Resourceaholic: 5 Maths Gems #172

8 July 2023

5 Maths Gems #172

Welcome to my 172^nd gems post. This is where I share some of the latest news, ideas and resources for maths teachers.

1. Snakes

I love this collection of 'Snakes' tasks from @nathanday314. These are brilliant. Accessible but packed full of depth and challenge, I think this is a really engaging task design. Find them on interwovenmaths.com.

2. Speak Like a Scholar

Thank you to @hannahlsmithe for sharing her growing collection of excellent 'Speak Like a Scholar' resources.

3. Casio Tips

Thank you to @cclay8 for sharing a series of calculator tips for the new Casio 83GTCW. Now that the 83GTX has been discontinued, we'll start seeing a lot more of the new classwiz models in our classrooms next year. It's vital that teachers know how to use them. I recently bought a new calculator for everyone on my team and will be running some CPD on this in September.

I love this tip about getting a decimal answer without having to use the format menu:

Clare continues to make these cards and videos and is uploading them here. What a star.

4. Tasks

There's been loads of great tasks shared on Twitter recently, including this sectors task from @MiddletonMaths...

and this mean task from @aap03102...

and this circle theorems task from @giftedHKO

... and this angles in parallel lines task from @marcmaths.

And @draustinmaths continues to share new resources on her website including some recent tasks on Distance Time Graphs.

5. Circle Theorems
I loved teaching Certificate in Further Maths this year and both final exam papers were excellent - well done AQA! There was a brilliant Circle Theorems question on Paper 2. I don't think it was the most difficult question on the paper (I thought Question 17 was trickier) but it certainly got them all thinking. @MrSMaths11 has created a similar circle theorems question here:

Update
Thank you to everyone who made GCSE and A level resources to support teachers and students during the exam period. It's all over now and we're eagerly awaiting results.

I had a great time at #mathsconf32 a couple of weeks ago. It was lovely to catch up with loads of teachers I haven't seen in ages, and I met lots of lovely new people too. My presentation was on 'Challenge without Acceleration' with a focus on indices. The PowerPoint has been sent out to conference delegates.

A few days later I spent a day at the MEI Conference where I delivered a workshop on task design. The MEI Conference never fails to impress me. It was excellent.

This summer I'll spend some time planning the course that I'll be running in the Autumn term with Craig Barton. We're just working on venue arrangements and programmes, but it looks like it will 18th October in the South, 19th October in the Midlands and 20th October in the North. Watch this space for more information!