VO: Mr Measure is meant to be clearing out all his old toys for the school jumble sale, but he’s having a trip down memory lane instead. He used to love that book. Ooh, what’s this?
Many years ago, Dad made a time capsule and filled it full of treasures. He put in all kinds of precious things, like money, and said goodbye to his favourite toys. And then he buried it in the woods. He made a map so that, one day, when he was older, he could find it again. But for 30 years that map has been lost. Now he’s found it, the directions he needs to find his lost treasures. Before you can say time capsule, he’s off to the woods.
VO: Mr Measure’s brought along everything he needs. A spade, a tape measure, a metal detector, and his son Ethan with his trusty compass.
The map says to start at the old climbing tree and walk north for ten metres. It’s Ethan's job to find north on the compass. That’s it. So Dad walks north for ten metres. Stop!
Dad Measure: Ten metres. Ok.
VO: He’s winding him in like a fish. Next, go East for 12 metres. Ethan knows that the needle on a compass always points to the north. He’s lined up the needle with N, and from there, they work out where east is. Can you see it?
Dad Measure: Never, eat, shredded, wheat. East.
VO: Never Eat Shredded Wheat, NESW, is a good way of remembering the four points of the compass, in the right order. And of course you can eat Shredded Wheat. Next they have to walk to the south east for nine metres. This is half way between south and east. Then north for 23 metres. Stop! The final instruction is go west for 4 metres. That’s it, they’ve found the tree.
Dad Measure: Riches here we come.
VO: Draw your own map of the route that Dad and Ethan took to find the treasure. Use a scale of 1 cm to 1 m.
On your map, using compass directions, plot a quicker route from the first tree to where the time capsule is buried.
Reverse the directions on the original map to get Dad and Ethan back to the tree they started from.
Video summary
Mr Measure finds a map he made as a boy.
The map gives directions using compass points and distances in metres to find the hidden time capsule he buried in the woods 30 years ago.
Mr Measure and his son go to the woods and follow the instructions on the map using a compass and tape measure.
The viewer is then ask us to draw the map of their route using a 1cm to 1m scale, to plot a quicker route and finally to reverse the directions.
This is from the series: Let's Do Maths.
Teacher Notes
This clip could be used to cover directions, distance, scale and map reading and can be used as a starting point for related learning of co-ordinates in four quadrants.
Other ideas include plotting routes to school and around the local area using different scales.
Use the beginning of the clip to introduce the idea of the time capsule and what goes inside.
What do you think might go in a time capsule to sum you up? Using ICT apparatus, move it around a map or board by inputting several directions.
Can you get it to different places on your map in the minimum number of moves?
This could also be followed up by getting the children to give each other directions or instructions when blindfolded to get to different locations.
To challenge pupils, a vocabulary card could be given out to the person giving the instructions and the children are not allowed to say these.
This clip will be relevant for teaching Maths at KS2 in England and Wales, Early and First Level and Second Level in Scotland and KS1 and KS2 in Northern Ireland.
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