Thursday, October 24, 2019

5 Maths Gems #23

It seems similar ages since my final gems post. School has been busier than I anticipated. This calendar week I had reports to write in addition to a Parents' Evening to attend - both tasks were peculiarly challenging because I've alone been teaching these classes for a few weeks. I've also been mark at dwelling every eventide therefore it's difficult to detect fourth dimension for Twitter in addition to blogging. I receive got 3 other posts inward draft - ane almost teaching quadratics, ane almost spontaneity in addition to ane featuring some other batch of highlights from Chris Smith's newsletter dorsum catalogue. So sentinel this space, they're all coming soon! In the meantime, here's 5 ideas yous powerfulness detect useful.

1. Perspective
I've been teaching 3D visualisation to my Year 7s this calendar week (isometric drawing, plans, elevations in addition to nets). I've decided that this is ane of my top 3 'worst topics to teach' amongst constructions in addition to transformations. But it did give me an chance to locomote the flick below, which I got from Twitter a few months agone (original source unknown - delight say me if yous know!). I set it on the board when my students arrived for their lesson on plans in addition to elevations.
2. Etymathology
My novel favourite Twitter line of piece of work concern human relationship is Gems 10.

This week @BedtimeMath shared this fact almost seconds, which I'd never heard before:
It's funny how nosotros tin give the sack locomote a discussion similar 'seconds' our whole lives in addition to never give whatever thought to where it came from. Etymathology followed this tweet with the origins of the discussion minute:
And at that spot yous become - some other lawsuit of Twitter's contribution to education. I acquired novel cognition to overstep straight to my students. I expect frontward to learning more!

3. Match My Parabola
I've written almost Desmos many times, most late inward my postal service Polygraph Rocks. I'm ever nifty to remove heed novel ideas for teaching with Desmos therefore I loved Michael Fenton's (@mjfenton) post 'Match My Parabola'.
The postal service describes a lesson suitable for Higher GCSE or Core AS students studying quadratics. The thought is that students are given a laid of coordinates in addition to receive got to detect a quadratic business office that passes through them. Michael rattling helpfully provides 10 activities - all your students receive got to produce is click on the links in addition to consummate the tasks (here's an example for yous to receive got a become at - locomote inward your business office inward jail cellular telephone ix on the left to encounter if you're right).

Michael has previously written almost 'Match My Line' - a similar lesson but for linear graphs, suitable for Key Stage 3 or 4. I've establish that students of whatever historic menses dearest playing with Desmos therefore I'm looking frontward to using this ane too. Really clever ideas from Michael.
4. Valentines Relay
It's alone 2 weeks until half-term! Fri 13th Feb would locomote a adept 24-hour interval to produce Chris Smith's (@aap03102) lovely Valentines Maths Relay Race.
5. War on Error
Do your students proceed making the same mistake? Highlight mutual misconceptions inward a display using Mr Taylor's (post for total details. This calendar week ane of my students wrote (x + 5)2 = x2 + 25 therefore that would locomote my outset entry to the display!
That's it for my gems this week, but deport with me - I receive got a few to a greater extent than things I desire to say yous about...

Multiple Choice Tests
I wrote almost multiple alternative tests in addition to Quick Key inward Gems 11. This calendar week I tried it out for the outset time. Like my outset endeavour at using Plickers, it wasn't rattling successful! But I produce recall to essay both apps in ane lawsuit again - I recall they require a fleck of practice.

Quick Key is an app that scans multiple alternative tests in addition to gives yous instant feedback on results. I establish it rattling slowly to ready - I wrote a short quiz on quadratics in addition to exactly entered the right answers to Quick Key every bit I wrote it. In the lesson, I gave my students twenty minutes to brand themselves a ane page summary of everything we'd covered on quadratics, in addition to and then I gave them a twenty infinitesimal quiz inward which they were allowed to refer to their revision sheet.

I was excited almost mark the tests using Quick Key but I establish it rattling difficult to detect a shadow-free, glare-free identify to scan. In the destination it took exactly every bit long every bit if I'd marked them past times hand. The essay out results varied from 20% to 100%, with most students getting 80% or 90% (the most mutual error was choosing H5N1 instead of C inward the enquiry below). So it was a successful exercise inward assessing the agreement of each pupil in addition to confirming that the bulk of students were create to movement onto the adjacent topic, in addition to at in ane lawsuit I exactly demand to figure out how to address the gaps with those who got a depression score.
So inward summary, the lesson inward which students made a revision summary in addition to then took a brusque multiple alternative essay out was successful, but I'll demand to acquire the hang of Quick Key.

World's Hardest Geometry Problem
I've exactly finished teaching angles to Year vii in addition to was actually impressed when ane of my students told me that she'd establish an angles occupation online in addition to had spent 2 hours working on it over the weekend, but fifty-fifty with the assistance of all her household unit of measurement she couldn't solve it. It turned out to locomote the 'World's Hardest Easy Geometry Problem' which I've featured before... I promised her I'd receive got a become at it this weekend - I suspect I may destination upwardly bespeak Twitter for help!

Don Watch
Have yous been keeping an oculus on all the bright novel resources on Jumping along a line', suggested using the 0th term to piece of work out the nth term of a sequence. This isn't how I ordinarily learn sequences but I'll essay it adjacent time.

I also spotted the 0th term on a Pret homework that Grant Barker (@AccessMaths) sent me this week. We've at in ane lawsuit got to a greater extent than than 100 homeworks on prethomework.weebly.com so if you're ever looking for novel homework ideas in addition to then produce cheque it out.
Mr Maths
Finally, I'll locomote out yous with ane of the fantastic images made by @solvemymaths this calendar week - cheque out his blog for the total 'Math Mr Men Series'.