Maths - It's a kind of magic Last Updated: 19 October, 2012 Section: resources Help the police to nab an illicit party's fantastical guests The year 3s were delighted when they trooped into their classroom for what should have been an ordinary maths lesson. Instead, there was evidence that a party had taken place overnight. Not just any party, but one held by magical people, some of whom appeared to have been the size of fairies, while others seemed to have had "giant" status. On the floor were items that had been hastily discarded in the magical guests' rush to leave. And there was a letter from Chief Inspector Twinkletoes of the local police, which read: "We have reason to believe that last night a magical party took place in your classroom. We need your help to apprehend the suspects. On your tables is evidence to help you create a life-size image of the magical people." The children paired up (care was taken to mix up the range of abilities) before forming groups of six. In front of them was carefully wrapped "evidence". One group had some tiny shoes, another a pair of flippers from a doll, a third a photocopy of an enlarged thumbprint, a fourth some large clogs, and on the final table was a huge handprint. The children spent time thinking about how they could work out the sizes of the magical people before most groups created their own non-standard unit to use as a measure. One