The Bedfordshire Leading in Learning Group – Analogies – Scissors and skyscrapers
The Bedfordshire Leading in Learning Group
Thinking Activity: Analogies – Scissors and skyscrapers
Designed by: Kevin Wallis
Teacher’s Notes:
(E.g. suggestions for effective questioning, management of the task, bridging
scenarios etc.)
Oral/Mental Starter
Present students with some examples of analogies, which they may
have used in school or heard elsewhere.
E.g. the heart is like a pump; a telephone exchange is like the road
system; Maths is like a foreign language: it never hurts to understand
it even if you don’t use it.
Ask for any other examples they may have heard.
Main Activity
Present pupils with a Maths analogy selected from the matching cards.
E.g. vertically opposite angles are like the angles you see in a pair of
scissors.
Ask students if they think it is a ‘good’ analogy or not and to explain
their reasoning why.
E.g. Does it help you remember? Does it give you a clear picture?
Matching and ordering activity.
Explain that you are going to give the pupils some more analogies used
in Maths. Their task is to match the correct image to the analogy and
then put in order of how useful they think they are. Take feedback.
Choose one of the analogies again and list with the class the features
of the known part of the analogy (the source) which relate directly to
the unknown part (e.g. the vertically opposite angles.)
E.g. There are 4 angles in an open pair of scissors. There are 2 pairs of
angles, which are vertically opposite to one another.
Write down the aspects that make it a good analogy.
E.g. A pair of scissors has straight edges. All the angles are vertically
opposite.
Write down aspects which could make it fail as a good analogy.
E.g. Vertically opposite angles are equal but they might not realistically
be in a pair of scissors (see the image or hold up a real pair of
scissors.)
The Bedfordshire Leading in Learning Group – Analogies – Scissors and skyscrapers
(On the basis of this discussion you may want to give students a few
moments to reorder their analogies if necessary.)
In pairs, ask students to complete the ‘Analysing analogies’
worksheet for (some of) the given analogies, in the same way they
have just done as a class. The students could first draft their responses
using plastic sleeves. Some pupils may find it helpful to draw more
images to support their comments. The mark out of 10 column is to
allow students to express their comparisons numerically.
Extension: ask students to amend/improve one or more of their chosen
analogies or devise one of their own.
Take some feedback. You could use selected questions from the
Metacognition phase of the lesson (see the Leading in Learning
Document.)
E.g.
Which analogies give you a clear picture in your mind? What can
you see? How does it help you?
Which aspects of an analogy worked least well or not at all and
can you explain why?
Why do we need analogies? How do they help anybody?
Plenary
For one or more of the analogies discuss how they could be refined to
make them more accurate.
E.g. The scissors would need to have blades that have parallel edges.
Ask the students to come up with alternatives.
Bridging scenario
Make the point that analogies are a common device in literature,
although in the way that has been demonstrated today, they are not
always very effective.
E.g. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a
bowling ball wouldn't.
From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie,
surreal quality, like when you're on holiday in another city and
‘Coronation Street’ comes on at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30.
Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the centre.
‘Are the reasons the analogies in English aren’t effective the same as
the reasons they aren’t in Maths?’
More examples are on the website:
http://paul.merton.ox.ac.uk/language/analogies.html
The Bedfordshire Leading in Learning Group – Analogies – Scissors and skyscrapers
Analogies for Maths
 Maths is like an insurance policy:
it’s better to have it and not need
it than to need it and not have it.
 Maths is like a foreign language:
it never hurts to understand it
even if you don’t use it.
The Bedfordshire Leading in Learning Group – Analogies – Scissors and skyscrapers
Vertically opposite angles are like
the angles you see in a pair of
scissors.
The Bedfordshire Leading in Learning Group – Analogies – Scissors and skyscrapers
The addition and
subtraction of negative
numbers is like the rising
and falling of the liquid in a
thermometer.
Large gradients are like
steep hills.
Negative gradients are
like skiing downhill.
An equation is just like a
balance with equal weights
on both sides.
An n-shaped parabola is
like the path of a golf
ball just after it has been
struck.
The Bedfordshire Leading in Learning Group – Analogies – Scissors and skyscrapers
Plotting coordinates is
like getting to a point by
walking along a corridor
and up some stairs.
Vertically opposite angles
are like the angles you
see in a pair of scissors.
Train tracks are like
parallel lines.
Finding the mean
average is like making
the heights of
skyscrapers in Singapore
all the same.
The median is like the
medium.
The Bedfordshire Leading in Learning Group – Analogies – Scissors and skyscrapers
Analysing analogies
Analogy
‘This could be seen as a good
analogy because…’
E.g. Vertically opposite angles  …there are 2 pairs of
are like the angles you see in a
angles, which are opposite
pair of scissors.
one another.
‘This could fail as a good
analogy because…’
 … the opposite angles
would only be equal if the
edges of the scissor blades
were parallel.
Mark out of
10.
The Bedfordshire Leading in Learning Group – Analogies – Scissors and skyscrapers
Analysing analogies
Analogy
‘This could be seen as a good
analogy because…’
‘This could fail as a good
analogy because…’
Mark out of
10.
The Bedfordshire Leading in Learning Group – Analogies – Scissors and skyscrapers
Worst analogies ever!
The little boat gently drifted across the pond
exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.
From the attic came an unearthly howl. The
whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like
when you're on holiday in another city and
"Coronation Street" comes on at 7 p.m. instead
of 7:30.
Her eyes were like two brown circles with big
black dots in the centre.