Friday, March 15, 2019

#Mathscpdchat - Celebrating Don Steward

Please bring together me for #mathscpdchat at 7pm on Tuesday 24th May to explore Don Steward's fantastic resources.

Don's weblog Median has late passed its millionth stance thence this seems similar a expert fourth dimension to part our favourites from his vast collection of rich tasks. Join the chat to hash out which resources you've tried as well as which direct maintain worked well.

To start us off, hither are 3 of my favourites.

1. 'One wrong simplification'

I honey this fix of tasks. When I took over my electrical flow Year eleven flat inwards October, I gave them this activity inwards the offset lesson. At the fourth dimension they were working at GCSE flat B or C as well as it was of import for me to know how fluent they were amongst algebra. This activity is actually engaging - every bit my students got stuck in, I had the chance to circulate, assess their agreement as well as hash out mutual misconceptions. They constitute the delineate of piece of occupation accessible simply quite challenging, which fix the musical note for what their maths lessons amongst me would live on like.

This seem caught most of them out:
I'm certain you lot tin dismiss encounter what the mutual error is hither - most students incorrectly simplified this to 3 + 5n. This raises a useful tidings most grouping as well as brackets, or lack of brackets.

This activity also plant brilliantly every bit a warm-up on H5N1 flat induction day.

2. Difference of Two Squares
Recognising as well as beingness able to factorise a departure of 2 squares is a useful science throughout GCSE as well as H5N1 level.

Give a pupil an algebraic fraction to simplify as well as you'll frequently detect that they direct maintain no thought what to create amongst a 4x2 - 9 inwards the numerator, fifty-fifty though they seemed to empathise how to factorise a departure of 2 squares when you lot previously taught it.

Don Steward has unopen to swell activities for pedagogy this topic, culminating inwards this awesome fix of challenging questions. I honey these.
This reminds me of unopen to other Don Steward delineate of piece of occupation - 'Mega difficult powers questions' which offers stretch as well as challenge for students learning fractional as well as negative indices. This delineate of piece of occupation plant good at H5N1 flat too.

I similar it that both of these tasks assistance students realise how much easier it is to operate improper fractions rather than mixed numbers or decimals.

3. Form as well as Solve a Quadratic
Forming equations comes upwards a lot inwards GCSE exams (particularly inwards Linked Pair GCSE, which is what I've been pedagogy this year). I'm non certain our students acquire plenty exercise of this - which is partly why thence many were stumped yesteryear Hannah's Sweets end year. Don Steward has a lovely fix of tasks for forming as well as solving quadratics.

Students frequently detect it actually difficult to know where to start on problems similar this thence careful questioning as well as scaffolding may live on needed.

In this post I've solely shared algebra resources, simply comport inwards hear that Don's resources are awesome for shape, measure, number, proportional reasoning, information as well as probability too. I volition part many to a greater extent than resources during the chat on Tuesday. See you lot then.