As there isn’t really any new content to learn when studying Indices in Year 12, I wanted to find a way to make my lesson a bit more interesting - hence this relay. I’ll let my students get stuck into this straight away (in teams) so I discover what they can/can’t do - far better than standing at the front teaching them things they already know! Questions are differentiated by difficulty (1, 2 and 3 stars). The questions are in a completely random order, so Question 20 (for example) isn’t necessarily harder than Question 8. I’ve included answers, and I’ve also included the Word version of the relay in case you want to make any changes, e.g. if you disagree with my difficulty rating!

These are sets of starter questions that I have used with my Year 11 (Foundation) and Year 10 (borderline Higher/Foundation) classes this year. Each set of starters contains between 5 and 10 lessons worth of starters that test the same topics each lesson. Solutions are provided to all questions. The cover image shows the format of all starters. Topics tested are: Year 11 Set 1: Expanding brackets, collecting like terms, solving equations, prime factorisation, nth term of arithmetic sequences, percentages of amounts, substitution & sharing in a ratio. Year 11 Set 2: Averages, rounding, division, FDP, multiplying and dividing fractions, sharing in a ratio, factorising quadratics, expanding double brackets, mixed numbers and improper fractions, fractions of amounts, simplifying fractions. Year 11 Set 3: Multiplying fractions by integers, column addition, exterior angles of polygons, ordering negatives, fractions of amounts, solving equations, ratio and probability. Year 11 Set 4: Simplifying expressions, expressing one quantity as a fraction of another, standard form, multiplying mixed numbers, recognising arithmetic and geometric sequences, recognising parallel lines, percentage increase. Year 11 Set 5: Finding and using the nth term of an arithmetic sequence, converting mixed numbers to improper fractions, expanding double brackets, solving quadratics, multiplying and dividing decimals, probability. Year 11 Set 6: Solving equations (xs on both sides), number facts, calculating with negatives, ratio problems, simultaneous equations. Year 10 Set 1: Substitution, expanding double brackets, solving equations, significant figures, simplifying expressions, estimating square roots, index laws. Year 10 Set 2: Angles in parallel lines, angles in polygons, averages, index laws, recurring decimals, solving equations. Year 10 Set 3: Volume of cuboids, geometric notation, simplifying expressions, calculating with negatives, percentage increase and decrease, algebraic fractions, ordering fractions, solving equations. Year 10 Set 4: Re-arranging formulae, standard form, sharing in a ratio, factorising quadratics, expanding single brackets, substitution, estimation, multiplying and dividing decimals, index laws, expanding double brackets.

This Powerpoint covers the 5 Sampling Techniques covered in Chapter 1 of the Applied Textbook for Edexcel Year 12 / AS Maths, namely: Simple Random Sampling Systematic Sampling Stratified Sampling Quota Sampling Opportunity Sampling To try and make the content a little bit more interesting, I introduce these techniques using Skittles (eating them is a nice treat at the end of the lesson!).

Students solve quadratic equations by completing the square, giving their answers in both surd form and as decimals. The answers are all jumbled up, and students must match the answers to the correct quadratic equation. There are a couple of quadratics where the coefficient of x is odd, and some knowledge of simplifying surds will be required. Solutions are provided.

A short matching task on the Area of a Circle in terms of Pi. Students calculate the area of each circle, and cross off the answer in the grid at the bottom. It will probably take your students only 5 minutes to complete! Task is available as a pdf or as a powerpoint, in case you want to make any changes.

In each block of the maze, students are given a value and a percentage they should increase it by. An answer is given (the large number in each block). Students try to find a way through the maze, left to right, that only goes through correct answers (moving diagonally is not allowed!). Solutions provided.

This activity is inspired by something I saw on the Mathspad website, but I wanted a simpler version to use in a first lesson with Year 7 on expanding double brackets. There are therefore no negatives in this activity, and the leading coefficient in the quadratics you obtain is always 1. The students are given a table of algebraic expressions and 15 quadratics they are trying to create. They pick 2 expressions from the table, multiply them together and see if they’ve created one of the quadratics. If not, they try again! Each expression can only be used once, although most expressions appear multiple times in the table. I’ve used this with a mixed ability Year 7 group, and it worked well. Weaker students can pick expressions at random and see what they get, whereas stronger students may start with the quadratic and ask themselves how they can create it - essentially factorising quadratics! Solutions are provided.

This is similar to a resource already on TES that I really like (https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/gcse-maths-sequences-search-worksheet-6158880) but I wanted an activity that required more substitution into nth terms rather than pattern-spotting, so this is what I came up with. Students have to find the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 10th, 50th and 100th terms of sequences using the given nth terms. They cross off all of their answers in the grid above. For ease of marking, there will be 10 numbers left over in the grid after the activity is completed. Students should add these together, and if they’ve made no mistakes, they’ll get a total of 1000. Full solutions are still provided however!

A basic worksheet to ensure students are comfortable with the equal to and not equal to symbols. They have to check my answers to various calculations and put the appropriate symbol in the gap. Starts with calculating with integers, then addition/subtraction of decimals, then adding fractions, and finally multiplying/dividing decimals. Solutions provided.

I really liked Don Steward’s task on equable parallelograms (https://donsteward.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/equable-parallelograms.html) but wanted some questions that were a little bit easier for my Year 10 group, so I designed these. In each of paralleograms on the sheet, the area is equal to the perimeter. Students should use this fact to set up an equation, which they can solve to find the value of the unknown. Solutions are provided.

A task I used with more able Year 8 students. Students are given decreasing arithmetic sequences - but most of the terms are missing. They must first determine the missing terms, and then work out the nth term. Solutions are provided.

A Tarsia puzzle (jigsaw puzzle) on finding the nth term of Quadratic Sequences. Pieces need to be cut out, and students have to work out the nth term of each sequence, and match it with the answer. I wasn’t able to upload the Tarsia file itself, so you can’t make any edits unfortunately. There is a pdf document of the puzzle, and the solution is also included.

In each block of the maze, students are given a value and a percentage they should decrease it by. An answer is given (the large number in each block). Students try to find a way through the maze, left to right, that only goes through correct answers (moving diagonally is not allowed!). Solutions provided.

Inside each shape are the instructions for the enlargement - the letter is the centre of enlargement, and the fraction is the scale factor. Unfortunately the letters which show the location of the centre of enlargement are quite small - sorry! Once all enlargements have been successfully completed, they should join together to create a short message. Solution included!

Next to each shape are the instructions for the enlargement - the letter is the centre of enlargement, and the number is the scale factor. Unfortunately the letters which indicate the centres of enlargement are quite small - sorry! Once all enlargements have been successfully completed, they should join together to create a short message. Solution included!

A presentation I designed to help me deliver the “Number Families” task from nrich (https://nrich.maths.org/13123). Rather than jumping straight in to set notation, it starts off getting pupils to list what they know about certain numbers. Then they imagine that numbers that share a certain property can be placed in the same “bucket”. This idea of a “bucket” is then used to introduce set notation.

A way to make solving equations a bit more interesting! Students have to pick 2 of the algebraic expressions and set them equal to each other. They then solve the equation they’ve created, and hope the answer is one of the targets on the right hand side of the page. If not, they create another equation! When I use this in my lessons, I say the first person to create an equation with a target answer gets to “claim” that answer and gets their name on the board. I find the students are really motivated by this, and do a lot more practice than they usually would! Possible solutions are provided.

My attempt at making practice of multiplying and dividing negative numbers a little more interesting! Students are given completed multiplication grids - but the numbers around the outside (which can be negative or positive) are missing. Students have to work out where the numbers should go to give the completed grid. Solutions are provided.

A quick (less than 30 mins) investigation that I did with my Year 7s on Semiprimes.

Students are given a grid of one-step equations to solve. They’ll need 2 colouring pencils (any colours will do!) - one colour for even answers, and one colour for odd answers. I’ve included a file showing what the final image should look like! A nice activity for Friday Period 5!