Maya maths

Topics Year 4/5
This unit is part of Maya Maths and the Calendar

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Objectives

History

Develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study.
Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.
Undertake an in-depth study of a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history - The Maya civilization.

Maths

Appreciate the beauty and power of mathematics.
Develop their ability to solve a wider range of problems including increasingly complex properties of numbers and arithmetic.
Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.

Lesson Planning

Learn about the Maya numerals, their maths system and the Dresden Codex; use sticks, stones and shells to represent Maya numbers.

Teaching Outcomes:

To become familiar with the Dresden codex and its importance as evidence of Maya numerals.
To become familiar with the Maya maths system and use sticks, stones and shells to represent numbers.

Children will:

Become familiar with the Dresden Code and its importance as evidence of Maya numerals.
Explore the Maya maths system and use sticks, stones and shells to represent numbers.

Planning

Provided Resources

Maya numbers
The Dresden codex

Unit Resources

You Will Need

Shells and stones
Lolly sticks

Weblinks

The Maya number system and how to teach it using sticks, stones and shells - YouTube clip
Games to help children understand the Maya number system from maya.nmai.si.edu
The discovery of the Dresden codex - YouTube clip