Maths and science naturally complement each other. Science generates data that can be collected, analysed and presented in various ways. When working scientifically, children are expected to search for patterns in the results they collect and to interpret evidence and draw conclusions. This provides lots of opportunities to use maths skills in science lessons and vice versa.

By integrating maths with science, it’s possible to take away some of the abstract nature of maths and make it more relevant and meaningful.

The Fibonacci Project published a guide with ideas about progression in teaching science and maths across the curriculum. You can download a copy here. Children have the chance to use many different mathematical skills in science: measuring time, weight, length and volume; estimating; calculating means and percentages; using negative numbers (for example when taking temperatures); representing data graphically; plotting and interpreting graphs, and using them to make predictions.

Maths Planning

Look for opportunities to include numeracy skills as a natural part of science lessons. Numeracy is best promoted when it is not crowbarred into every lesson but occurs naturally within relevant and real-life contexts.

Be aware of what maths skills the children should be using at each stage. Don’t introduce concepts the children haven’t yet been taught, such as averages and percentages. Alternatively, if you feel the children are ready for such concepts, aim to work them into science lessons.

Keep a record of the numeracy skills you are using in science so that you can track what has been taught. Map this out if you can.

Putting Maths in Context

You can make maths relevant to children by using it as part of a wider STEM activity, drawing on a real-world context that requires science and maths skills to make sense of data and develop designs and solutions.

For example, the children could be given the problem of helping a local football team to grow grass for a football pitch, investigating how to produce the best results. This activity would require children to measure several variables, including temperature, the volume of water, depth of soil and length of grass, as well as carrying out tests, analysing results and presenting their findings.

Proportions and ratios can be taught in the context of the animal kingdom. Children could carry out research to discover the size of the wingspan of an albatross, the tongue of a butterfly or the eyes of a squid compared to the lengths of their bodies. It can be helpful and interesting to then find out how big these would be scaled up to human size.

Measuring

Science presents many different opportunities for children to measure length, weight and volume using various pieces of equipment. This allows the development of measuring skills – including:

• Measuring cylinders – measuring rainfall, measuring the amount of water absorbed by different types of material
• Force meters – measuring the force needed to pull a shoe across different surfaces
• Metre rules – measuring the range of an elastic band catapult or the height that a ball bounces
• Time – measuring how long it takes for a paper helicopter to fall or for sugar to dissolve
• Temperature – measuring how temperature changes in different parts of the school, or at different times of day. Measuring how long it takes for water to cool in a regular and insulated cup
• Angles – looking at the reflection of light on a mirror, investigating how adjusting the angle of a torch changes the size of a shadow or using angles to calculate the height of a tree.

Encourage the children to think about how accurate the measurements they take are. Can they suggest ways to make them better?

Presenting and Interpreting Data

Science provides opportunities for children to use different formats to present the data they have collected. This includes being able to draw different types of graph and decide which graph is the most appropriate for the data collected.

Children are expected to be able to create and use pictograms, bar charts, line graphs and scattergraphs. Data for all of these graphs can be produced during science practical work, via experiments, surveys or research. Look at the different investigation types to get ideas.

Often, children are able to draw graphs from data they are given, but then find it difficult to interpret what that graph represents. If the children were involved in collecting the data represented by the graph, they will have a better chance of understanding what the graph is telling them.

Software such as data loggers or spreadsheets can be used to quickly create graphs, removing the need to draw them by hand. This can free up more time for analysis. However, such software shouldn’t be used every time: it is important that children practise drawing graphs by hand.

Note: A version of this blogpost was originally written for Reach Out CPD. See the full version, and the rest of the course, here.