MURDER MYSTERY MATHS LESSON PLAN
TITLE; The Day of the Murder / Year/Class5
Assessment Focus
- Look for evidence of children choosing to collect data that will help them to answer the questions they have raised or test their hypotheses.
- Look for evidence of how they choose to record data and whether they include the units they decide to use when recording measurements.
- Look out for children who group their data, when, for example, the times they have collected for a 100 meter run are many and varied.
- Look for evidence of children who consider the audience of the data, including themselves at a later date, and so use a key, label axes and provide a title.
Numeracy
Construct frequency tables, pictograms and bar and line graphs
Collecting, organising, presenting and interpret data to answer related questions
Identifying further questions
- Explain reasoning using diagrams, graphs and text; refine ways of recording using images and symbols
- Answer a set of related questions by collecting, selecting and organising relevant data; draw conclusions, using ICT to present features, and identify further questions to ask
- Construct frequency tables, pictograms and bar and line graphs to represent the frequencies of events and changes over time
- 2c about the effect of exercise and rest on pulse rate
- 4a how physical exercise affects the body in the short term
Key Aspects of Learning
Enquiry / Problem solving / Reasoning / Creative thinking
Information processing / Evaluation / Self-awareness / Managing feeling
Social skills / Communication / Motivation / Empathy
/ Resources
Handouts - The Day of the Murder
Coloured fine line pens
Graph paper
Acetate sheets
OHP
IWB film clip
Stop watch
Children to work in mixed ability pairs designated by the teacher
SEN children to work with T.A.
Introduction (10 – 15 minutes)
K.Q. How would we test our pulse rate?
What would be the most efficient way of collecting this information?
Children to take resting pulse (take for 6 seconds x by 10)
What would happen to your pulse rate if you ran around the playground for several minutes?
Do an exercise for 1 minute
Measure pulse rate
K.Q. What has happened to it? Is this what you expected? explain
Discuss other ways in which our pulse rate may go up e.g. fear, excitement, lie detector tests etc.
(interpreting pulse rates is the key theme in this lesson)
Main Activity (45 minutes)
Setting the Scene
Teacher to show a short video clip (4 minutes) to set the scene for the murder and their investigation.
K.Q. What information would be useful to help you solve the murder?
Record their ideas on board
(If the pulse rate is not mentioned remind children of earlier discussion)
We have data available on each character’s pulse rate,
How could you use this information to help you solve the murder?
Children are given sheets with information of the murder day. The sheet shows the different pulse rates at different times of the day
Discuss in pairs what would be the best way to show these pulse rates
Share ideas with the whole class and talk about the visual image of a line graph being the best one to show this data because it shows changes over time.
In pairs
What will be put on the x axis?
What will be put on the y axis?
What will the scale b? What do you have to think about when doing the scale.
They plot these as a line graph (M/A can be comparison done on the same graph using coloured pens). Or on individual sheets for each character
Differentiation
SEN to work with TA on acetate sheets, one for each character so that they can overlap these to make a comparison on an OHP if available.
They have to analyse this to find the murderer
Plenary (10 minutes)
Discuss children’s findings.
Who was the murderer?
How do you know?
Learning Outcomes
Children will be able to create and interpret line charts. For example, they create a graph with a scale of 0 to 10 along the horizontal axis and 0 to 100 along the vertical axis. Children process, present and interpret data
Children will be able to recognize that they may be able to make use of existing data in order to collect information efficiently
They will use line graphs to represent the frequencies of events and changes over time
They will be able to explain why they chose to represent data using a particular table, graph or chart
They will know what happens to their pulse rate after exercise and know other external events can have an effect on it
Assessment Strategy
Teacher to use post-it notes to record observations of children whilst working in their group. TA to do this for their group with particular focus on the manner in which they recorded their findings.