Teachers TV: Whiteboard Numeracy Ratio and Proportion

In this Teachers TV programme primary maths consultant Darren Ellsum introduces the idea of using ICT in numeracy teaching to illustrate abstract topics. In the first of two lessons, advanced skills teacher Liz Walker uses presentation software in edit mode to illustrate ratio to her students in Bexley. Children work in pairs using the programme to give the ratio of coloured blocks in different groups. She uses the programme to show students how to scale up the ratio then shows how they can apply their knowledge to real life worded problems. In the second lesson, Liz works with a smaller group, introducing proportion by looking at photographs of themselves that are out of proportion. They then investigate Leonardo da Vinci’s proposition that the length of our face fits exactly eight times into the length of our body using images of themselves to test this idea.