Maths Inves+ga+on – Sandcastles

Overview:
A#er talking with my mentor teacher, I found out that the children learned 2D shapes, such as triangles, circles, rectangles, and squares, and 3D shapes,
including cylinders, cubes, and cones, during the last term. This term, the children will primarily focus on learning the posiAonal languages, like above, on the
top, next to, besides, behind, inside, outside, under, and between. Therefore, I design a maths invesAgaAon to help the children explore 2D and 3D shapes and
consolidate the posiAonal language through fun and engaging indoor and outdoor acAviAes.

This invesAgaAon consists of five lessons and will be implemented in the eighth week (19/06-23/06). I will provide three detailed lesson plans.

Lesson 1 Context Introduc0on

Date: 19/06/2023 Year group: Early Years Se2ng: School Dura4on: 45 minutes Group size: Whole class
Overview:
This lesson is designed to idenAfy the children’s prior knowledge and experiences of playing with sand and building sandcastle.

Discuss sand play and building sandcastles:

• Read story books about sandcastles – Magic Beach/Miranda’s Beach Day

Focus ques4ons:
- What is a sandcastle?
- When and where have you built a sandcastle?
- What are some features of a sandcastle? (Moat, tunnels, towers, steps, ramps, windows, doors, bridge)
- What tools do we need to build sandcastles? (Water spray boXle, buckets, spades, sAcks)
- Does using wet or dry sand make a difference? Why?
- How many buckets of sand do you think it takes to build a sandcastle?

Construc4on:
• Pair the children up and allow them to build castles using cardboard.
Inspiring ques4ons:
• What shapes can you find in a castle?
Self-reflec4on /next step in teaching and learning:
We had a very engaging discussion. Many children shared their experiences of building sandcastles on the beach, and they were looking forward to going to
the sandpit and building their castles at the end of this invesAgaAon. All the children had a clear understanding of the tools needed to build a sandcastle,
such as the beach tools and 3D shape containers, and the condiAons for construcAng a sandcastle, like the wet sand was the best for building a sandcastle.

The children enjoyed using cardboard to build their castles. However, many children were unable to cut the cardboard (because the cardboard was thick)
and needed the teacher’s help. Therefore, I will consider children’s fine motor skill level and prepare different shapes and sizes cardboard (cut them before
class). Through the final inspiring quesAon, I could find out which 2D and 3D shapes the children remembered from their previous learning, and I could
transiAon to the next step of learning – shapes.
Lesson 2 2D & 3D Shapes (Detailed)
Date: 20/06/2023 Year group: Early Years Se2ng: School Dura4on: 45 minutes Group size: Whole class
Mathema4cal concepts: Knowledge & Skills: IdenAfying, describing
Measurement & Geometry – 2D shapes & 3D shapes Proficiency strands: Understanding, fluency
General capabili4es: Numeracy, literacy
Learning inten4ons: Australian Curriculum links:
• Children are expected to idenAfy the features of the 2D shapes and Sort, name and create familiar shapes; recognise and describe familiar
3D shapes. shapes within objects in the environment, giving reasons (AC9MFSP01).
Sequence of teaching and learning Points to remember
Introduc4on: Resources:
• Gather children on the floor. Laptop
Experiences: Projector/Screen
• Review the 2D shapes through the song. Worksheet (Sandcastle)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEbRDtCAFdU Pictures (Crab and character figures)
• Review the features of the 2D shapes through questioning. For example: Pencils
- How many lines does a circle have? – One curve line Colour pencils
- How many lines does a rectangle have? Do they have the same length? Pop sAcks
 • Review the 3D shapes through the songs (Pevan & Sarah). Glue sAcks
• Explain the worksheet to the children and ask the children to colour the shapes
according to the teacher’s instruction. Walk around the classroom to check the Key vocabulary:
children’s work and provide extra help for the children who need additional support. Circle
- Colour the circles yellow. Square
- Colour the squares green. Triangle
- Colour the triangles red. Cone
- Colour the cones orange. Cube
- Colour the cubes blue. Cylinder
- Colour the cylinders pink.
Conclusion:
• Ask children to glue the worksheet in their Maths books.
• Ask children to put their books on the table for marking and to sit back on the floor.
Differen4a4on: Assessment focus:
Extra acAvity – Make the crab and character pop sAcks. FormaAve assessment – Checklist/ObservaAons/ConversaAons
SummaAve assessment - Rubric
DifferenAated the worksheet for the children who have learning difficulAes.
Provide explicit and visual instrucAons (including colours and shapes) for - Check the children’s knowledge about posiAonal language according
them. For example: to the checklist.

Self-reflec4on /next step in teaching and learning:

Most of the children could idenAfy the shapes and colour them with the right colour. However, two children who had learning difficulAes were confused
with the cylinders. When I menAoned the cylinders, they put their hands up and said, “I don’t know.” and “Ms Yang, I can’t find (cylinders).” I first repeated
the characterisAcs of the cylinders and showed them what cylinders looked like on the whiteboard. Then I asked them to find the cylinder in the instrucAon
and the matching colour. Then they could do the colouring. I realised that the explicit instrucAons were helpful for those children who were struggling with
learning. I will keep providing explicit instrucAons and guidance for the children who need addiAonal support.
 Lesson 3 Posi0onal Languages
Date: 21/06/2023 Year group: Early Years Se2ng: School Dura4on: 45 minutes Group size: Whole class
Overview:
This lesson is designed to reinforce the children’ knowledge of posiAonal language.

The house and the koala bear:

• Allow the children to build up houses using magneAc Ales.
• Encourage the children move the koala bears to the right posiAons according to the teacher’s instrucAons.
• Give the children some Ame in pairs to give each other posiAonal language instrucAons (ask their partner to move the koala bear behind/in
front/in/next to the cube.)
Focus ques4ons:
- Can you please move the koala bear _______________ (posiAonal language) the house?
Self-reflec4on /next step in teaching and learning:
The children were quite engaged in this acAvity. All the children could understand most of the posiAonal language. However, they were confused with some
of the languages. For example, they could understand on the top, but they were not sure about the above. Therefore, I provided re-instrucAons to them
when they were confused with the posiAonal language. For example, I could hear a whisper voice “above?” when I said, “Could you please put the koala
bear above your house?” therefore, I re-instructed saying, “This means could you please put the koala bear on the top of your house? The above means on
the top of”. Then they could understand the instrucAon and move the koala bear to the right posiAon. I realised the importance of providing alternaAve
instrucAons to help children understand the concept. I will try to pracAce these ‘tricky posiAonal languages’ more in the next acAviAes.
Lesson 4 Posi0onal Language (Detailed)
Date: 22/06/2023 Year group: Early Years Se2ng: School Dura4on: 45 minutes Group size: Whole class
Mathema4cal concepts: Knowledge & Skills: IdenAfying, describing
Space – PosiAonal language Proficiency strands: Understanding, fluency
General capabili4es: CriAcal and creaAve thinking, literacy
Learning inten4ons: Australian Curriculum links:
• Children are expected to understand the positional language. Describe the posiAon and locaAon of themselves and objects in relaAon to
other people and objects within a familiar space (AC9MFSP02).
Sequence of teaching and learning Points to remember
Introduc4on: Resources:
• Gather children on the floor. Laptop
• Start the lesson by the positional language song (Pevan & Sarah). Projector/Screen
• Review the positional language. Use magnetic tiles to build up a small cube. Use a MagneAc Ales
koala bear to demonstrate a position. Ask the children to say the positional Koala bears
language. For example, move the koala bear besides the cube and ask the children to Worksheet (PosiAonal language)
say the positional language ‘next to/besides’. Pencils
Experiences: Colour pencils
• Distribute the worksheet to the children. Glue sAcks
• Ask children to do the colouring first.
• Ask the children to listen to the teacher’s instructions. Read the instructions and ask Key vocabulary:
the children to glue the picture into the right position according to the instruction. Above
Walk around and support children who need additional support. Below
• Re-read the instructions to let the children ensure they place the pictures in the right Next to
places. Forwards
• Encourage the children to do the colouring Backwards
Conclusion: Between
On top
• Ask children to glue the worksheet in their Maths books.
Under
• Ask children to put their books on the table for marking and to sit back on the floor.
Behind
In front
Differen4a4on: Assessment focus:
Pair more capable child with the child who needs addiAonal support. FormaAve assessment – Checklist/ObservaAons/ConversaAons
SummaAve assessment - Rubric

- Check the children’s knowledge about posiAonal language according

to the checklist.
Self-reflec4on /next step in teaching and learning:
I provided opportuniAes for the children to pracAce the ‘tricky posiAonal languages. The children gradually understood and remembered the posiAonal
languages. We will move to the final stage of the invesAgaAon – building up sandcastles.
Lesson 5 Building sandcastles (Detailed)
Date: 23/06/2023 Year group: Early Years Se2ng: School Dura4on: 45 minutes Group size: Whole class
Mathema4cal concepts: Knowledge & Skills: IdenAfying, describing, creaAng
Space – Building your sandcastle Proficiency strands: Understanding, fluency, reasoning
General capabili4es: CriAcal and creaAve thinking, literacy, numeracy
Learning inten4ons: Australian Curriculum links:
• Children are expected to identify the features of the 2D shapes and 3D Sort, name and create familiar shapes; recognise and describe familiar
shapes. shapes within objects in the environment, giving reasons (AC9MFSP01).
• Children are expected to understand the positional language. Describe the posiAon and locaAon of themselves and objects in relaAon to
other people and objects within a familiar space (AC9MFSP02).

Sequence of teaching and learning Points to remember

Introduc4on: Resources:
• Gather children on the floor. Sandpit
• Explain to the children that we are going to the sandpit to build our castles. Beach tools
Experiences: 3D shape containers
• Explain the safety rules when we play outside. Crab and character pop sAcks
• Set up the expectations when we play in the sandpit.
- No screaming or yelling. Key vocabulary:
- No throwing or kicking sand. Circle
- No ruining each other castles or ruining someone else’s castle on purpose. Square
- Follow the teacher’s instructions. Triangle
• Pair the children up and ask them to line up in front of the door. Cone
• Send the children to the sandpit and allow each group to build up their castles. Cube
- No need of water since the sand is wet enough. Cylinder
 • Walk around and talk to the children. Encourage them to point the different shapes Above
of their castles. Below
• Distribute the crab and character pop sticks to them. Ask them to put these sticks Next to
according to the teacher’s instruction. Forwards
Conclusion: Backwards
• Ask the children to pack up. Between
On top
Under
Behind
In front
Differen4a4on: Assessment focus:
Pair more capable child with the child who needs addiAonal support. FormaAve assessment – ObservaAons & ConversaAons
- Walk around and observe children’s work.
- Provide Amely feedback to children if necessary.

SummaAve assessment - Rubric

- Check the children’s prior knowledge about measurements.

Self-reflec4on /next step in teaching and learning:

The children enjoyed this acAvity. They played and worked well in pairs in the sandpit and followed the instrucAons well. I realized that seqng high
expectaAons could lead to beXer performance. This lesson was a fun and engaging review session. The children reviewed shapes and posiAonal language
while playing. However, a#er the lesson, the children were in an excited yellow zone, and it was a bit difficult for them to calm down and get ready for the
next French lesson. I should use some strategies to help them transiAon back to the green zone and be prepared for the next class, such as using five-finger
breathing.

Summary:
In summary, this program/invesAgaAon is designed to help the children review 2D and 3D shapes, as well as posiAonal language. From the lesson plans above,
it can be seen that I will conduct this invesAgaAon through a variety of acAviAes, such as building castles using cardboard, moving the koala bears, building
sandcastles, colouring, and cuqng and pasAng. AddiAonally, I will incorporate formaAve assessments, including observaAons, conversaAons, and checklists, as
well as a summaAve assessment (rubric) to assess the children’s learning.
Checklist:

Assessment Checklist
Maths Inves0ga0on
Names 19/06 20/06 21/06 22/06 23/06 Comments
Rubric:

Student’s name: _________________

No. Content & Descrip4on Task & Proficiency Strand Demonstrates Working Needs
understanding towards support
understanding
2D & 3D Shapes IdenAfy 2D and 3D shapes
Sort, describe, and name in sandcastles.
1 familiar 2D and 3D Understanding
objects in the
environment.
2D & 3D Shapes Builds a sandcastle using a
Sort, describe, and name variety of 3D containers
2 familiar 2D and 3D and 2D shapes and can
objects in the idenAfy these.
environment. Understanding, Reasoning
Loca4on/Posi4on IdenAfy and describe the
Describe posiAon and locaAon of the crab and
3 movement. character pop sAcks using
posiAonal languages.
Understanding
Units of Measurements Compares a variety of
Use direct and indirect containers using the
comparisons to decide language of size and shape.
which is longer, heavier Understanding
4
or holds more, and
explain reasoning in
everyday language.

Comments:
Workheets: