. Because all the stalls run together, everyone in the class presents in this time.

    Tip

    When it is not your turn, you are the audience at your stall: ask each presenter one fair question that pushes their method a little further — a How-do-you-know, a What-if, or a Would-it-work-for.

    1. Present your chosen investigation to your stall using Question, Method, Result and Surprise, in that order, in about two minutes.
    2. As an audience member at your stall, ask a fair 'How do you know?' question about a presenter's result.
    3. As an audience member, ask a 'What if?' question that changes one detail of a presenter's problem.
    4. As an audience member, ask a 'Would it work for...?' question that transfers a presenter's method to a new situation.

    Ways to start:

    • State your question in one sentence, so everyone knows what you set out to find.
    • Describe your method step by step, so a listener could repeat it.

    Stretch:

    • Name one thing that surprised you and explain why it was unexpected.
    • When you are the audience, ask a question that would make the method work for a different situation.

    Share back: pupils present in turn within their small-group stall; the group asks one question per presenter, with about two and a half minutes for each presenter

    Answers & strategies (teacher)
    1. Present your chosen investigation to your stall using Question, Method, Result and Surprise, in that order, in about two minutes. — A short presentation that names the question, walks the method a listener could repeat, states the result clearly, and shares one genuine surprise.
    2. As an audience member at your stall, ask a fair 'How do you know?' question about a presenter's result. — A question that tests the reliability of the result, e.g. 'How do you know your area estimate is close to the real one?'
    3. As an audience member, ask a 'What if?' question that changes one detail of a presenter's problem. — A question such as 'What if the yard had a curved edge — would your rectangle method still work?'
    4. As an audience member, ask a 'Would it work for...?' question that transfers a presenter's method to a new situation. — A question such as 'Would your budget method work for planning a school trip instead of a party?'
    +15 XP

    5 - What Did We Notice? ~2 mins

    MATHS TALK

    Think back across the investigations we saw today.

    Which method that we saw could answer a completely different question from the one it was first used for — and why does it carry across so well?

    +10 XP
    Pupil practice
    Module 11 · End-of-primary Modelling and Review Mixed
    Lesson 128 · End-of-primary Maths Fair
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