Matthew Butcher, a Year 3 teacher from Nook Lane Junior School, Sheffield, shares his experience of creating a class music video about maths that went on to become an international success.
[View:http://www.youtube.com/v/3DAcXMeG5C4?fs=1?fs=1?fs=1?fs=1?fs=1?fs=1?fs=1?fs=1?fs=1?fs=1?fs=1?fs=1&rel=0]
It started a month ago, in a Maths lesson on 3D shapes. My class struggles with Maths, so I am always trying to invent new ways of teaching the subject.
I draw on a variety of learning styles that are as far away from the norm as possible. This time, I decided that a little music might be the perfect antidote to another boring lesson.
My class and I trawled YouTube for a song to help us learn about the properties of different 3D shapes - nothing! Then and there, we decided to make our own music video.
A week later, our debut video, 3D Shaper, had been written, filmed and launched on our new YouTube channel. Another week on and it’s still gaining momentum.
When we first made the video, I challenged the kids to produce something that would get at least 1,000 views. We never imagined that it would go further than that, or that it would end up inspiring children and teachers around the globe.
Right now, our video is being shared and liked on Facebook by some of the leading primary resources sites on the internet. We have received messages of support from countries including Latvia, Holland, America and Canada and our little video has now been shared in classrooms on each and every continent.
3,000 views in a week might sound like small fry in relation to Minecraft tutorials or dancing Stormtroopers, but it’s about as big as it gets for 60 eight-year-olds in a small school in Sheffield!
Our project cannot end here. The video now has over 6,000 views on Youtube and has been retweeted by the DfE and shared on their Facebook pages, but there is so much more to do.
We’re not glory-seekers, but we feel that we are doing something incredibly beneficial and we want many more people across the world to see our video.
