Ramadan Maths Activities: KS2 Topical Maths [5]

May (and the majority of June) in 2018 is Ramadan; when Muslims fast from early dawn to sunset in order to be closer to God. As such, it’s only fair that we get cracking with the Ramadan Maths activities.

The month-long fast is ideally placed to link Key Stage 2 Maths to the real world, discuss religion and Maths and celebrate diversity in your primary classroom.

Diversity in primary education

Diversity can be defined as the ways in which people are both alike and different; from race, ethnicity, culture, religion, class, and gender. As we know, diversity is hugely important in life and, in school, is crucial to forming an effective team (or classroom). If you have a diverse range of people tackling (for example) a Maths investigation, then you have a more diverse range of techniques and ideas to help you succeed!

In short, being in a room with a group of people with different ideas is much more productive than being in a room with people who all have the same ideas.

Maths and religion – symmetry in Islamic art

The stunning patterns that adorn mosques, madrasas and palaces around the world are both beautiful and mathematically inspired. Islamic art is created using symmetry and repeated geometric shapes. The image below? Made with Maths:

No matter how beautiful, pieces like this always start out simply; with a ruler and a pair of compasses. The framework for the art itself is based on Greek geometry, i.e the principles of building complex patterns and shapes using simple lines, repetition, and symmetry.

Why not try starting your Maths lessons by asking how pupils think Maths helped to create the image above? Then you could follow on with our topical Maths investigation linked to Ramadan (below). Or, for more summer-term 2018 activities linked to topical Maths in the classroom, download your free topical problem solving resource.

Ramadan Maths Investigation: ‘Fasting Times’