Let's find out...

Today we are going to begin to look at familiar 3D shapes and think about whether they roll. Your first task is to find some everyday objects around your house (e.g. tin of beans, cereal box, a ball, a cup, a book). Take some time to explore these objects and think about what they feel like. Two key questions to think about are - do they have curved surfaces? Or do they have straight sides? Put these objects to one side for later. 

Take a look at the picture below. The children have collected some objects and made a ramp. They are going to place objects at the top of the ramp and see which objects roll down and which don't.

Discuss the following questions with an adult:

What are children pushing down the slide?

Do you know what shapes are they?

Which one do you think will roll?

Will they both roll?

What other objects can you see in the picture?

What kind of shapes are these?

Are there any other shapes in the picture that would roll down the slide?

Now it is your turn to experiment with your objects. Can you make a ramp or slide, similar to the one in the picture above. You might even had a real slide outside you could use or maybe you could rest a book diagonally against a box to create a ramp. Select one of your objects. Have a think about whether this item will roll down your ramp or not. How do we know if this object will roll? Feel the shape, does it have curved or straight sides? Test out your object on the ramp. Were you right? Does it roll? You can do this lots of time with your different objects. Can you think of any other shapes or objects at home that would roll down?

Our Power Maths friends Astrid and Ash have been experimenting with which objects roll too. Take a look at their work below and what they found.