Open Evening

Open Evening flavour is underway. In this postal service I desire to portion a few ideas for activities that a Maths Department tin run. Before I produce so, it's helpful to intend well-nigh the operate of Open Evenings.

According to the Good Schools Guide, this is why a raise should attend an Open Evening: "They may non genuinely reverberate twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours life at a schoolhouse (this volition endure schoolhouse at its best) but they'll give yous a flavour of what's happening too allow yous to soak-up or repel the atmosphere. They are your run a peril to receive got the upper-hand, acquire a experience for the schoolhouse too chat amongst pupils too staff. Do view to a greater extent than than i school, it’s useful to compare too contrast. Remember it's non but schools that select too select pupils, parents select too select schools too; thence seize the night!".

Amongst the advice that the Good Schools Guide gives to parents well-nigh what to produce on the night, nosotros receive got the following:

• Quiz youngsters well-nigh how much assistance they acquire from teachers, whether lessons are fun, noisy, long... Are they allowed to beak inwards class? What happens if mortal is beingness a nuisance? 
• Is outstanding piece of work rewarded? Is homework ready (and marked)? 
• What happens if they don’t empathise the piece of work or honor it also easy?
• If children are labor activities especially inwards the marrow subjects such equally maths, enquire if this is park fodder. The agency a kid responds (or instructor flaps) may endure to a greater extent than telling than the responses they give.

In my experience, it's rare for parents to enquire questions similar these. Nevertheless, it's worth telling staff too students that this is the sort of affair they may endure asked.

I was real interested inwards what Mel (blank clock templates too offering children the chance to pattern a maths clock. You could receive got a large empty display board available thence they tin pivot upward their designs.

2. Four Fours
Write the next on a whiteboard or flipchart for the numbers 1 - 20:
4 4 4 4 = 0
4 4 4 4 = 1
4 4 4 4 = 2
4 4 4 4 = 3
etc

Have a educatee helper trial board pens too instructions. Children receive got a become at filling inwards the operations. They honor this quite challenging. Parents savour it too.

Possible solution - @edfromo

3. Estimation Games
As I mentioned inwards my most recent gems post, estimation develops disclose feel too work solving skills. Children could guess the weight of a large pumpkin, the value of coin inwards a scandalize or the disclose of sweets inwards a bowl. Alternatively, convey inwards an assortment of circles or rings (plates, saucers, large hula hoops, polo mints) too enquire children to estimate, thence measure, the circumferences.

Speaking of circles, children could endeavour to trace a circle freehand, amongst your educatee helpers judging their accuracy. This is real a skillful learning chance for your students because the
judging involves circle theorems, thence yous could receive got GCSE students produce the judging equally an extension to their circle theorem lessons.

4. Shapes
@sxpmaths suggests a fun game of human quadrilaterals. In pairs, children receive got to cast diverse quadrilaterals amongst their arms/legs/bodies. 

If yous receive got access to an interactive whiteboard, how well-nigh the bang-up game 'Shape Shoot' from flashmaths.co.uk?

Another shape game involves children writing downwards the hollo of a shape on a post-it too sticking it to the caput of a educatee helper, who thence has to guess what the shape is using upward to 10 yes/no questions.

5. Lowest Number Competition

My schoolhouse holds a 'Lowest Number Competition' which ever goes downwards well. Each kid completes the sideslip below too puts it inwards a sealed box. The side yesteryear side twenty-four hours nosotros sort though the responses - there's ever lots of 'ones' from children who receive got missed the betoken (or perchance they've tried to endure clever too assumed that no-one else would give such an obvious answer! Worth a try!). The winning disclose is ordinarily inwards the belatedly teens or early on 20s. The Maths Department tin also produce a sweepstake on what the winning disclose volition be.

Read this Twitter discussion for more opened upward eventide activeness ideas.

5 Maths Gems #59

Welcome to my 59^th update from the globe of Maths EduTwitter. Here I summarise some of the latest ideas too resources for teaching maths.

First I desire to state give thank yous you! Today I reached a milestone - resourceaholic.com has had over 1 meg views since my get-go blog post, which I wrote when I was heavily important dorsum inwards Apr 2014. Since too thus I've been busy, publishing guide to resourceaholic.com helpful. Thank yous to all my readers too contributors, too to those who regularly role too recommend my resources libraries. I genuinely appreciate the support.

On amongst the gems...

1. Increasingly Difficult Questions
I similar @taylorda01's novel laid of 'increasingly hard questions'. In lessons I oft inquire my students to endeavor some practise questions from the board thus I tin banking concern check their understanding, earlier moving on to a lengthier task. This growing banking concern of questions volition endure useful.

2. Arithmetic Vocabulary 

I beloved these graphics shared by @mathemaniac. They mightiness brand practiced displays for a maths classroom.

3. More Displays
I also similar these Command Word Posters from Christine Norledge (@MissNorledge). She get-go published these concluding yr but somehow I missed them at the time.

This lovely Join #TeamMaths in which I talked nearly my latest Twitter project

Warwick 2016 in which I reviewed Edexcel's Warwick conference too shared materials from my workshop 'The Wonderful World of Maths Resources'

Scheme of Work Development in which I shared some thoughts too experiences of GCSE Schemes of Work

I also presented a workshop called 'Perfect Polynomials' at the FMSP's London KS5 Network Day concluding Fri - yous tin download the materials here.

I was interested to come across that Boolean Maths Hub is running a ii day summer school for simply about 75 students to deal span the gap betwixt GCSE too Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 level. If this goes good I wonder if to a greater extent than hubs volition follow their Pb side past times side summer. I'm also impressed past times the locomote done past times the White Rose Maths Hub lately in developing schemes of locomote too resources - including lots of back upward for main teachers. 

Did yous come across that MEI has released a sequel to their awesome Sumaze App?  Check out Sumaze! 2.

If you're looking for resources for destination of term lessons (when yous solely stimulate got a one-half a course of pedagogy or one-half a lesson thus can't learn novel topics), banking concern check out my post End of Term Resources. Also, don't forget Chris Smith's Summer Holiday Relay Race. 

Open Evening
I wrote a post nearly ideas for Open Evening a couplet of years ago. Some of yous won't stimulate got Open Evening until September but nosotros had ours concluding week, thus here's a quick update on some novel things nosotros tried this year...

In 1 classroom nosotros played Memory Maths from flashmaths.co.uk. This game has been simply about for years but I've non used it before. It was genuinely fun! We gathered together groups of competitors (visiting children, their parents, Year vii too Year 12 tour guides, passing teachers...), too gave them each a mini-whiteboard. Questions flashed upward on the board too players had to write downward the answers if too when they could. It worked good - I beloved activities that engage every historic menstruum group.

In some other room nosotros had a tabular array ready amongst lots of Numeracy Ninjas sheets. Visiting children too our pupil tour guides sat downward too completed equally much equally they could, too when their fourth dimension was upward nosotros marked what they'd done too gave them a corresponding ninja sticker. We've been using Numeracy Ninjas at Key Stage iii for the concluding few months too it's been going genuinely good thus it was practiced to give prospective students a sense of savour of something they volition genuinely create inwards maths lessons. Us teachers all had a larn besides too enjoyed wearing our stickers later (we're a competitive department!).

That's it from me. I'll larn out yous amongst a lovely enquiry from AQA that genuinely stumped my Year 10s. It's a double bounds question, inwards reverse, amongst discrete data. It takes some thinking!

Open Evening

Open Evening flavour is underway. In this postal service I desire to portion a few ideas for activities that a Maths Department tin run. Before I produce so, it's helpful to intend well-nigh the operate of Open Evenings.

According to the Good Schools Guide, this is why a raise should attend an Open Evening: "They may non genuinely reverberate twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours life at a schoolhouse (this volition endure schoolhouse at its best) but they'll give yous a flavour of what's happening too allow yous to soak-up or repel the atmosphere. They are your run a peril to receive got the upper-hand, acquire a experience for the schoolhouse too chat amongst pupils too staff. Do view to a greater extent than than i school, it’s useful to compare too contrast. Remember it's non but schools that select too select pupils, parents select too select schools too; thence seize the night!".

Amongst the advice that the Good Schools Guide gives to parents well-nigh what to produce on the night, nosotros receive got the following:

• Quiz youngsters well-nigh how much assistance they acquire from teachers, whether lessons are fun, noisy, long... Are they allowed to beak inwards class? What happens if mortal is beingness a nuisance? 
• Is outstanding piece of work rewarded? Is homework ready (and marked)? 
• What happens if they don’t empathise the piece of work or honor it also easy?
• If children are labor activities especially inwards the marrow subjects such equally maths, enquire if this is park fodder. The agency a kid responds (or instructor flaps) may endure to a greater extent than telling than the responses they give.

In my experience, it's rare for parents to enquire questions similar these. Nevertheless, it's worth telling staff too students that this is the sort of affair they may endure asked.

I was real interested inwards what Mel (blank clock templates too offering children the chance to pattern a maths clock. You could receive got a large empty display board available thence they tin pivot upward their designs.

2. Four Fours
Write the next on a whiteboard or flipchart for the numbers 1 - 20:
4 4 4 4 = 0
4 4 4 4 = 1
4 4 4 4 = 2
4 4 4 4 = 3
etc

Have a educatee helper trial board pens too instructions. Children receive got a become at filling inwards the operations. They honor this quite challenging. Parents savour it too.

Possible solution - @edfromo

3. Estimation Games
As I mentioned inwards my most recent gems post, estimation develops disclose feel too work solving skills. Children could guess the weight of a large pumpkin, the value of coin inwards a scandalize or the disclose of sweets inwards a bowl. Alternatively, convey inwards an assortment of circles or rings (plates, saucers, large hula hoops, polo mints) too enquire children to estimate, thence measure, the circumferences.

Speaking of circles, children could endeavour to trace a circle freehand, amongst your educatee helpers judging their accuracy. This is real a skillful learning chance for your students because the
judging involves circle theorems, thence yous could receive got GCSE students produce the judging equally an extension to their circle theorem lessons.

4. Shapes
@sxpmaths suggests a fun game of human quadrilaterals. In pairs, children receive got to cast diverse quadrilaterals amongst their arms/legs/bodies. 

If yous receive got access to an interactive whiteboard, how well-nigh the bang-up game 'Shape Shoot' from flashmaths.co.uk?

Another shape game involves children writing downwards the hollo of a shape on a post-it too sticking it to the caput of a educatee helper, who thence has to guess what the shape is using upward to 10 yes/no questions.

5. Lowest Number Competition

My schoolhouse holds a 'Lowest Number Competition' which ever goes downwards well. Each kid completes the sideslip below too puts it inwards a sealed box. The side yesteryear side twenty-four hours nosotros sort though the responses - there's ever lots of 'ones' from children who receive got missed the betoken (or perchance they've tried to endure clever too assumed that no-one else would give such an obvious answer! Worth a try!). The winning disclose is ordinarily inwards the belatedly teens or early on 20s. The Maths Department tin also produce a sweepstake on what the winning disclose volition be.

Read this Twitter discussion for more opened upward eventide activeness ideas.