Central Ideas & Lines of Inquiry

Maths PYP Planners

After years and years of experimenting- loads of failures and gradually more and more successes, I am finally feeling like I am creating coherent PYP maths planners that allow a balance between skills needed to be investigated and which allow for student-led enquiries. 

Here are some of the more successful planners I've experimented with: 

Measuring Time:

Image from: bpritchett.blogspot.com

Transdisciplinary Themes:   

How the world works

Where we are in place & time 

& How we organise ourselves               (WOW! It hits 3 themes nicely! :)   )

Central Idea: 

By understanding astronomy, we have been able to create ways to measure time.

Lines of Inquiry:

• CONNECTION: How the measurement of time is connected to astronomy
• FUNCTION: How our measurement of time system works
• CAUSATION: How our measurement of time system was created
• CONNECTION: Relationships between 12 and 24 hr clocks
• FUNCTION: How to measure elapsed time
• FUNCTION: How we use world time zones

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Measuring Angles

Image from: www.homeschoolmath.net

Transdisciplinary Theme:   How we organise ourselves

Central Idea: 

When angles co-exist, connections and relationships form.

Lines of Inquiry:

• FORM: What different types of angles, triangles and quadrilaterals are like
• FUNCTION: How we can estimate & measure the size of angles
• CONNECTION: Patterns and relationships that exist between angles
• FUNCTION: How we use angles in our daily lives

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Addition & Subtraction Mental Strategies

Image from: wikidownload.com

Transdisciplinary Theme:   How we organise ourselves

Central Idea: 

By choosing suitable strategies, we can mentally add and subtract more easily.

Lines of Inquiry:

• CONNECTION: The relationship between addition and subtraction
• FUNCTION: How addition/subtraction mental strategies work
• REFLECTION: Determining which mental strategy to use

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Measuring Area & Perimeter

Image from: www.mathgoodies.com

Transdisciplinary Theme:   How we organise ourselves

Central Idea: 

People need to measure the area of space and the length of perimeters for a variety of reasons.

Lines of Inquiry:

• CONNECTION: How area and perimeter are related
• FUNCTION: How to determine the perimeter of complex shapes with unknown lengths
• FUNCTION: How to measure the area of complex shapes
• CAUSATION: Reasons we need to measure perimeter & area in real life

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Fractions / Decimals / Percentages

Image from: www.mathx.net

Transdisciplinary Theme:   How we organise ourselves

Central Idea: 

We can use fractions, decimals and percentages in a variety of ways in real life situations.

Lines of Inquiry:

• CONNECTION: How fractions, decimals and percentages are related
• CONNECTION: How we use fractions, decimals and percentages in our daily lives
• FUNCTION: Strategies we can use when manipulating fractions, decimals or percentages
• FUNCTION: How we can identify equivalent fractions

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Data Handling

Image from: www.proprofs.com

Transdisciplinary Theme:   How we organise ourselves

Central Idea: 

Determining the suitability of graphs can help us to investigate and present data more easily.

Lines of Inquiry:

• CAUSATION: Why we use graphs
• FUNCTION: Determining the mean, mode, range, and median of data
• FUNCTION: Interpreting data from a variety of types of graphs
• FUNCTION: Converting data to a percentage to create pie graphs
• REFLECTION: Determining suitability of types of graphs to represent data

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Measuring Length

Image from: www.technologyuk.net 

Transdisciplinary Theme:   How we organise ourselves

Central Idea: 

The metric system for measuring length connects with our base 10 number system.

Lines of Inquiry:

• FORM: The metric v imperial units of measurement for length
• CAUSATION: Why the metric system was created
• FUNCTION: How to measure length using decimals
• FUNCTION: How to convert metric units of length using decimals

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Chance / Probability

Image from: https://www.mathsisfun.com/data/probability.html

Transdisciplinary Theme:   How the world works

Central Idea: 

Instead of luck, mathematicians think of

probability.

Lines of Inquiry:

• CONNECTION: How we use the measurement of probability in our real lives
• FUNCTION: Strategies we can use to measure probability
• CAUSATION: Why we use fractions / decimals / % to measure probability

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Place Value / Number Systems

Image from: www.shmoop.com 

Transdisciplinary Theme:   How we organise ourselves

Central Idea: 

By understanding the properties of numbers, we can discover patterns and relationships.

Lines of Inquiry:

• FORM:  How positive and negative place values of numbers are infinite
• CAUSATION: Why we can multiply/divide numbers easily by 10, 100, 1000 etc
• CONNECTION: Number properties and their relationships
• CAUSATION:  Reasons we round numbers as a helpful strategy
• CONNECTION: How our Hindi-Arabic number system connects with other number systems

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Ratios

Image from: http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/ratio.html 

Transdisciplinary Theme:   How we organise ourselves

Central Idea: 

We use ratios to help solve real life situations.

Lines of Inquiry:

• FORM: What ratios and proportions are like
• FUNCTION: Strategies we can use to calculate ratio relationships
• CONNECTION: Ways we use ratios in real life situation

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Shapes

Image from: www.aspexsoftware.com

Transdisciplinary Theme:   How the world works

Central Idea: 

Shapes have close or distant relationships with each other.

Lines of Inquiry:

• CONNECTION: Similar properties shapes share
• FUNCTION: Determining the properties of shapes
• CAUSATION: Why shapes have their properties