Real-life maths is all around us – we just need to keep our eyes open. This photograph of Maria and 30 eggs was taken at our local cafe, The Spanish Deli, this morning. I couldn’t resist sharing this one with you all. Multiplication and division in action. These eggs had just been delivered in a 5 x 6 array. How many is that altogether? How do you know? e.g. 10 x 6 = 60 and half that is 30. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 if you count by 5s. What if Maria had 2 trays delivered? How many eggs would that be? 10 trays like this? If Maria orders 100 trays like this in a month how many eggs might that be in one day? If she uses 3 eggs in every omelette how many omelettes can she make from 1 tray? 2 trays? 10 trays?
We can go on forever thinking of possible maths questions to solve. But that’s what you need to do with your students – encourage them to create their own questions. They can consider costs per tray and per egg, cost of a hamburger with an egg, cost of an omelette with 3 eggs.
How can you use this photograph today in your classroom?