Y5 h/w:'Research a famous mathematician': poster/powerpoint/article- 2 hrs work.. Who?

[ampere]

Can any of you clever lot come up with a suitable mathematician DS can research? He could only think of Isaac Newton, which is OK, but can you think of any others?

I'm with Goblinchild - bored with the line of questioning, CCF. Several teachers, including me, have told you which skills this homework would be perfect for. It's good homework - give it up!

It's in the title

Oh don't be so rude and unpleasant ffs. There is no evidence that homework is of any benefit for primary age pupils, and I strongly suspect this sort of stuff is done by parents anyway.

Fgs, CCF, everyone told you! Literacy - reading, writing, speaking and listening all rolled into one, History, ICT, etc, etc.

The subject is NOT in the title.

So if it is so obvious, what will it teach children? The subject that this homework was given for is absolutely not in the title.

And I don't think getting your mum to google for you is a particularly helpful skill for adulthood.

They don't have to learn anything from Alan Turing they have to research information about him (or someone of their choice). The teacher could have said research a great writer or scientist or social reformer or someone who won a Nobel prize (anyone )

No one has been rude or unpleasant - your questions were answered pleasantly, and you asked them again!

Only on MN could this thread turn into a scrap!

-Research- a famous mathematician': (produce a) -poster/powerpoint/article-

I think this thread (and the fact that a mother is asking MN to do her son's homework) clearly illustrates what studies have shown - homework for primary age children is useless at best, harmful at worst.

Presenting is an ICT skill, and a Speaking and Listening skill. Writing a poster/article/powerpoint will benefit writing skills. Own research will benefit research skills (cross-curricular).

I am not at all a fan of homework, but this one is actually interesting, and incorporates much of the curriculum in many subjects.

Research a famous mathematician(irrelevant)': (create a ) poster/powerpoint/article

Turing, great for relationship between maths and the real world, or Galois, revolutionised number theory then died in a duel aged 19, or Fermat, who left a puzzle for people to work on for centuries, or Archimedes (bath tub, defied the roman invaders) or Pythagoras, (triangle theorem that 9 year old can understand + brilliantly loopy philosophy).

She is NOT asking us to do the homwework, she is asking for suggestions on whom the homework should be on. No one has done any of the research for him, and no one here with create the powerpoint/poster/article. You are being unnecessarily churlish, CCF.

Mrz - you can use all the angular brackets you like but it doesn't answer my question. I asked what SUBJECT this was homework FOR, and that is NOT in the title.

ColdComfortFarm the child's mother is asking for suggestions about whom the child can research it isn't the same as asking mumsnet to do his homework. He can select from the suggestions and do his research and produce his poster/powerpoint/article

If this nine or ten year old child cannot think of or reserach a mathematician on his own without his mum's intervention, then I doubt he could research or produce a caluable powerpoint presentation on one without 'help' either.

It's not necessarily 'for' a specific subject at all, lots of the work done in primary schools is cross-curricular, especially if the school is following a creative curriculum, as the one I work at does.

Your question has been answered many times over, CCF. I suggest you read the thread again if you have missed them.

ColdComfortFarm if you aren't able to recognise that conducting research is a skill that covers a number of subjects (literacy/history/ICT) then I'm not surprised you are struggling to understand what people are telling you

'research' obviously. My nine year old (predicted level 5 in SATS) would not know where to start with this either. It is silly homework.

"If this nine or ten year old child cannot think of or reserach a mathematician on his own without his mum's intervention, then I doubt he could research or produce a caluable powerpoint presentation on one without 'help' either."

You can't possibly know that. You are just being mean for the sake of it now.

Most of my Y5 class would. They are used to researching and presenting from the Literacy/ICT curriculum. And, if your dc is at a state school and therefore following the NC, so do they.