A New Chapter

A lot has changed since I last posted on the blog. And I do mean a lot. After spending a year working in Primaries and tutoring students from age 6 to 26 in Maths and English, and most importantly caring for my children, it was time for a fresh start.

So... we moved... to Hong Kong. This is not a blog about moving to Hong Kong. That is here. I am now part of an international school, working at primary level. So as a result, my blog is being resurrected, as this past year I have spent collating and sharing some of the great resources we have in secondary with primary teachers. Now, my big job is to support this idea of mastery - identify resources that allow teachers to dig deeper into certain topics, and offer tips and hints on some of the basics too.

Many of the resources I refer to will be referenced and praised as they should - but there will be a real mix of age related resources so I will at some point try to organise it in the way Don Steward or Resourcaholic does.

Resource Sharing - sometimes a bad thing?

It's been a while since I posted, as life has been fairly hectic in recent months.

A new job has kept me busy, and I have enjoyed the challenge of a new school and department fighting their way out of special measures. However, with much of my time spent on behaviour management and familiarising new routines, I have barely had time to consider fresh ideas on teaching strategies and writing new resources.

Thank goodness for Resourceaholic, Don Steward and #mathschat. Barely a week has gone by in the last four months without spending some time on these sites. I raid my extensive pen drive for resources, and then cross check the two blogs above to confirm whether or not there are better resources available.

All of this leads me to ask a serious question about my current attitude to resource sharing. Have I become too lazy to value my own ideas for teaching? I am excited to use well thought out and substantiated resources, without question. I do wonder though, would I be more enthusiastic if I used my own ideas?

One lesson in particular was a parallel lines and angles lesson with a low ability year 9 class. I had a plan ready, but only 9 students turned up to the lesson. So I did something I have rarely done. I ditched the plan and went with an idea in my head.
We put some tables together, sat round it and stuck some coloured tape across the table. We marked some angles, did some measuring, and proved some angle rules. The students were really engaged, they got to write on the table, and they left the lesson with a real positive attitude. It was clear they enjoyed it as much as I did.
This isn't a preach of how good this resource is - and it certainly isn't some revolutionary new resource, but it was my own idea at that time.

Was it the idea, or the fact I was enthusiastic and showing a willingness to do something different?
I have always been commended on my use of interesting ideas (cue trumpet blowing noise) and yet, given the other pressures of teaching and the fantastic blogs and resources out there already, I have turned my back on my own thoughts, and settled for other teacher's fantastic resources.

Perhaps we should always take time to produce a really well thought out resource if, for nothing else, it inspires us to believe in our own work.

Data - Averages Resources

Here are some resources I use when teaching Averages.

I find the word 'average' fascinating. Used in everyday language, and as a mathematician, I immediately think, "well... which average?"

I always wonder this when entering an "average speed check" section on the motorway. Which seems to be everywhere in the north west now.

Here is an activity linked to Speed Cameras, and some real life application.

The powerpoint with questions on slides is available here: Law Abiding Drivers
It links well with SDT topics too.


Here are a mixture of questions and projects including some that take longer than others.

Mixing Numeracy and Literacy

Football related averages - could be easily changed to Rugby

Quick question which is certainly seen in real life

Another interesting Football study - prizes for top predictions

This last one I have used for nearly every class I have ever taught. Every time I have done it, boys have outperformed barring the odd outlier. I have also done this with a target Velcro game in class. If a big class, then can be used for mean from a table as well.

Another project I did last year and will do probably every major football tournament is based on Yummy Math's World Cup Draw

I have written up my own task which is available here. Bit dated now but the idea can be used for the future : Fair Draw

Oh and the obligatory averages puzzles: (I think from Don Steward)

Answers via the link - Problem averages

Other useful links for averages worksheets

Maths Sandpit - Splitting The Steps average from table

Resourceaholic - lots of good stuff



Crack the Lock Activity

Here is an activity I use to encourage the students to work through some question in class.

It does require some initial monetary outlay, but it can be used for a very long time.

You will need some sort of locking mechanism, a padlock or safe, that requires a three (or four) digit pass code to unlock.

It should be visible to the class, It works better than a virtual one, although if you could find a digital one professionally done then that might be quite interesting.

Have a prize inside, and sometimes wrap it in an extension activity, in case they crack your code early.

I have a lock which can be reset to different combinations, you can get them for under £4 from Ebay or Amazon. I have also been trying to find a safe deposit box that works with a padlock, but yet to find one, so I bought some chain links from Homebase, for about £2. I then wrapped it round a normal tin and this is what I get:

The worksheets are then designed to give three numbers which relate to the code. I do not check their work until after they have tried the code. If a student tries to guess the code, we can have a discussion on permutations and chance, and the only rule is that you have to wait three minutes before your next guess.

The worksheets cover many misconceptions as they include true or false statements. So some are straightforward, whilst others can encourage debate.

Of course, locking the safe back up so other finishers can guess the code is fairly straightforward.

Those that finish first are asked to note down in their books three key facts that helped them solve the code, and then they can support other teams. So far I have seen relatively little cheating.

Here are the link to some sets of questions, starting with percentages and fractions, I will add more as I do them in lesson. Please feel free to create and share your own.

The worksheets


I actually think you could use a plastic bag as a safe: Put a box in the bag that is big enough so that if the bag handles were locked together, you couldn't get the box out. Sure, you could rip the plastic bag, but if you have nice students I don't think that would matter!

ACE starters and not fearing mistakes

So at my recent school, the department were extremely passionate about entry activities. These were starters that were given as students entered the room, so that they immediately had something to focus on.

They had to follow a few rules:

1. Must be printed - So that each student has something in their hand, and avoids situations where students have to keep looking up to the IWB.
2. Must have opportunity to write their name - no matter how poor the student's ability, most can fill in a name, therefore they can all be getting on straight away.
3. Should be accessible - No questions should be asked (clearly the first few times you run this, it may need some explaining, but the questions should start off as easy as possible for that class ability)
4. Should not have an end - This was tricky for me - there should never be a point where the student has finished their entry.
5. It must be worthwhile - Students won't buy into it if the teacher just bins the work later in the lesson.

At first, I was creating differentiated, thought provoking (yet easy), printable entries, for the start of all my lessons. It took me about 45 minutes to create each one, and we used it for 5 minutes a lesson. It was painful.
After many attempts, and poor ideas, I finally landed on one I liked. I call it my ACE entry.

Answer
Communicate
Extension


Each entry follows a similar pattern, answering easy questions (based on the class ability, I had ones that ranged from addition to factorising quadratics) followed by a matching activity, which helped students who liked to self check. When going through this, I quickly reeled off answers, or went round the room asking for answers. If anyone tried the "didn't get to it", I simply asked them to work it out then and came back to them in a few more questions.

Then the communicate question, which encouraged the student to communicate effectively certain definitions, or explain where a misconception has occurred. An example being "Explain why 3.4 x 10 is not 3.40"
This is great to open up debate at the start, and also push for better answers from the more advanced students:

S: because it is 34
T: why is it 34?
S2: because the numbers moved to the left.
T: What did they do wrong?
S3: added a zero instead.
T: Why did they do that?
etc etc...


Finally, the extension, which I rarely mark in lesson, but mark when looking in books. I get them to stick the A5 sheet in their books and give feedback about it. If a student is not getting enough done at the start of the lesson, I ask them to complete it as part of homework. I also value it with praise stickers that just highlight completing the entry to a high standard.

Now, there are 63 of them in this zipped file, enough to last you till Christmas at least. Only a few have repeated parts, and some are harder than others. Each one is duplicated so you can print two on one sheet easily from the print menu.

ACE Starters

Warning - I will have made mistakes on these, having made them generally between the hours of 11pm and 1am.


Which leads me to my second point. When I started teaching, one of my irrational fears was that I'd make too many mistakes on the board, as I am quite clumsy sometimes with my working.
To combat it - I faced it full on, and created Mr. Hill's Correction chart.

I make the joke that through the year I will put in mistakes, and if they can spot them then they get a point for their class (of course I never do it on purpose). I display this poster proudly on the wall. I also explain how it is fine to make mistakes and that is how we learn. My student's love catching me out and you will often hear in the middle of my class "correction!" from an over zealous student.

So embrace the many errors there may be on these entries!

A Belated Journey Begins

Hello!

It is fair to say that is about time I did some blogging. For the past year (my first in teaching) I have gathered and read some of the best educational maths blogs on the internet, from the simple yet profound resources on MEDIAN, the loveable yet extremely relevant work available on justmaths, the fantastic ideas on Mr. Collins Maths. There are so many maths teachers out there doing amazing things, and it is only fair that I attempt to share any ideas and strategies that have served me well in this, the greatest of professions.

This blog will include ideas for the classroom, for displays, for inspiring maths. Most of all, it is for sharing good practice with those willing to continually improve maths education. It is about discussing ideas, offering suggestions and enjoying the challenge every school day brings.

I hope one day it will be a place to share 'maths with friends'.