Tag Archives: Constructions

214. My first takeaway homework

If you have been on Twitter recently you may have seen educators sharing their ‘Takeaway’ homeworks. The idea is in Ross Morrison-McGill’s splendid book ‘100 Ideas for Secondary Teachers: Outstanding Lessons’ (@TeacherToolkit). Maths teachers have started embracing this concept and sharing their menus online.

Image credit: Bloomsbury Press

Image credit: Bloomsbury Press

I’ve written a ‘Takeaway’ homework aimed at Year 9 Level 6/7 students on constructions, plans and elevations. Each task has a monetary value based on difficulty and every student must complete at least three tasks to complete the minimum £12 of homework.  I personalised my in-school version to include the websites we subscribe to and books we use. I’m looking forward to seeing what my students hand in and I will update this post when they do.

Constructions Takeaway Menu (pdf)

78. Gather round one and all!

All you need is you, a class and a playground. Easy!

Loci around a single point
You stand in the middle of the yard and the class must all stand 2m away. Hopefully you will end up with a circle of radius 2m. Discuss why this happens.

Equal distance from two lines/Bisecting an angle
Find part of the playground which has two edges, ideally at 90 degrees. The class must stand the same distance from each edge – this should look like an angle bisector. Discuss.

Locus of a line
Get a few pupils to stand in a straight line. Everyone must stand 1m away from them. Discuss why the lines are parallel and the ends are semi-circles.

Locus around an object
Repeat the previous task around an object eg building, bench. Why do right angles produce quarter circle loci?