These sites contain helpful hints and tips about Maths, including some great puzzles and problem solving activities to help you hone your numeracy skills.
Nrich - Specialists in Rich Mathematics - This website has a difference focus every month, with problems and puzzles that match that theme. You can email them with your solutions. For September, their focus is Communicating and Reflecting.
Minus Plus Project - This website, originally created for schools in the Liverpool area, contains hints, tips, worksheets and games, along with a list of useful Maths related websites.
GCSE Maths Revision Site - This website is specifically aimed at those taking the higher tier Maths paper (there is no longer an intermediate paper available), with topic specific revision notes and a forum to ask questions if you are really stuck!
Dr Zargle's GCSE Answers - This website sells past papers and exemplar answers to go with them, either via download or on a CD. Their testimonials are excellent.
BBC News Maths Test - Maybe this is one for the parents! How would you fare on a GCSE Maths paper today? Test yourself with this seven question quiz. (I scored 6/7 - but two of those were very lucky guesses!)
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Extension Activity of the Week - 9
This week: Puzzling
This is a good one for gauging the level members of your classes are working at early on, when data might be scarce (oh, that such a situation should ever exist!) and your knowledge of the pupils somewhat lacking.
Set a puzzle based on some information from the textbook they are working with, or from anything you have on display. The puzzle should involve the pupils looking over the information and drawing conclusions from it. Offer a reward for those whose answers are best.
This extension activity has the double advantage of being both a way of stretching the top end, and a way of encouraging the class to complete their tasks.
For example, from a double page spread in a Geography textbook, which contained maps and information demonstrating why the southwest is warmer in both the summer and the winter, I set year 7 pupils the following extension question:
Why is the southwest the best place to live?
The weakest students came up with the answer, “The weather is good.”
The middle ability students came up with the answer, “The weather is warmer in the summer because we are nearer the equator in the southwest.”
The brightest students were able to add to this, by explaining how the mid-Atlantic drift worked.
This is a good one for gauging the level members of your classes are working at early on, when data might be scarce (oh, that such a situation should ever exist!) and your knowledge of the pupils somewhat lacking.
Set a puzzle based on some information from the textbook they are working with, or from anything you have on display. The puzzle should involve the pupils looking over the information and drawing conclusions from it. Offer a reward for those whose answers are best.
This extension activity has the double advantage of being both a way of stretching the top end, and a way of encouraging the class to complete their tasks.
For example, from a double page spread in a Geography textbook, which contained maps and information demonstrating why the southwest is warmer in both the summer and the winter, I set year 7 pupils the following extension question:
Why is the southwest the best place to live?
The weakest students came up with the answer, “The weather is good.”
The middle ability students came up with the answer, “The weather is warmer in the summer because we are nearer the equator in the southwest.”
The brightest students were able to add to this, by explaining how the mid-Atlantic drift worked.
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Extension Activity of the Week - 8
This week: Sixth Form Extension Tasks Online
While setting extension work for sixth formers can be a rare occurrence - as hopefully most of them are already extending themselves independently...so to speak - it's good to have some tasks up your sleeve for research and new lines of enquiry, especially for cover lessons.
Somebody has already done this work for you! Young Gifted & Talented Activities is a website with a range of activities for sixth form (or pupils lower down the school, if you fancy giving them a challenge). They cover 20 different subjects, and each one includes an introductory video, a task and an exemplar response. I particularly like the English language task based on American Rhetoric.
While setting extension work for sixth formers can be a rare occurrence - as hopefully most of them are already extending themselves independently...so to speak - it's good to have some tasks up your sleeve for research and new lines of enquiry, especially for cover lessons.
Somebody has already done this work for you! Young Gifted & Talented Activities is a website with a range of activities for sixth form (or pupils lower down the school, if you fancy giving them a challenge). They cover 20 different subjects, and each one includes an introductory video, a task and an exemplar response. I particularly like the English language task based on American Rhetoric.
Extension Activity of the Week - 7
This week: A-Z of Relevance
Challenge students to create an alphabetical list of key words and terms relating to the lesson or topic. Not only does this encourage them to make links within the topic or between the lesson and prior learning, it also draws on their cognitive skills, as they might struggle to think of 26 words and will have to justify their use of some more obscure terms.
Challenge students to create an alphabetical list of key words and terms relating to the lesson or topic. Not only does this encourage them to make links within the topic or between the lesson and prior learning, it also draws on their cognitive skills, as they might struggle to think of 26 words and will have to justify their use of some more obscure terms.
Extension Activity of the Week - 6
This week: Six Degrees of Separation
This is an activity I've had some success with in my year 10 lessons.
Invite pupils to write six sentences to link two words. Each sentence must begin with the last word of the last sentence - see the example below. It's often quite difficult to think of six steps to link when one would be sufficient, but the activity encourages pupils to make links with prior learning and bring in knowledge that they might not otherwise have associated with the lesson content.
A sheet with the example below and space to write in your own words is available on the system.
Keep a few handy for the end of a lesson - it takes next to no time to set up.
Example: Link Westbury with the White Horse.
1. Westbury is a town in Wiltshire.
2. Wiltshire has many historic sites.
3. Historic sites often commemorate big historic events.
4. A big historic event in Wiltshire was the Battle of Ethendune.
5. The Battle of Ethendune was when the Vikings were beaten by Alfred the Great.
6. Alfred the Great’s victory is commemorated by the White Horse.
This is an activity I've had some success with in my year 10 lessons.
Invite pupils to write six sentences to link two words. Each sentence must begin with the last word of the last sentence - see the example below. It's often quite difficult to think of six steps to link when one would be sufficient, but the activity encourages pupils to make links with prior learning and bring in knowledge that they might not otherwise have associated with the lesson content.
A sheet with the example below and space to write in your own words is available on the system.
Keep a few handy for the end of a lesson - it takes next to no time to set up.
Example: Link Westbury with the White Horse.
1. Westbury is a town in Wiltshire.
2. Wiltshire has many historic sites.
3. Historic sites often commemorate big historic events.
4. A big historic event in Wiltshire was the Battle of Ethendune.
5. The Battle of Ethendune was when the Vikings were beaten by Alfred the Great.
6. Alfred the Great’s victory is commemorated by the White Horse.
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Extension Activity of the Week - 5
This week: Creative writing
An esteemed colleague commented this week that writing was not considered a fun activity anymore. I couldn't help but wonder - is it because, so often, it isn't? I'm certainly guilty of doling out writing tasks that consist chiefly of formulaic exam answers and essays, with only the odd bit of creative writing thrown in here and there as a homework.
However, pupils of all abilities and ages enjoy the opportunity to write stories, as evidenced by the three page American West tale an often difficult pupil lovingly crafted for me one lesson.
Set pupils an extension task of writing a short story in which all the main characters are key words from the lesson. For example, in science, Mr Red Blood Cell might get in his car and drive down the Vena Cava for a meeting in the Atrium....evidently my creative writing skills are as strong as my knowledge of the circulatory system, but hopefully you get the idea.
The "stories" can be displayed in your classroom, or photocopied and distributed, or placed on the school webpage. You could offer a small, sugar-based prize for the most creative, or the best use of key words or connectives. And perhaps, the more "fun" writing they complete, the less onerous they will find writing in general.
An esteemed colleague commented this week that writing was not considered a fun activity anymore. I couldn't help but wonder - is it because, so often, it isn't? I'm certainly guilty of doling out writing tasks that consist chiefly of formulaic exam answers and essays, with only the odd bit of creative writing thrown in here and there as a homework.
However, pupils of all abilities and ages enjoy the opportunity to write stories, as evidenced by the three page American West tale an often difficult pupil lovingly crafted for me one lesson.
Set pupils an extension task of writing a short story in which all the main characters are key words from the lesson. For example, in science, Mr Red Blood Cell might get in his car and drive down the Vena Cava for a meeting in the Atrium....evidently my creative writing skills are as strong as my knowledge of the circulatory system, but hopefully you get the idea.
The "stories" can be displayed in your classroom, or photocopied and distributed, or placed on the school webpage. You could offer a small, sugar-based prize for the most creative, or the best use of key words or connectives. And perhaps, the more "fun" writing they complete, the less onerous they will find writing in general.
Monday, 18 May 2009
Helpful Facebook Apps
This post lists 101 Useful facebook Applications, though a lot of them are aimed at American college students. Here's my pick of the most useful ones for school pupils.
- Flashcards: Create virtual flashcards tailored to your subject.
- Make a Quiz!: Create quizzes to test yourself and your study partners.
- Quiz Monster: Prepare for exams by creating quizzes.
- Box files: Provides 1 GB of free online storage, where you can store files in various formats.
- Calculator: A functional calculator app.
- Dictionary: Use this dictionary like, well, a dictionary.
- Google Docs: Monitor your Google Docs from within Facebook.
- Google Translate: Get help in language classes with this app that translates Arabic, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Greek, Dutch, Korean, Czech, Croatian, Hebrew, Swedish, Turkish, Thai and more.
- Language Exchange: Connect with language exchange partners teaching more than 70 languages, with lessons managed through your Facebook profile.
- Learn 10: Daily content designed to help you learn one of 20 different languages.
- Task Master: To-do list manager with color-coded tasks, due dates, sorting, filters and task sharing with friends.
- To Do List: Helps you organize, tag and color-code all of your tasks and errands.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)