10 August 2016

5 Maths Gems #61

Welcome to my 61st update from the world of Maths EduTwitter. Here I summarise some of the latest ideas and resources for teaching maths.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer break. I've been busy having lots of fun with my lovely daughters. We're going to stay on a farm near Hastings next week - looks like I might even get good weather! I'm starting to feel a bit nervous (and excited!) about A level and GCSE results - not long to wait now...

1. Magic
Thanks to Susan Russo (@Dsrussosusan) for sharing this Crystal Ball activity from @Yummymath. It's great fun! This might not work on a mobile - do try it on a computer if you can. Everyone likes a bit of mathematical sorcery... and the interesting bit is trying to figure out how it works.

2. Planet Nutshell
I spotted some good maths clips at Planet Nutshell. For example you could show this short proportional relationships video as part of a GCSE lesson (proportional graphs are featured on the new GCSE specification).



It's worth checking out the full range of videos. Short video clips can sometimes complement a lesson nicely.

3. Puzzles 
Through the @Team_Maths1 Twitter account I've been tweeting a Don Steward resource everyday using the hashtag #DonADay. In doing so I found the lovely activity 'Sacks' which I'd not seen before.

Do check out Don's latest set of number puzzles too.

I've also been enjoying the problems shared by Five Triangles (@Five_Triangles) recently. These two problems would work well at Key Stage 3 or 4:

a. Find x
b. The trapezium has height 22cm. The ratio of areas of triangles ⓐ to ⓑ is 4:5. Find area of shaded triangle.
4. Infinite Fractions
If you have 14 minutes spare for mathematical enrichment this summer, I recommend this video:



I really enjoyed this.

5. Planner 
I know this won't appeal to everyone, but if you're a fan of pretty stationery than you might want to design your own planner...  I've done it for the first time this year. The website is very easy to use and it's amazing how much you can customise - size, cover, binding, contents (which can include seating plans, mark sheets, behaviour logs etc...). If you want one for September I recommend ordering soon. I've been sent a code for 10% off (YDJ5PLX) which someone might benefit from. I love my new planner!

Update
In case you missed them, here are my recent posts:

I also created a new page of classroom display ideas from various sources.

I was pleased that my blog was ranked second in Vuelio's Top 10 UK Education Blogs 2016.

Today I went to Bletchley Park with a lovely group of maths teachers from Twitter. We had a fantastic day and were treated to a special demonstration of an Enigma machine from @TeaKayB. If you haven't been to Bletchley Park before then I really recommend a visit.
La Salle have now confirmed the date of their next Pie and Maths event. It's on Tuesday 23rd August and you can book here. See Gems 37 for my write-up of last summer's event. I'm hoping to go along for the drinks this year.

#mathsconf8 is on Saturday 1st October in Kettering- I've now booked a room at the Premier Inn for the Friday night. Do come along to the conference - if you're not sure what happens at these conferences, here are some write-ups of past events: #mathsconf6, #mathsconf5, #mathsconf4, #mathsconf2015 and Gems 8.

Finally, I'll leave you with this joke - I spotted it in a back issue of Chris Smith's weekly maths newsletter.




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