This week in maths, we linked our learning to our wider term topic – Ancient Egyptians by undertaking a mathematical investigation about the pyramids. The Egyptians made their pyramids by cutting stone blocks and placing them in layers in square arrangements, one layer on top of the other, getting smaller as they reached the top. They would need to predict how many blocks they would need to make pyramids of different sizes.
The investigation had the children working in small groups recording their findings, looking at the relationship between square numbers and the number of blocks required for each layer. They were able to recognise patterns and work out how the Egyptians would have added the number of blocks needed in each layer to make pyramids of different heights. What a fun way to link to Egypt and think mathematically around a problem.
