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Guest blogger: @simonmlewis Comments are FREE. Please leave one below. I think that learning tables off by heart is rubbish. When I say this, it is usually met with general disagreement and in some cases, complete contempt. Typical responses included: There is no other/better way to teach tables Learning tables off by heart did me no [...]
Guest blogger: @tambotaylor Two years ago I took over as headteacher of Park Hill Primary school in Coventry and like all schools it had its strengths and areas for development. One particular area that needed fine tuning was maths and in particular progress within the subject between KS1 and KS2. The issue in particular was that [...]
Guest Blogger: Chris Dunn @ShrekTheTeacher Having struggled to find any maths games that children go back to again and again, I have created two myself that I hope will make a difference… I have focussed on recognising numerals, matching them with quantities, and ordering…skills that take plenty of practise! The games use very simple on screen [...]
Guest Blogger: Chris Dunn @ShrekTheTeacher Tiny Bob’s Adventurous Counting has been written creatively to support maths in Early Years and Key Stage 1. It’s a very interactive book on Apple’s iBooks store, and can be used on any iPad or Mac computer… Here’s the book blurb… First and foremost, this book is a [...]
Guest Blogger: Chris Dunn @ShrekTheTeacher Poor mental maths ‘ability’ (I say ability, but I suspect it has more to do with education), seems to have become endemic in England. It’s often talked about in the press, and is so prevalent in my generation that people even brag about it. “I’m rubbish at maths, always have been” is [...]
The documents needed for this engaging counting triangles starter can be downloaded below. We have all seen these counting shape type activities doing the rounds on Facebook and Twitter and we are all aware of how much discussion that they create on these social networking sites, subsequently, I decided to use them as a starter [...]
Practice makes perfect! Ask any sports person. Practice re-enforces concepts, decreases reaction time and improves confidence. The feeling of “I have done this before” is a powerful one. The tenet applies as much to basic math as it does to sports. So the solution is easy – get kids to practice their basic math until [...]
When I was in the classroom, I used to tell students that if two students had exactly the same answers to a GCSE paper, some right, some wrong, then the one who showed their working out would get the better marks. I used to ban correction fluid, not because they would sniff it, but because [...]
This is a great problem to extend KS3 learners!! Langford problem: 1 , 1 ,2, 2 ,3, 3 rearrange the numbers so that the 1s are 1 apart, 2s are 2 apart and 3s are 3 apart Solution: 3 1 2 1 3 2 Now try for: 1,1,2,2,3,3,4,4 Now try for: 1,1,2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7 Only works when [...]
This is one of my favourite extension puzzles or starter; Where on the planet? 1) MOVE 1KM South 2) MOVE 1KM EAST 3) MOVE 1KM NORTH We are now back at our starting position! Answers below;
1) Put any 3 digit number in your calculator 2) Now put in the same 3 digits to make a 6 digit number e.g 721 721 Now Divide by 7 Divide by 11 Divide 13 Explain your answer!!! : ) This is a great starter to develop high level thinking skills and encourage discussion!
Before a Calculator lesson as a starter I like getting learners to have fun with their resource. I get them to enter the following into their calculators and watch their amazement when they see the answer. 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321 A great extension to this is asking the question “Why does this happen.?” [...]
This is a great starter for lessons on set of numbers and involves learners developing high level thinking and problem solving skills. I have attached a worksheet that you could use so that learners can spend more time on solving the problem and less time drawing it. Mathematics Starter Cycling Squares Square Numbers Watch [...]
This is a great starter which is simple but highly engaging and effective. You might want to put learners in groups or have them working independently. Using the number 1, 3, 4, 6 make the number 24. Each digit must be used once! Please post your answers below.
The task is simple, you ask your class to make all the numbers from 1 to 100 using FOUR 4s and any combination of Mathematical symbols. This is a great task to encourage competition and thinking skills. I have used this task many times and it always gets learners engaged and excited. I have also [...]
