| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) identify one half of a whole shape or object; (2) explain that halves must be two EQUAL parts; (3) fold and cut shapes into halves. |
|---|---|
| Materials | Paper circles, squares and rectangles for folding; a real orange or bammy/roti to halve dramatically; scissors; an obviously-unfair "half" for the hook. |
| Key vocabulary | half, whole, equal parts, fair, one of two |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) The unfair snack: cut a paper "cake" into a big piece and a tiny piece, offer a child the tiny one as "half". Outrage! Draw out the law: HALVES MUST BE EQUAL — or it is not half at all. |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) 1. The fold of justice: fold a paper circle edge-to-edge — two parts that match EXACTLY. Open it: one half shaded. 2. Children fold and cut circles, squares, rectangles into halves; test fairness by stacking the parts. 3. The rectangle surprise: it halves MORE than one way (tall fold, wide fold, even corner-to-corner) — all fair, all halves! 4. Half-or-not sort: eight picture cards (fair and unfair cuts) sorted with justification. |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Real-food finale: halve the orange with ceremony; two volunteers confirm fairness. "One of TWO equal parts — that is a half, always and everywhere." |
| Assessment | Folded halves stack-tested equal; half-or-not sort 6 of 8 correct with "equal parts" heard in reasons. |
| Teacher notes | The equal-parts law is the entire foundation of fractions — an unfair "half" accepted now becomes fraction misery in Grade 4. Be theatrical; be uncompromising. |
| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) find half of a small set of objects by fair sharing; (2) connect half-of-a-set to the doubles facts; (3) identify sets that cannot be halved fairly (odd totals) informally. |
|---|---|
| Materials | Counters, seeds, play fruits; two plates per pair; problem cards (share 8 mangoes between 2 friends); the doubles ladder on display. |
| Key vocabulary | half of, share, each, fair share, left over |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) Two hungry puppets, one bag of 6 mangoes. "Share them FAIRLY!" A volunteer deals one-each until empty: 3 and 3. "Half of 6 is 3!" |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) 1. Deal-to-share method modelled: one for you, one for me, until gone; count one plate — that is the half. 2. Pairs share sets of 4, 8, 10, 6 onto two plates, recording "half of __ is __". 3. The doubles mirror: half of 8 is 4 — and 4 + 4 = 8! Doubles run BACKWARDS make halves; check every answer against the ladder. 4. The troublemaker: share 7 fairly... one left over refuses to choose a plate! Name the problem, park it (Week 11's odd numbers will explain). |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Speed halves using the ladder: "Half of 10! Half of 4! Half of 6!" — answers fly because the doubles already live in memory. |
| Assessment | Recording strips: 3 of 4 sets halved correctly by dealing; one halving verified against a double; the leftover-7 problem articulated. |
| Teacher notes | Half-of-a-set and half-of-a-shape are different ideas wearing one name — teaching them on consecutive days with the same word builds the bridge deliberately. |
| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) explain why standard units are needed; (2) identify the metre as the standard unit of length; (3) find objects longer than, shorter than and about one metre. |
|---|---|
| Materials | Metre sticks or metre-cut strings per pair; the Week 6 Term 1 memory (different hand spans); labels: LONGER / SHORTER / ABOUT 1 m. |
| Key vocabulary | metre, standard unit, longer than, shorter than, about |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) The argument returns: measure the mat in teacher hand-spans (8!) and a child's (13!). "So how long IS it?!" The old mystery... solved today by a stick the whole WORLD agreed on: the METRE. |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) 1. Meet the metre: pass the stick around — feel its length against your body (about waist-to-floor for most Grade 1s, arms-not-quite-spread). 2. Body benchmark: each child finds where a metre reaches on themselves — a portable estimate forever. 3. Longer-shorter-about hunt: pairs test classroom objects against the stick and sort labels onto them (door: longer; book: shorter; desk: about!). 4. The agreement moment: two different pairs measure the SAME mat — same answer at last! Standard units end arguments. |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Metre gallery walk: read the labelled room together. "Why do shops, tailors and builders all use the metre?" — children answer with today's discovery. |
| Assessment | Hunt labels: 5 of 6 objects sorted correctly; personal body benchmark demonstrated; "same stick, same answer" explanation given by the class. |
| Teacher notes | The unresolved Week 6 Term 1 mystery pays off today — if your class remembers the hand-span wars, the metre arrives as a hero, not a rule. That narrative is the pedagogy. |
| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) measure lengths using the metre stick end-to-end; (2) record results as whole metres ("about 2 metres"); (3) compare measured lengths. |
|---|---|
| Materials | Metre sticks/strings; chalk for floor marks; recording sheets; measurable targets: classroom width, corridor stretch, garden bed, skipping rope. |
| Key vocabulary | measure, metres, record, end to end, about |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) The big question: "How many METRES long is our classroom?" Estimates written on the board with names — the stick will judge them all. |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) 1. Model end-to-end technique: place the stick, chalk-mark its end, move it from the mark — no gaps, no overlaps (Week 6 T1 rules, now with the champion unit). 2. Teams measure four targets, counting stick-moves aloud, recording "about __ m". 3. Compare corner: order the four measured lengths greatest to least (Term 1 skills on duty). 4. Estimate-then-measure round two: the corridor — did estimates improve after a day's experience? (Yes, and children FEEL it.) |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Judgement of the estimates: reveal the classroom's true measure against the morning's guesses; nearest estimate takes a bow. Estimation is a skill that GROWS. |
| Assessment | Recording sheets: 3 of 4 targets measured with correct technique observed; lengths ordered correctly; second estimate closer than the first for most children. |
| Teacher notes | Whole metres only this week — half-metres arrive in Week 8's estimation work. Chalk-marking the stick-end is the technique detail that separates clean data from chaos. |
| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) demonstrate halving of shapes and sets, and metre measurement (consolidation); (2) complete the week checkpoint. |
|---|---|
| Materials | Folding paper; counters and plates; metre sticks; checklist. |
| Key vocabulary | All week vocabulary |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) Warm-up: fold one fair half in ten seconds; speed-halves ladder round; touch your personal metre benchmark. |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) Round-up circuit with checklist: Table 1: fold a shape in half and prove fairness; sort three half-or-not cards. Table 2: share a set of 8 fairly and record; one ladder-check. Table 3: label two objects longer/shorter/about a metre; measure one target end-to-end. Table 4 (choice): design a "Fair Shares Cafe" menu picture where every item is halved. Teacher records throughout. |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Cafe menus displayed. Preview with a double-fold flourish: "Next week — fold the fold! QUARTERS arrive, and we measure the whole school in metres." |
| Assessment | Week 6 checkpoint: equal-parts halving (shape and set); metre benchmark and technique. Secure/developing per skill. |
| Teacher notes | Children who halved sets by dealing but cannot yet link to doubles need the ladder beside them next week — the link is efficiency, not correctness. |