5 Maths Gems #14

Welcome to my 14th weekly gems post - this is where I characteristic 5 of the best teaching ideas I've seen on Twitter each week.

You may or may non know that I've been writing these posts spell I've been at habitation on motherhood leave. My babe keeps me busy during the day, but my evenings are blissfully gratis from mark together with lesson planning thence I create got a rare chance to reverberate on my teaching together with assemble novel ideas. It's a shame that all teachers can't accept a mini-sabbatical every 5 years to produce the same. When I become dorsum to travel inwards Jan I'll create got 100 maths teaching gems inwards my toolkit - it volition last difficult to know where to start! 

1. Two Truths together with a Lie

Two Truths together with a Lie is traditionally an icebreaker game - person tells y'all 3 facts almost themselves together with y'all jurist which ane is the lie. For event my blood brother powerfulness tell y'all that he was in ane lawsuit bitten yesteryear a donkey, he was in ane lawsuit bitten yesteryear a serpent together with he was in ane lawsuit bitten yesteryear a monkey. Bizarrely, exclusively ane of those statements is a lie. So let's accept this game together with plow it into an action that prompts mathematical discussion.

This thought came from a tweet yesteryear @TCM_at_NCTM:

Polygons (source: mathsisfun.com)

This tweet made me realise that I'm guilty of lazily telling my students that polygon is 'just about other word for shape' when inwards fact I should last to a greater extent than specific - a polygon is a 2D figure amongst at to the lowest degree 3 conduct sides together with angles (the word derives from the Greek 'many-angled'), thence a circle is non a polygon.

The ii truths almost quadrilaterals ('a foursquare is a rectangle' together with 'a rectangle is a parallelogram') volition also prompt interesting discussions almost definitions. The quadrilateral identify unit of measurement tree powerfulness attention clarify things. The Euler diagram below is also helpful. 

Quadrilaterals (source: Wikipedia)

Here's a duet to a greater extent than examples of mathematical 'Two Truths together with a Lie' activities:

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 related idea, Maths Lies (where the instructor tells ane deliberate prevarication per lesson - encounter my first gems post) is nonetheless ane of my favourite teaching ideas ever.

xkcd.com

2. Wikipedia and visualisation

From 1 to 1,000,000' from Gems 7 almost Estimation 180). Show your students the dotty pictures thence they larn a skillful feel of the magnitude of numbers. 

The paradigm higher upward reminds me of the 'If the World Were a Village of 100 People' visuals I talked almost inwards Gems 1 - this is a nice agency of conceptualising information that powerfulness attention students sympathise percentages.

3. Creative Mathematicians

Thanks to @gareth_metcalfe for sharing this bright video 'What is a mathematical proof?'. The video explains why mathematicians pass most of their fourth dimension trying things that don't work. Students are frequently reluctant to test a dissimilar approach if their get-go test at answering a enquiry is a dead end. Show this video at schoolhouse to encourage your students to last creative inwards their mathematical thinking. 

4. Communicating Reasoning
Continuing the theme of encouraging students to test diverse approaches to solving problems, bright NQT blogger gems post (unlucky 13) was my most pop post ever, amongst almost 2,000 views inwards a week. I also wrote a post on circle theorems terminal calendar week that I was peculiarly proud of. I dearest my gems posts together with my resources library, but it's my topic specials that I intend people volition detect the most helpful. I similar to intend that novel or late qualified teachers volition actually produce goodness from these posts when planning to learn a theme for the get-go time. 

If y'all similar my weblog together with then delight vote for it inwards the Great Britain Blog Awards (click hither to vote). There are over fifty blogs inwards the freelance teaching category together with exclusively 10 volition become through to the side yesteryear side stage. My weblog is tiny compared to the super-successful, well-established blogs I'm upward against. I've exclusively been writing it since Apr but I've done a lot inwards that fourth dimension - I pose my ticker together with soul into it, thence if y'all detect it useful together with then your vote would last really much appreciated.

Finally, produce y'all receive Chris Smith's (@aap03102)  weekly newsletter?  If y'all don't already subscribe together with then email him forthwith to larn on the mailing list. This calendar week he featured Pret homeworks which y'all should accept a await at if y'all haven't seen them before. Chris also featured the first-class puzzle below, which I'm looking forrad to giving my students when I provide to travel inwards January.

5 Maths Gems #57

This is my 57^th update from the the world of Maths EduTwitter. If you're non a tweeter, or if you're wondering whether you've missed anything, here's a summary of unopen to of the latest ideas as well as resources for pedagogy maths.

1. Artful Maths
Clarissa Grandi (@c0mplexnumber) has created the delightful website artfulmaths.com. It provides resources as well as inspiration thus that children tin dismiss sense the beauty of mathematics. There's a large department on how to deliver arty maths lessons on topics such every bit Celtic Knotwork, Mazes as well as Labyrinths, as well as Insect Symmetry. There's likewise display ideas for maths classrooms, guidance on running an origami club, recommendations of puzzle games as well as lots more. Do banking concern jibe it out.

2. GCSE Paper 2
This jewel has a express shelf life but is nonetheless worth sharing for those of yous who encounter (or email) your Year 11s betwixt at nowadays as well as their instant GCSE newspaper on Thursday. Numerous helpful teachers convey created 'best guess' papers for the upcoming exam, based on the topics that came upward inward Paper 1. Superstar Emma Bell (@EJmaths) has collated them here. The collection covers both Higher as well as Foundation for Edexcel, OCR as well as AQA. It's good worth sharing the relevant papers amongst your students thus they tin dismiss focus their examination grooming on the topics that are most probable to locomote tested.

Some of these papers are from novel website onmaths.com - this website forthwith marks students' answers thus is specially useful for independent study. Thanks to Nikki (@mathszest) for commencement making me aware of this website.

3. Odd + Odd 

I only dearest this cute 'proof' shared by @ProfSmudge.

4. Maths Quickies
The Twitter account @MathsMastery tweets a daily #MathsQuickie like the illustration shown below.

Thanks to Mark Greenaway (@suffolkmaths) for pulling together these questions (and their answers) inward PDFs as well as PowerPoints - they tin dismiss locomote downloaded here. 

5. Parallel Lines
Don Steward has shared yet unopen to other fantastic resources on his wonderful weblog Median. His PowerPoint as well as tasks for angles inward parallel lines are excellent.

Update

If you're doing whatever revision amongst GCSE, Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 grade or Certificate of Further Maths students over the coming weeks, create banking concern jibe out my growing collection of revision clocks.

If you're currently pedagogy Year x thus yous mightiness locomote interested inward my recent post: Useful GCSE Questions from Linked Pair Papers.

Tom Bennison's summertime effect for Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 grade teachers at nowadays has a website. The East Midlands KS5 Mathematics Day is on ninth August 2016 - it looks similar an splendid effect as well as I promise to encounter yous there.

Have yous signed @MathsMrCox's petition to present your opposition to the proposed Year seven SATs resits yet? It's of import that nosotros create whatever nosotros tin dismiss to brand our views known, rather than stand upward dorsum as well as grumble close bad determination making. Please sign!

I've had a lovely one-half term celebrating my youngest daughter's instant birthday. We were really lucky to create goodness from a complimentary trip to Legoland, inward render for having a quick await at their maths schoolhouse trips. I was hugely impressed past times the workshop nosotros saw (they got my iv twelvemonth sometime programming robots!) as well as volition write a weblog post close it soon. Although a household unit of measurement solar daytime out at Legoland is rather pricey, the schoolhouse trips are really reasonably priced.

I'll learn out yous amongst this lovely puzzle from @YohakuPuzzle. Fill inward the cells amongst unlike factors to learn the products inward each row/column.

5 Maths Gems #14

Welcome to my 14th weekly gems post - this is where I characteristic 5 of the best teaching ideas I've seen on Twitter each week.

You may or may non know that I've been writing these posts spell I've been at habitation on motherhood leave. My babe keeps me busy during the day, but my evenings are blissfully gratis from mark together with lesson planning thence I create got a rare chance to reverberate on my teaching together with assemble novel ideas. It's a shame that all teachers can't accept a mini-sabbatical every 5 years to produce the same. When I become dorsum to travel inwards Jan I'll create got 100 maths teaching gems inwards my toolkit - it volition last difficult to know where to start! 

1. Two Truths together with a Lie

Two Truths together with a Lie is traditionally an icebreaker game - person tells y'all 3 facts almost themselves together with y'all jurist which ane is the lie. For event my blood brother powerfulness tell y'all that he was in ane lawsuit bitten yesteryear a donkey, he was in ane lawsuit bitten yesteryear a serpent together with he was in ane lawsuit bitten yesteryear a monkey. Bizarrely, exclusively ane of those statements is a lie. So let's accept this game together with plow it into an action that prompts mathematical discussion.

This thought came from a tweet yesteryear @TCM_at_NCTM:

Polygons (source: mathsisfun.com)

This tweet made me realise that I'm guilty of lazily telling my students that polygon is 'just about other word for shape' when inwards fact I should last to a greater extent than specific - a polygon is a 2D figure amongst at to the lowest degree 3 conduct sides together with angles (the word derives from the Greek 'many-angled'), thence a circle is non a polygon.

The ii truths almost quadrilaterals ('a foursquare is a rectangle' together with 'a rectangle is a parallelogram') volition also prompt interesting discussions almost definitions. The quadrilateral identify unit of measurement tree powerfulness attention clarify things. The Euler diagram below is also helpful. 

Quadrilaterals (source: Wikipedia)

Here's a duet to a greater extent than examples of mathematical 'Two Truths together with a Lie' activities:

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 related idea, Maths Lies (where the instructor tells ane deliberate prevarication per lesson - encounter my first gems post) is nonetheless ane of my favourite teaching ideas ever.

xkcd.com

2. Wikipedia and visualisation

From 1 to 1,000,000' from Gems 7 almost Estimation 180). Show your students the dotty pictures thence they larn a skillful feel of the magnitude of numbers. 

The paradigm higher upward reminds me of the 'If the World Were a Village of 100 People' visuals I talked almost inwards Gems 1 - this is a nice agency of conceptualising information that powerfulness attention students sympathise percentages.

3. Creative Mathematicians

Thanks to @gareth_metcalfe for sharing this bright video 'What is a mathematical proof?'. The video explains why mathematicians pass most of their fourth dimension trying things that don't work. Students are frequently reluctant to test a dissimilar approach if their get-go test at answering a enquiry is a dead end. Show this video at schoolhouse to encourage your students to last creative inwards their mathematical thinking. 

4. Communicating Reasoning
Continuing the theme of encouraging students to test diverse approaches to solving problems, bright NQT blogger gems post (unlucky 13) was my most pop post ever, amongst almost 2,000 views inwards a week. I also wrote a post on circle theorems terminal calendar week that I was peculiarly proud of. I dearest my gems posts together with my resources library, but it's my topic specials that I intend people volition detect the most helpful. I similar to intend that novel or late qualified teachers volition actually produce goodness from these posts when planning to learn a theme for the get-go time. 

If y'all similar my weblog together with then delight vote for it inwards the Great Britain Blog Awards (click hither to vote). There are over fifty blogs inwards the freelance teaching category together with exclusively 10 volition become through to the side yesteryear side stage. My weblog is tiny compared to the super-successful, well-established blogs I'm upward against. I've exclusively been writing it since Apr but I've done a lot inwards that fourth dimension - I pose my ticker together with soul into it, thence if y'all detect it useful together with then your vote would last really much appreciated.

Finally, produce y'all receive Chris Smith's (@aap03102)  weekly newsletter?  If y'all don't already subscribe together with then email him forthwith to larn on the mailing list. This calendar week he featured Pret homeworks which y'all should accept a await at if y'all haven't seen them before. Chris also featured the first-class puzzle below, which I'm looking forrad to giving my students when I provide to travel inwards January.

5 Maths Gems #57

This is my 57^th update from the the world of Maths EduTwitter. If you're non a tweeter, or if you're wondering whether you've missed anything, here's a summary of unopen to of the latest ideas as well as resources for pedagogy maths.

1. Artful Maths
Clarissa Grandi (@c0mplexnumber) has created the delightful website artfulmaths.com. It provides resources as well as inspiration thus that children tin dismiss sense the beauty of mathematics. There's a large department on how to deliver arty maths lessons on topics such every bit Celtic Knotwork, Mazes as well as Labyrinths, as well as Insect Symmetry. There's likewise display ideas for maths classrooms, guidance on running an origami club, recommendations of puzzle games as well as lots more. Do banking concern jibe it out.

2. GCSE Paper 2
This jewel has a express shelf life but is nonetheless worth sharing for those of yous who encounter (or email) your Year 11s betwixt at nowadays as well as their instant GCSE newspaper on Thursday. Numerous helpful teachers convey created 'best guess' papers for the upcoming exam, based on the topics that came upward inward Paper 1. Superstar Emma Bell (@EJmaths) has collated them here. The collection covers both Higher as well as Foundation for Edexcel, OCR as well as AQA. It's good worth sharing the relevant papers amongst your students thus they tin dismiss focus their examination grooming on the topics that are most probable to locomote tested.

Some of these papers are from novel website onmaths.com - this website forthwith marks students' answers thus is specially useful for independent study. Thanks to Nikki (@mathszest) for commencement making me aware of this website.

3. Odd + Odd 

I only dearest this cute 'proof' shared by @ProfSmudge.

4. Maths Quickies
The Twitter account @MathsMastery tweets a daily #MathsQuickie like the illustration shown below.

Thanks to Mark Greenaway (@suffolkmaths) for pulling together these questions (and their answers) inward PDFs as well as PowerPoints - they tin dismiss locomote downloaded here. 

5. Parallel Lines
Don Steward has shared yet unopen to other fantastic resources on his wonderful weblog Median. His PowerPoint as well as tasks for angles inward parallel lines are excellent.

Update

If you're doing whatever revision amongst GCSE, Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 grade or Certificate of Further Maths students over the coming weeks, create banking concern jibe out my growing collection of revision clocks.

If you're currently pedagogy Year x thus yous mightiness locomote interested inward my recent post: Useful GCSE Questions from Linked Pair Papers.

Tom Bennison's summertime effect for Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 grade teachers at nowadays has a website. The East Midlands KS5 Mathematics Day is on ninth August 2016 - it looks similar an splendid effect as well as I promise to encounter yous there.

Have yous signed @MathsMrCox's petition to present your opposition to the proposed Year seven SATs resits yet? It's of import that nosotros create whatever nosotros tin dismiss to brand our views known, rather than stand upward dorsum as well as grumble close bad determination making. Please sign!

I've had a lovely one-half term celebrating my youngest daughter's instant birthday. We were really lucky to create goodness from a complimentary trip to Legoland, inward render for having a quick await at their maths schoolhouse trips. I was hugely impressed past times the workshop nosotros saw (they got my iv twelvemonth sometime programming robots!) as well as volition write a weblog post close it soon. Although a household unit of measurement solar daytime out at Legoland is rather pricey, the schoolhouse trips are really reasonably priced.

I'll learn out yous amongst this lovely puzzle from @YohakuPuzzle. Fill inward the cells amongst unlike factors to learn the products inward each row/column.