Maths in Our WorldActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning lets children connect abstract maths ideas to their real world through touch, movement, and talk. For Senior Infants, this hands-on exploration sparks curiosity and builds lasting connections between classroom lessons and everyday experiences.
Learning Objectives
- 1Identify and classify common 2D and 3D shapes found in the classroom and at home.
- 2Explain how numbers are used in everyday home routines, such as counting or measuring.
- 3Describe and extend simple visual patterns using mathematical language.
- 4Compare the attributes of different shapes, such as the number of sides or corners.
- 5Demonstrate how to solve a simple everyday problem by applying counting or shape recognition skills.
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Shape Safari: Classroom Exploration
Pairs receive clipboards and crayons to hunt for 2D and 3D shapes around the room, sketching examples and labelling them. They note the object's use, like a cylindrical bin. Share findings on a class mural, voting on favourites.
Prepare & details
Where can you find shapes in our classroom — can you point to some?
Facilitation Tip: During Shape Safari, move around the room with students and name shapes as soon as they spot them, reinforcing vocabulary in the moment.
Setup: Walking path: hallway, outdoor area, or clear loop in classroom
Materials: Discussion prompt cards, Optional: clipboard and notes sheet, Partner rotation plan
Number Stories Circle
In a whole-class circle, each child shares one way numbers appear at home, such as phone numbers or toy counts, using props like toy phones. Teacher charts responses. Follow with pair retells using drawings.
Prepare & details
How do we use numbers at home — can you give an example?
Facilitation Tip: In Number Stories Circle, sit in a circle on the mat and hold up household items to spark ideas, giving each child space to contribute.
Setup: Walking path: hallway, outdoor area, or clear loop in classroom
Materials: Discussion prompt cards, Optional: clipboard and notes sheet, Partner rotation plan
Pattern Builders: Loose Parts
Small groups use buttons, sticks, and blocks to copy and extend patterns from picture cards. They explain their creations to the group. Display on tables for a gallery walk.
Prepare & details
Can you find a pattern in this picture?
Facilitation Tip: For Pattern Builders, model one pattern yourself first so students understand the task before they begin working in small groups.
Setup: Walking path: hallway, outdoor area, or clear loop in classroom
Materials: Discussion prompt cards, Optional: clipboard and notes sheet, Partner rotation plan
Maths Map: Schoolyard Walk
Whole class walks the yard, stopping to identify shapes, numbers on signs, and patterns in paving. Children photograph or sketch on tablets. Debrief with sorting into categories.
Prepare & details
Where can you find shapes in our classroom — can you point to some?
Facilitation Tip: On the Maths Map walk, pause at each spot and ask students to describe what they see before moving on to the next area.
Setup: Walking path: hallway, outdoor area, or clear loop in classroom
Materials: Discussion prompt cards, Optional: clipboard and notes sheet, Partner rotation plan
Teaching This Topic
Teachers should treat these activities as conversation starters rather than tasks to complete. Children learn best when they feel safe to make mistakes and share rough ideas. Avoid correcting too quickly; instead, ask open questions like, 'What do you notice about this shape?' to encourage deeper thinking. Research shows that young children develop mathematical language best when they hear and use it in meaningful contexts with supportive peers.
What to Expect
Successful learning looks like children confidently pointing out shapes in familiar objects, using numbers in context during discussions, and creating or extending patterns with confidence. They should freely share examples from home and school without prompting.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring Shape Safari, watch for children who overlook shapes in everyday objects because they expect perfect textbook shapes.
What to Teach Instead
Bring sorting trays and ask students to place objects in them based on shape properties, not appearance. Encourage comparisons like, 'This book has four straight sides like a square but its corners are not sharp like a real square. What do we call this shape?'.
Common MisconceptionDuring Number Stories Circle, watch for children who believe numbers only appear in school tasks like counting on fingers.
What to Teach Instead
Bring in everyday items like a shopping list or a bus timetable and ask students to point out numbers they see. Write their examples on chart paper and revisit them often.
Common MisconceptionDuring Pattern Builders, watch for children who create patterns using only colours and ignore other attributes like size or shape.
What to Teach Instead
Provide loose parts in different sizes and textures. Ask students to build a pattern using at least two attributes, then have them explain their choices to the group.
Assessment Ideas
After Shape Safari, ask each student to point to one shape they found and name it. Note whether they can identify the shape and describe one property, such as 'sides' or 'corners'.
During Number Stories Circle, listen for students to use specific examples from home, like counting toys or noticing the numbers on a clock. Record how many students share real-world examples and note their vocabulary.
After Pattern Builders, give each student a strip of paper with a simple ABAB pattern using shapes and colours. Ask them to extend the pattern by drawing or gluing the next two pieces. Collect the strips to assess their understanding of pattern repetition.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge: Ask students to find and photograph three different examples of the same shape around the school and present them to the class.
- Scaffolding: Provide a visual checklist with shape examples and simple vocabulary for students to reference during Shape Safari.
- Deeper exploration: Introduce a 'shapes museum' where students curate objects by shape and present their collections to another class.
Key Vocabulary
| Shape | A 2D or 3D form with specific characteristics, like sides, corners, or faces. Examples include circle, square, and sphere. |
| Number | A symbol or word used to represent quantity. We use numbers for counting objects, telling time, or measuring. |
| Pattern | A predictable sequence or arrangement that repeats. Patterns can be made with shapes, colors, or numbers. |
| Attribute | A characteristic or feature of a shape or object, such as color, size, or number of sides. |
Suggested Methodologies
Planning templates for Foundations of Mathematical Thinking
5E Model
The 5E Model structures lessons through five phases (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate), guiding students from curiosity to deep understanding through inquiry-based learning.
Unit PlannerMath Unit
Plan a multi-week math unit with conceptual coherence: from building number sense and procedural fluency to applying skills in context and developing mathematical reasoning across a connected sequence of lessons.
RubricMath Rubric
Build a math rubric that assesses problem-solving, mathematical reasoning, and communication alongside procedural accuracy, giving students feedback on how they think, not just whether they got the right answer.
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