The dimension of each of the 4 pieces of the frieze is 29"x9" or 75cm x 23cm. The total wall length for displaying all four pieces simultaneously is about 3m. The length of the frieze and its bright colours make it likely to catch the attention of younger learners. The frieze is intended to serve as a stimulus or context for imaginative storytelling, mathematical talk and activity, and to encourage the habit of mind to find mathematics and opportunities to mathematise everywhere. The teacher notes provide many good examples and suggestions for activities to use with the accompanying friezes (or with other similar scenes). The notes have been helpfully tagged by content strand eg. N for Number, A for Algebra, M for Measurement, S for Shape and Space and D for Data Handling and by frieze section. In this way it is easy to quickly pick out all the activities relating to one strand or to one small part of the picture. Suggestions are also included for activities that would make use of the entire panorama.
Notes on Classroom Use:
Place the frieze at child-height. It is advisable to start with one small section to look at in detail as trying to search the entire image at the start will likely overwhelm some learners. Pairs can work on specific tasks based on their part of the image. In this way this MathKit may be a good for use in Math Centers. I've included a sample of some of the questions on the first panel and for the entire 4 panel set.
Sample Questions (accompanying first panel)
Building 1The Pythagoras Greek Restaurant
N Fractions
- Look at the curtain/blinds. What fraction of each window is covered? Where can you see one-half, one quarter, three-quarters?
- Activity: Draw your own windows on squared paper. How many different ways can you color/cover one half or one-quarter. Try windows of different sizes/shapes.
M Time
- What does "Mon-Sat 8am-6pm" mean? How many hours is that?
S Shapes
- What should would the umbrellas be when looked at from above or below?
D Probability
- Do you think that the man in jeans is likely to be putting the umbrella up or down? Why?
Sample Ideas for Activities based on Whole Frieze
N A Number Patterns/Algebra
- The last house in the street is No. 37. Does that mean that there are 37 houses on the frieze? Estimate then count how many there are. Try writing down the numbers of the houses that are likely to be on the opposite side of the street.
- Find as many examples of repeating patterns as you can. What repeats each time? Are any of the patterns similar? How?
- How does the time compare on all the clocks?
- Which is the biggest house/building? Which is the smallest? What do you mean by biggest/smallest.
- How much can a door turn when it is opened?
- Play sorting games: eg. someone puts a sticky note on every house or person in their "secret" set. The others have to guess what is the same about allthe things marked.
Final Thoughts
This is a nice MathKit suitable for younger students that could generate a lot of good conversation and fit into multiple types of learning situations.
I would also encourage teachers to find similar paintings of Main Streets in their own communities or to have students create their own photographic panorama of nearby streets. Google Street View might also be another way to get images of store and building fronts for discussions. I think it could also be used to encourage younger students to learn more about their community or other communities. If historical photographs are used for example students could see how a street changed over time and ask questions about what prompted those changes.
IRCKIT QA 135.5 L485 1992
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