what is this?
This is an example submission journey. It documents details of searching, questioning, and discovery of maths inside the things and spaces around us for an Early Years entry. Follow this story and learn how to catch the beauty of a discovery in a photo, title and commentary (credits)
This resource is part of a suite of materials and activities created to inspire entrants, and support teachers, and parents to enter maths inside: a photo competition open to everyone in Scotland.
maths inside: see different, make connections, celebrate!
complementary resources
→ Image Bank 1
→ displayed final submission
→ Matching example IDL activity with Es+Os
Matching
I love my piano playmat! The keys on it are numbered 1 to 8 and all have different colours. When I press a key with a small number, I get a low note and when I press a key with a bigger number, I get a higher note. I like making music with it! Different keys have different sounds, and each has its own number and colour. Each number and each colour matches a musical note. I can play red, red, orange, red, purple, yellow, or I can play the same notes with 1, 1, 2, 1, 4, 3. That’s Happy Birthday! What songs can you play? Here is a photo of my piano playmat:
I wanted to find out more about matching numbers with other things! I press the numbers, I listen, and it makes a noise. I press another number and it makes a different sound. Can you close your eyes and match the number with the sound you hear when I press a key? Why do the numbers always play the same note? What number on my piano mat is your favourite colour? How can they be matched in a different way? Where else have you seen numbers and colours matching?
I have seen numbers and colours matching in my colour-by-numbers book. My colouring book has a beautiful butterfly with dots on its wings to be coloured. I like red butterflies with blue dots. I matched the number 1 with red and number 2 with blue
I decided this was what I wanted to write in my commentary to go with my red winged butterfly with blue dots:
I can enter it into maths inside with the title
Colourful Butterfly.
What colours do you like? My friend likes green butterflies with yellow dots. They matched the number 1 to green and number 2 to yellow. Here is their beautiful green butterfly with yellow dots:
Can you match the numbers 1 and 2 with different colours to make a different butterfly? What are your two favourite colours?
I wanted to enter both ways of matching the colours and numbers and so I titled my entry
Matching Numbers and Colours
and took the photo:
This is my commentary:
I love my colouring-by-number book. The wing is numbered 1, and dots are numbered 2. I like red winged butterfly with blue dots. So, I matched number 1 with red and number 2 with blue. My friend likes green butterfly with yellow dots. So, they matched number 1 with green and number 2 with yellow. We matched numbers and colours in two different ways to make two different butterflies
further things to think about
I like to match the things around me with numbers. I put my dinosaurs in piles in front of me and matched these with the 7 colours of the rainbow. Now my red Ceratosaurus is number 1, then my Tyranosaurus Rex is 2, as it is orange,. My Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus and Dilophosaurus are all number 4 for green. My Velociraptor and my Ichtiosaurus are both number 5 for blue… wait a moment! Are there any indigo- and violet-coloured dinosaurs to give them numbers 6 and 7? I went to the kitchen and got blueberries and blackberries for number 6, and some purple cabbage and purple grapes for number 7! Now I can also feed some delicious food to some of dinosaurs! Each dinosaur and food has exactly one number and one colour, but some colours like green (which is 4) and violet (which is 7) have more than one dinosaur or food! This means if I pick a colour I have to choose which dinosaur or food it matches, and if I pick a dinosaur or food it has only one choice of number and colour.
What other things can you match with numbers? How can you match other things to the colours? How can you match objects around you with numbers? How can you match numbers and colours? What ways can you match numbers and colours? Can you match them in different ways? What patterns can you make with numbers and colours?
Open to all ages with prizes in each level. You only need a mobile, the internet & curiosity! Enter on your own or as a team, mind to add the maths inside sticker, and submit in one, or in as many categories as you like. The photo should be your own, without changes, and for a chance to win, cannot be shared anywhere else. View the T&C for more information, and please do get in touch if you have any questions.
credits
This suite of resources are the fruit of a collaborative project between undergraduate and postgraduate students from the University of Glasgow — School of Mathematics & Statistics, Education Scotland, and Dr Andrew Wilson (maths inside Founder and Director)
The authors are Jordan Baillie, Nanette Brotherwood, Tanushree Bharat Shah, Lucas Farndale, Emma Hunter, Christopher Johnson, Harkamal Kaur, Christian Lao, Samuel Lewis, Kathleen McGill, Megan Ruffle, Yvonne Somerville, Andrew Wilson, and Yuanmin Zhu
The photos above are credited to Tanushree Bharat Shah, and Andrew Wilson