Forests & Figures
Introduction
I’m going to be writing a report about how Forest Schools is connected with numeracy. This will be
regarding information about how maths is involved with trees, fires, t-pees and obstacle courses.
Height of a tree
The measurement of a tree is linked with numeracy because you have to use the knowledge that you
know about measuring. To measure the height of a tree you have to put your head under your legs until
you see the very top of the tree but if you are unable to see the peak of the tree you then have to step
back a few paces until you can. After that you measure from the tree to the person (in metres) and
you’ve found the height of the tree.
I was a confident individual during this activity because I was terrible at measuring the height of a tree in
metres but after a couple of weeks of practice it really boosted my confidence. I was an effective
contributor while we were doing this activity because I was able to work collaboratively when we were
measuring from the tree to the person. I became a successful learner on this activity because I managed
to improve every week on this measuring challenge. I was responsible at this given post because I
double checked that I measured the tree correctly.
Tree Age
There are a lot of mathematical ways of finding the age of a tree. The easiest one is when you find a tree
stump and count how many rings are inside the trunk. Another way is to measure around the tree and
you divide it by 1.2 if there are trees within in six metres but if there aren’t any trees within six metres
you divide it by 2.5. On some trees there are rings on the branches so you just count them up and
you’ve got the age of the tree.
I was a successful learner during this activity because I was able to divide by decimal points and I was
able to measure by using a fabric tape. I was a confident individual because this task made me more
confident in dividing with decimals. I was a responsible citizen in this activity because I always made sure
that my division was correct. I was an effective contributor because the group and I were able to
communicate and help each other with the division and the measurement.
Obstacle Course
An obstacle course was involved with maths in measurement and time. It was involved with
measurement because you had to measure string and set out the course but the most important thing I
learned from that was that measuring has to be very precise or it won’t work. The time that was
involved in this activity was with a stopwatch because some people got allocated to be the timer for the
people who did the course and once they finished it they sometimes had to say the time aloud so we
could learn how to say minutes, seconds and milliseconds. E.g. 3.53.17 that would be three minutes,
fifty-three seconds and seventeen milliseconds.
I was an effective contributor during this because the group and I were able to communicate and
measure the length of string without being in disagreement with one another. I was a successful learner
because I successfully managed to use milliseconds correctly. I was a confident individual when we were
doing the obstacle course because I managed to say the time it took someone to go around the obstacle
course aloud. I was a responsible citizen because we re-used the string for other items like frame, tripod
and t-pees.
Camp Fire
Surprisingly there is a lot of maths involved with fire making like grading measurements and shapes. One
of the things is that you’ve got to make a tripod because that’s where all the newspaper, brash and
pencil thickness sticks go. Grading is another thing to do with maths because you have to organise all
your materials into neat piles. You also have to make a grid at the bottom of the fire. Another thing to
do with numeracy is that you have got to cut logs into the measurement of the tripod.
I was a successful learner while we were doing the camp fire because it was the first time I had ever
made a 3D shape out of sticks and it helped me see how many faces, edges and corners the 3D shape
had. I was an effective contributor because I was able to help someone out with the measurement of
the logs. I was a confident individual because I confidently managed to separate the materials we
needed by myself. I was responsible citizen during this activity because I made sure that the
measurements of my logs were right and the string on the top of the tripod was tight enough.
T- Pees
The numeracy that is involved with t-pees is mainly measurments and shapes. The shapes are involved
with the t-pees are 3D and you get shapes like tripods, cones and triangular prisms. The measurments of
the wood has be very accuratein this activity because if you don’t the t-pee would probably be uneven
and there is possibility it would collapse.
I was a responsible citizen during this activity because I used my knowledge that I already knew about
shapes and that helped get through this task. I was a successful learner because I was able to get the
measurments of the wood accurate. Iwas an effective contributor while were doing this because the
group and I helped each other out with the measuring. I was a confident individual because I was
confident about making the shape of the t-pee.
Writing Frame
The maths that’s linked with this is measurement. The measurement that you’ve got to do isn’t hard but
it isn’t easy. What you have to do is measure the paper first so you can find the length of wood you
need. After that you have to cut the wood to the size of the paper, very precisely, and you’ve got a
wooden frame.
I was an effective contributor for this activity because I was able to help my partner with the
measurement. I was a successful learner because I was able accurately measure the paper and frame. I
was a responsible citizen during this activity because I responsibly managed to measure with wood. I
was a confident individual because I managed to do a frame all by myself.
Compasses and Bearings
We involved compasses and bearings regularly in the forest. We used compasses by laying down some
sticks on the forest floor in a circular shape and then we put North, South, East and West. We linked
bearings with mathematics by making a miniature course and we had to put angles for the corners. Then
we had to blind fold a person and they had to go round the course but there was a navigator. The
navigator has to direct the person and tell them what angle of turn they have to make.
I was a confident individual during this activity because I was able to navigate and say the correct angles
to the person who was blind folded. I was an effective contributor because I managed to help my group.
I was a successful learner on this activity because I was able to use angles correctly and I used to be
pretty pathetic at angles but forest schools turned that around. I was a responsible citizen because I was
able to help out my group if they got something incorrect.