Race to Zero

As you know I love games, especially ones that involve dice. Here is one that I only found out about today from a colleague of mine. It is not an original idea I’m sure but here it is:

Write a number between 100 and 500

Write a number between 500 and 999.

NO ZEROES ALLOWED.

The aim of the game is to get both numbers to zero.

The Traffic Light Game

I love playing strategy games with my classes. The games don’t have to be overly mathematical but help to develop logical thinking. I also love these games as everyone in the class can compete and win even if they are not as confident with maths as their opponents. I always hope that there are an odd number of pupils in the class so that I can play too!

Here is a game that I only discovered last week. It is from one of my favourite sites NRICH.

These are the rules:

Paper Aeroplanes

I wanted to have my S3 class collect data in order to draw comparative boxplots and write a comparison.

Over the last few years we have measured heights, arm span, hops, reaction times, …. so what could we do that was different?

PAPER AEROPLANES

Mixed Ability Classes

I have always taught junior classes that have been set by ability. Even within these classes there has still been a need for differentiation. In my new school the S1 and S2 classes are not set. This means I will need to rethink the way I teach these junior classes. I am going to have to spend time learning how best to teach mixed ability classes.

One thing did pop into my mind immediately: Challenge Grids.

I discovered these on Twitter, but not for maths. So I made some.

All About Me

I was thinking about what to blog about and I was struggling. The last few weeks have been so intense that I have not had much time to reflect.

I was sent a list of blog prompts when I first starting blogging so I have decided to use some of them.

So here are fifteen random facts about me:

Teacher Appreciation

I have been thinking back about the past year and it has been quite a challenging one for many reasons.

So I would like to say a little thank you.

To all the wonderful teachers on Twitter. You have been encouraging, supportive, caring, silly, funny and informative. I have learned so much this year from teachers all over the world.

I’m really looking forward to the next year and continuing to share and learn.

Be a Little Braver

Back at the start of the year I wrote a very short post about my New Year’s Resolution for the year. It was to be a little braver.

I’m not someone to often take chances and quite like living in my cosy little existence. So it came as quite a surprise to me when I decided to apply for a promoted post at the end of March. This job was not only a promoted post but also would involve moving 225 miles away.

It was a long shot so I thought “why not?”