Monthly Archives: April 2013

64. Through the square window

Did you get the ‘Through the square window’ reference? Hmmm… for those too young to remember the BBC programme ‘Playschool’ here is a picture:

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This activity is all about regular polygons. It would be best for primary pupils or lower ability KS3.

Equipment
Clear lids from big yoghurt pots.
Sharpie markers or similar
Post-it notes
Pencil, ruler, protractor, compasses

Prep

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On the reverse of a post-it note, draw a regular polygon.

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Stick the post-it on the underside of the lid.
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Trace the shape onto the plastic lid.
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Label it.

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You have just made a shape viewer!

Activity
Give pupils shape viewers and challenge them to find as many ‘real life’ examples of each shape as they can in the classroom or playground.

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As the lids are clear, pupils can look through them to find the shapes.

Note
You could make a rectangle viewer and challenge pupils to explain why it isn’t regular.

63. How to make GCSE past papers fun

Well folks, the end is in sight! Soon Y11 will be on study leave. Sure, there will be those conscientious few who come in for help or revision sessions, but the majority of pupils need the next month to considate their learning and be ready for their exams.

Are these teenagers buzzing with energy and keen to work? No.

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They are tired of being told about exam technique and interpreting questions. They are fed up with assessments and coursework. They are irritable with every non-teenager who mentions exams and ‘this is your future’. And most of all they are just tired because they are working late on deadlines that are suddenly tomorrow, rather than 6 months away.

How can you make yet another GCSE paper interesting?

It’s time to cut up the exam paper (see Foundation GCSE analysis for first scissor session).

Now this task will need some prep work. It is an adaptation of a Maths Relay.

Equipment
*Enough copies of a GCSE paper for 1 between 2 or 3.
(Variation: A set of themed questions, for example 15 questions on Algebra of graduated difficulty)
*Roughly three copies of the mark scheme.
*Your best 3 or 4 students to help manage the task. Alternatively,  mathematically minded sixth former or spare teacher would do. You could even put two classes together.

Optional: A spreadsheet with the pairs of students in the first column

Prep Work
You need to slice the papers into individual questions. Lay out the piles in number order across a desk.
The desks in the room need to be arranged to allow pair/group work and also movement around the room.
Your helpers need to be briefed about the activity.

Activity
Each pair is given the first question face down. When you say ‘Start’, they may write down their names on the question and answer the question.
When they have an answer, they must bring it to be checked.

Correct: it is ticked and they are issued with the next question.
Wrong: it is crossed and they try again.
Wrong twice: they are issued with the next question.

By using your most able student as checkers, you are enabling them to practise effectively checking work quickly and give hints. If they can check their own work in exams quickly, then they will have more time to answer harder questions. By giving hints they are consolidating their learning. Of course, the rest of the class can’t complain that the brightest will win as they are not taking part.

Differentiation
If you have a mixed tier/ability class you can colour code two exam papers: yellow for foundation, pink for higher. They can still race each other but at a more appropriate level.

About that optional spreadsheet
Set up a spreadsheet with the first column for names, the next 15 columns labelled 1-15 and the last column for the total.
Once a question is finished with you record correct/wrong with a 1/0 . You can then keep track of who is on which question with what success rate.

The more ICT-friendly teacher could use conditional formatting to highlight the cells and which team is winning.

Management
I have found it easiest to use helpers for checking and leave the spreadsheet recording to the class teacher. This allows the teacher to oversee and troubleshoot as required.

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Review
I’ve done this with low-ability Y11 last lesson on a Friday and was stunned at the engagement. Although that might have had something to do with the prize of first choice from a box of fondant fancies …

62. Stop the copying

Here’s a quick activity to stop copying and get pupils moving onto more challenging work.

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If you use worksheet banks such as 10ticks, you will sometimes find you have columns of questions which gradually get harder. Many pupils find long exercises like this a bit of a hard slog. The hard workers get on with it, the less motivated copy them. Do they even need to do all of them to make progress?

A simple solution is to vertically slice the worksheet into two or three pieces. Each piece has a selection of questions, with graduated difficulty. The pieces are easier to stick into books as they are smaller. There is less photocopying/printing cost and consequently it is more environmentally friendly.

Did I forget something?

Oh yes, if you are careful how you hand them out no two adjacent pupils have the same questions! To quote one of my class, who wanted to have a lazy lesson:

“Miss – You’ve done it to me again! I’ve got to do my own work!”

(And at least this time this particular pupil actually noticed, before they attempted to copy …)

61. St George’s Day Investigation

Here is a quick St George’s day area investigation for the 23rd April.

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What size cross must be drawn for the areas of red and white to be equal?

Assume the flag is a rectangle and the strips of the cross are the same width.

KS2/3: investigate by counting squares or working out areas.

KS3/4: extend to an algebraic solution if appropriate

If you like this post why not follow Maths Sandpit on twitter: @Ms_KMP

60. Special Offer 3

You know, once you start noticing odd logic in special offers, you notice them everywhere. I’m collecting all the ones I find with the aim of creating a numeracy/ mental arithmetic/ problem solving board. I hope it will start some good discussions – especially if I throw in some good value offers too.

Two 300ml pots of double cream:

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But 2 x 300ml = 600ml

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Like this particular places says “Every little helps!”.

59. Self Assessment Resources

I came across these free self assessment resources via Pinterest.
The Treasure Box
There are two themes: Self assessment and Traffic Lights.

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There are posters and sets of flags to download for each theme. They are bright and eye-catching.

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The posters alone could be a useful display tool. I’m already planning ahead for the next academic year!

The website also sells other teaching resources, such as stampers.

58. Free Revision App

I’ve recently started using the Edexcel Past Papers revision app (Apple & Android compatible) with my GCSE and A-Level classes.
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It is basically a database of past papers for all Edexcel subjects and qualifications, even iGCSE. You search by qualification, then subject, then exam session, then paper. The papers and mark schemes are already available on the internet, but the app is much quicker than googling them. It is not a complete revision resource, but it is fairly comprehensive app. Some of the PDFs are e-versions, some are scans. You can also share papers by email, which allows you to print.

The recent material is still only available through the secure teacher area of the Edexcel website, so your mock exams won’t be compromised.

My Y11 have downloaded it for personal use when they are on study leave. They suggested that even though they don’t use Edexcel for every subject, they could use it as a source of extra questions when they run out of revision materials. I’m actually impressed that they intend doing so much revision!

My Y12 have used this app in class for checking their work and also when they have forgotten the exam paper I have copied for them. It also saves me having to print out new papers and dashing to the printer. I find it rather handy having a selection of mark schemes in my pocket, especially when students are working on a variety of papers.

Note: This app has mixed reviews on both itunes and the Google Play store. I think it depends what your expectations are and what device you have.