Keeping a Balance

Mark out two lines with a start and a finish. Don’t let the lines grow too far apart – because then you lose the opportunity of explaining parallel lines. Divide the children into two teams. Appoint yourself as the referee.

Encourage the children to drop onto their hands and knees at the start line. Hand the first child in each team an apple. When `Go’ is given the children have to push the apples using their noses.

Naturally you will need a simple rule. `If you touch the apple with any part of your body – other than your nose - return to the beginning.’

It would be interesting to see if children learnt to use and apply this rule faster than: `To find ten percent simply divide by ten.’

Divide the children into two teams. Give one team the apple rule and the other the percentage rule.

Give one team a little more practice and the other a little more theory and see …….