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Girl with macaws

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Here’s another great photo to stimulate your students’ thinking about real-life maths.  Enya has 2 macaws on her shoulders. Why is this part of our maths resources photographs? How can this be used to promote mathematical thinking? Most of our photographs at first glance don’t shout “Mathematics” to you. Try to leapfrog from the photo to a wide range of mathematical possibilities. This photo could be the start of a class brainstorm. How many macaw species are there in our world today? What is the heaviest macaw species? The lightest? Which macaw species has the longest wing span? In what countries can you find macaws in the wild? What percentage of the earth is this?

 

What is the heaviest macaw species? How far do they fly on average? What territory do they cover? What do they eat? How much do they eat in a week? How many macaws, on average, would you need to balance your own body mass? How many years do they live? What might a model macaw kite look like?

Each of these suggestions could be the basis of mathematical research in your classroom.