Spaghetti and Meatballs for all- a mathematical story about optimizing area and perimeter…

The story is about The Comforts inviting 32 people for lunch. We see Mrs Comfort hiring 8 square tables to seat 4 at each table.  However, as the guests begin to arrive and they start putting the tables together so that they sit together, we see that although the area remains the same, the perimeter doesn’t!

We practiced the seating with square cut-cut-outs for a whole class activity and discussion. Later we used square bits of paper to recreate different ways of arranging the tables on our Maths Journal.  After that we progressed to draw different combinations of using the same area but different perimeter.

We also applied this to real life situations as seen in restaurants and big family gatherings.

Submitted by Ms Sharon D’Amico, Yr 6.2 Class Teacher