The Mathomat V4 template is the same shape as Mathomat V2 but, like the Mathomat V3 template is 22% larger in area than Mathomat V2. It has the same great selection of shapes, arranged in a user friendly hierarchical pattern around its central protractor that you would expect in a Mathomat. The larger Mathomat V4 size makes the following improvements possible;
A bigger, less complex protractor
At the centre of the new large-format Mathomat templates is a new protractor, which is:
Big – It's oversize at 110mm diameter (120mm for the 180-degree protractor in Mathomat V5)
Open – the larger size creates more space between degree lines. Students can understand the protractor's structure more easily.
Simple – fewer degree scales - just the basics, labels are minimised, and protractor radius guides have a cleaner layout
Conventional – in the case of protractors, we think teachers and students need to find information exactly where they expect to see it. So our new protractors follow a conventional layout.
Larger shapes to draw with
In the Mathomat V4 template the side length of the larger group of polygons has been increased to 25mm (from 15mm in the Mathomat V2 template and 20mm in the new Mathomat V3). This allows for drawing useful sized nets to construct polyhedra and other 3-D shapes and for the drawing of larger 2-D patterns such as tessellation designs. An additional feature in the Mathomat V4 template is a special expansion scale for increasing regular polygon drawings to a 50mm radius to allow for creation of giant polyhedra models.
A useful feature of the Mathomat V4 template is that its larger regular polygons can be used in Make'N'Draw activities in which students create designs using physical pattern blocks, and are then challenged to redraw their design at full size using their Mathomat templates. This drawing challenge deepens student understanding by asking them to reconstruct their original block design.
Pattern blocks are used extensively in primary school, but they also have powerful applications at a middle school. The new Mathomat student manuals for Mathomat V4 will explore this potential, and extend from it using the soon to be released Math'O'Block range that will include all of the Mathomat template shapes, plus tangram and magic egg shapes, as well as shapes that are needed for construction of the Penrose Tiling
The Mathomat V4 template includes a new arc builder scale for drawing large diameter circles and arcs, as well as a new Tangram Tool. The tangram tool assistsstudents in the creation of usefully sized tangram puzzle designs, either by creation of tangram shapes or by directly drawing their designs from the template itself.
The usual great range of Mathomat shapes and scales
The Mathomat V4 template has all of the great range of shape stencils such as useful graduated circles, ellipses, regular polygons, quadrilaterals and graphing curves that you would expect. Mathomat V4 also has the same rich collection of number lines as before, such as a linear radian scale, millimetre and centimetre scale and 1:20,000 street directory scale.as well as isometric and parallel lines for technical drawing.
