A while back I blogged about one of my favourite tasks Red Amber Green. This is a task structure that I used to use regularly but recently I have not. I have no idea why not as it is a perfect task for any year group and perfect for mixed ability groups. I am hoping that by refreshing my memory of Red Amber Green tasks I will start to use again in class.
Here is a brief reminder of the task: Continue reading
It’s getting towards the end of the lesson and the class has either finished their work early OR getting restless, what to do? I have a few go to games that I want to share. I’m sure none of these are original or new but usually very enjoyable. Continue reading
When I looked at the course outline for my S3 class and saw the next topic was solving equations and inequations, I was not excited.
Not because I hate the topic but this is my third year teaching this class and I have exhausted all my activities and games and know that the class are quite competent when solving linear equations.
Earlier in the year, the class learned about expanding double brackets so I decided to have them solve equations involving double brackets.
After a few lessons working through questions independently I began to spot that some pupils were having difficulties identifying where they had made an error in order to correct any mistakes.
So here is the lesson from today: Continue reading
My S3 class have been learning how to solve simultaneous equations by elimination this week.
I set this problem for the class:
While this is not the most realistic of problems, it allowed the pupils to consider solutions in a familiar context. There were a few different methods used. Most tried trial and error but a few started with 20 chickens 80 legs and 1 pig 4 legs then adjusted the number of chickens until there were 30 heads.
After practicing the mechanics of solving simultaneous equations by elimination a few in the class were asking if next lesson we could do something more fun.
I wanted to provide an activity that would allow pupils to work together in a fun way that still allowed each pupil to practice solving simultaneous equations as an individual.
So I declared WAR! Continue reading
Negative numbers is not one of my favourite topics to teach. Pupils often struggle to understand the differences between adding and subtracting integers and get fixated on rules such as “two negatives make a positive” and it can be a struggle to get pupils engaged.
One way I try and put some excitement into the topic is using a couple of activities from http://nrich.maths.org.
Here are two of my favourites:
fractionfanatic 