Monday, November 1, 2010

Mathematics and Environment?? How and How much are they connected!!



Day in day out, whether or not, are we aware that Mathematics and Environment are inseparable! True enough, I used to take the MRT to SEED Institute, and am not aware that there are lots of Mathematical concepts, we can catch the children's attention to tie with the Concepts learnt in class.
Children learnt to read maps in the MRT routes to enhance their Topological Skills. There is Sequencing in the Map too, like after one station, what is the next station.They will be introduced to terms like'before' and 
'in between'. They learn Ordinal Numbers of 1st,2nd,3rd,4th...
Taking a ride in the MRT, requires the passenger to make some payments. Through MRT fares, children learn Multiplication. They can make predictions of how much money is going to be deducted
from their MRT pre-paid cards. Children will problem solve and started to think, how much is the fare going to be.
Another pointer to take note is learning about directions and locations like right, left,North, South, East and West. These are concepts of Spatial awareness. Children will gain an understanding of positional Language.
Other concepts e.g Distance, Money and Time gives an insight that Mathematics is a Fun-Learning subject ever.....
Distance from Tampines MRT to Tanah Merah MRT, the concepts of _________km away.