Resourceaholic
Ideas and resources for teaching secondary school mathematics
12 May 2024
Love Triangle Book Launch
8 April 2024
5 Maths Gems #179
Here are some things you might have missed:
- LUMEN launched their Key Stage 3 curriculum: learn about it here.
- Your students might be interested in this Polypad competition. The deadline for entries is 17th May.
- Designing your own maths resources? This geoboard from @StudyMaths makes very neat diagrams.
🚨New episode🚨@mathsjem discusses 10 strategies that led to her and her team's incredible GCSE Maths results. Jo talks a lot of sense - apart from when it comes to mini-whiteboards. Enjoy!https://t.co/HJAFMHRFoo pic.twitter.com/14eQWhkovn
— Craig Barton (@mrbartonmaths) April 3, 2024
31 March 2024
The Factor Method for HCF and LCM
When I trained to be a teacher I was told that the Venn Method was THE way to find HCFs and LCMs. A few years later a colleague showed me a very different method that she'd learnt from a student, and this is what started my fascination with methods. I went on to write the book A Compendium of Mathematical Methods.
Never trust anyone who says that a particular method is the best way of doing something because there is absolutely no research to back up their claim (it's a great shame that no one in maths education academia does large scale studies comparing methods - it seems like a big gap in our profession's pedagogical subject knowledge). However, I think it's reasonable to describe something as a favourite method. The Factor Method is definitely my favourite.
I've a made a 28 minute video explaining in detail how to find HCFs and LCMs using the Factor Method. This is a video for teachers, not for students. In it I model a number of examples, including those that might spark discussion. I also talk about how we can use this method to find an HCF and LCM of three numbers, and how we can easily use the Factor Method to work backwards.9 March 2024
5 Maths Gems #178
I really like this tweet from @catrionateaches. When teaching inverse proportion I always talk about constant products but then I head straight into the formula y = k/x. Catriona suggests a subtle change in method.
2. Graph Transformations
It's great to see a new resource published for teaching graph transformations - I always find that this is the GCSE topic for which it's trickiest to find suitable resources, because many tasks still include stretches (these were removed from the syllabus back in 2017 - GCSE now just covers reflections and translations).
Do check out MathsPad's full range of interactive tools - some of them are free to use even if you don't subscribe (you really should subscribe to MathsPad though!).
3. GeoGebra
⚖️ GEOGEBRA RESOURCE! 📏
— GeoGebra (@geogebra) February 27, 2024
Try this FREE GeoGebra Exploration resource to convert units within a given system of measurement. Check it out! https://t.co/RQuWgxlNTR#mtbos #iteachmath #math #mathematics pic.twitter.com/qbp4U8DIFj
📦🐭 GEOGEBRA RESOURCE! 🥡🐱
— GeoGebra (@geogebra) February 27, 2024
Try this FREE GeoGebra Practice resource to draw box-and-whisker plots from a set of data. Check it out! https://t.co/VsqOGblJ2P#MTBoS #iteachmath #math #statistics pic.twitter.com/GAz9gbyLAR
🦾 GEOGEBRA RESOURCE! 🎰
— GeoGebra (@geogebra) March 4, 2024
Try this NEW & FREE GeoGebra Exploration resource to convert a number from standard form to expanded form one place value at a time. Check it out! https://t.co/vAIXvL5g48#MTBoS #iteachmath #math #mathematics pic.twitter.com/UXSN3RHQ69
@nathanday314 shared a clever set of questions on Pythagoras' Theorem. There's a lot of challenge here (check out Question 12). Question 3 is deliberately impossible, and note the subtle differences between Questions 3, 4 and 5.
Update
Here are some other things you might have missed:
- The NCETM continue to publish their set of secondary mastery professional development materials. Their first set of Key Stage 4 materials focuses on numerical structure. These materials contain lots of teaching ideas that are well worth exploring.
- @1stclassmaths has shared GCSE Predicted Paper 1 for both Edexcel and AQA. After Paper 1 takes place in May he will publish Predicted Paper 2s, and after Paper 2 he will publish Predicted Paper 3s. These papers will be very high quality so I recommend following @1stclassmaths for updates.
- @cclay8 has shared some more of her excellent calculator guides for the new Casio model.
- @MattTheApp continues to share numerous resources for GCSE preparation on Maths White Board including maths formula sheet familiarisation tasks.
- @AMercerMaths shared a fantastic example of a curriculum booklet on diagonals in quadrilaterals.
14 February 2024
5 Maths Gems #177
He has produced numerous other resources including Grade 1 GCSE Maths Questions where he has combined the first two pages of Foundation GCSE maths papers, and a set of questions on Reverse Mean.
2. Oak National Academy
It's good to see the collection of maths resources at Oak National Academy has grown since I last blogged about them in Gems 175. Here are a few extracts.
4. Etymology Update
I'm looking forward to conference season. I will be at #mathsconf34 in Yate (near Bristol) on 16th March presenting on 'Ten Strategies for Good GCSE Results'.
Over the Easter holidays I'll be at the Joint Conference of the Mathematics Subject Associations in Stratford-Upon-Avon. I'm running a nice long session in Pythagoras so we'll have time to get stuck into some fun maths.
I have a couple of vacancies on my team, so if you're looking for a change of school in September then do come and join us. We're based in South London. Here's my fabulous team at the Christmas party:
I'll leave you with these lovely magic squares from Chris Smith. Did you know that Don Steward had an entire blog of magic square activities? Check it out at medianmagicsquares.blogspot.com.
21 January 2024
GCSE Revision
Topic Focused Revision
1. 1st Class Maths
The resources from 1st Class Maths are consistently very high quality, so it's wonderful to see the development of an extensive GCSE revision collection this year.
Calculator revision mats Set 2
Calculator revision mats Set 3
Calculator revision mats Set 4