Following on from a successful pilot project, the Natural Curriculum in collaboration with NRICH, have designed a set of KS2 Maths problem-solving lessons, inspired by compelling BBC natural history clips.

The lessons, which consolidate mathematical knowledge in areas such as measurement, geometry and statistics, are split in to three parts:

• Screen 1 states the learning objective and useful prior knowledge, followed by an engaging natural world clip that provides a hook and a context to the problem. There’s a short whiteboard challenge designed to get the children thinking strategically and consolidate procedural fluency.
• Screen 2 introduces the problem and provides a visual aid to help pupils get started. Don’t miss the interesting fact which can encourage class discussion and act as a great springboard to other areas of learning.
• Screen 3 suggests some further challenges and activities, along with a downloadable worksheet and a related clip to feed the children’s fascination with nature.

A Quick Guide to Natural Curriculum’s star ratings:

⭐ 1 star challenges are designed for children with prior knowledge of the Year 3 National Curriculum (2014, England & Wales) Programme of Study

⭐⭐ 2 star challenges are designed for children with prior knowledge of the Year 3 and Year 4 National Curriculum (2014, England & Wales) Programme of Study

⭐⭐⭐ 3 star challenges are designed for children with prior knowledge of the Year 4 and Year 5 National Curriculum (2014, England & Wales)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 star challenges are designed for children with prior knowledge of the Year 5 and Year 6 National Curriculum (2014, England & Wales)

Webinar:

In November 2023, lessons from the site were introduced in a webinar for teachers entitled ‘The nature of problem-solving in the primary maths classroom’. Here are some recordings from the webinar:

“At NRICH, we actively seek engaging contexts so that learners want to explore the Maths, derive enjoyment from the tasks and are encouraged to persevere with solving problems and finding solutions. We are delighted to be collaborating with the Natural Curriculum. Our team has drawn inspiration from the BBC’s world-class library of natural history footage.to develop exciting and engaging problem-solving challenges for young learners which link to their school curriculum.”

Dr Ems Lord, Director, NRICH

“The first ever natural world film clip that I used in a Maths lesson was from the BBC Blue Planet series. In the clip, Sir David Attenborough reels off some impressive number facts about the size of the mighty blue whale. With my then Year 5 class captivated, it was the perfect way to kick start a unit on measurement and length.”

David Millington, teacher and content creator, Natural Curriculum

With Thanks

To get the Natural Curriculum maths lessons to this point, thanks must be given to a number of organisations and individuals:

First and foremost, the BBC – for producing the incredible programmes that make the Natural Curriculum possible, and everyone involved in the creation of the captivating natural history clips upon which each lesson is based.

Dr Ems Lord and Liz Woodham (NRICH, Cambridge University) – for sharing their expertise and providing invaluable feedback on all of the lessons.

Katy Heard – a teacher at The Marist School, Ascot, whose fabulous lessons include The Mischievous Macaque (place value), Leopard & Tiger (statistics), Safety in Numbers (multiplication and division), Great White (patterns) and Rhino in Town (Fractions)

Rachel Bradley – a teacher at The Riddings Junior School, Derbyshire, who has written a fabulous problem-solving maths lesson titled ‘Leaf Cutter Ants’ (measurement and time).

Rachael Vaughan – a teacher, who has written a fabulous problem-solving maths lesson titled ‘Helping Hawks’ (fractions, decimals and percentages).