Category Archives: General

121. 75% Wrong Answers please!

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Sometimes you don’t get to a suitable point in a topic for a specific homework task, sometimes you want pupils to reflect on their understanding and sometimes the printer/copier breaks. What should you do?

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I get pupils to think about the work they’ve done and write two or three questions on a topic they’ve struggled with. They then answer their questions. Next they think about any misconceptions and write wrong answers. They then write an answer with a numerical error. So each question has one correct answer and three wrong answers.

Pupil perspective
They have had to review and reflect on their personal learning and then apply it to a question.

Teacher perspective
The teacher gets an idea of what the class as a whole understands and what misconceptions exist.

Follow Up Task
The teacher can type up the ‘best’ questions into a PowerPoint presentation to use as a multiple choice quiz activity. A class written resource is always fun to use.

Techy Task
For those of you lucky to have an interactive handset system, you have a ready made, personalised, multiple choice topic quiz.

118. App of the day

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Do you ever play the numbers round from the TV programme ‘Countdown’ in class?

I was on a training course the other week and whilst chatting in a break Sarah – a fellow delegate, introduced me to the free android Countdown app. It is so easy to use a 6 yr could (and does) use it.

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There are quick rounds, full games and practice mode. If you choose the number practice mode, you can randomly select numbers and it will even show you the solution. So you can use Countdown as a starter without scribbling numbers on a bit of paper and only being 10 seconds ahead of the class.

Download it from the android store by searching for ‘Countdown for Android’.

115. Decimate

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Here’s a nice (gory) problem to use as a plenary.

What does the word ‘Decimate’ or ‘Decimation’ mean?

The word derives from Latin meaning ‘to remove one tenth’.

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The original context is the punishment of a Roman Legion. The unit was divided into groups of ten and lots were drawn. The unlucky soldier was executed. A Cohort consisted of  480-500 soldiers, a Legion consisted of 10000 soldiers. How many would survive in a Cohort? How many would be executed in a Legion?

Now if the class were an unruly unit, how many would draw an unlucky lot?

A legend suggests that the Theban Legion was decimated in the third century AD. The Legion had refused, to a man, to accede to an order of the Emperor, and the process was repeated until none were left. They became known as the Martyrs of Agaunum (there are several sources on this).

Rather than execute your class I use this legend as a logic problem. Which pupil in the class is safe? Either the class stands, sitting when they are ‘executed’ or stand and then line up to leave. You can stop every few counts and ask who thinks they are safe. Last soldier standing leaves the lesson first!

Don’t have nightmares!

114. Pin Up Ideas

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A quick resource idea for you today:

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If you are not familar with Pinterest, it’s basically a digital pinboard of images, which usually have extra information or weblinks. There is a whole channel of education ideas – you can ‘Repin’ other people’s ‘Pins’ or upload your own. You can have several pinboards that are either public or private.

Go to Pinterest to browse the public boards. There are also official smartphone apps available from the appropriate stores.