Indefinite integrals using the skills learned in Year 1 of the Edexcel A Level course that reveal a lame joke. These are a nice break from ploughing through a text book!

The usual thing: answer the questions, reveal the cheesy joke. I use these as starters, plenaries and main tasks; you can use them (or not as the case may be) however you like… but students do seem to like them (if the volume of groans at the jokes is anything to go by).

Six questions, ten answer options. The questions are all based around similar shapes. These are good for students to just get on with as the answers appear on the sheet.

A bunch of codebreakers (30 I think, with answers) on various topics, including Venn diagrams (probability), set notation, vectors (including calculations), turning points of quadratics (completing the square), transformations, truncation/error intervals, sale prices, properties of number, circle theorems, product rule for counting, identities, midpoints, domain/range of functions, currency conversion, density, capture/recapture. These are good for any stage of a lesson or homework and are easy to mark as they should spell out the punchline to a joke. All these codebreakers are available individually for free.

Four slides each with five questions on answered either correctly or incorrectly; students must decide whether each given answer is correct or incorrect then explain why. These work nicely as a reasoning activity at the end of a lesson or topic in my experience but use them how you like (or don’t).

This resource uses tables when expanding and factorising but you can edit if you want to do something else. Essentially this leads students through forwards and backwards through expanding and factorising two brackets, and should lead to discussion. There is an extension where a is not 1.

Yet another one of these; answer the questions, figure out the anagram, laugh a very tiny bit (or groan)… students seem to like them.

Lionel is pretty good at Maths but won’t show any workings; he therefore loses marks in tests and assessments. Can your classes show Lionel how to achieve full marks?

Hazel shows no workings, Mabel makes errors. Each gets marks (or not as the case may be) for questions but Mabel gets more even when Hazel is correct. This idea was from a colleague who wanted to emphasise the importance of showing a clear method and the potential to get more marks even with an incorrect answer. The intention is to get students to discuss where marks are gained and where they are lost as well as them correcting Mabel.

Two sets of questions (one on calculating a side, one on calculating an angle) using the cosine rule, allowing students to place measurements in the formula and work backwards from formula to diagram. This is intended for use when introducing the formula to students but you know your students better than me so use it (or don’t) however you like.

Lionel is a great mathematician but won’t write any workings. He keeps losing marks as a result. Can you give full solutions so that Lionel understands how he can achieve full marks?

Lionel doesn’t do workings; he loses most of the marks on a question which requires workings therefore. Can your students help him with inequalities, forming quadratics, equations and expanding brackets?

Lionel’s pretty good at Maths but shows no workings whatsoever; this means he gets very few marks even though he gets stuff correct or partly correct. Students need to show Lionel how to write a full solution so he can maximise his marks. The whole point of this is to get students discussing the steps to a successful solution. This involves forming and solving equations, substitution and algebraic fractions amongst other things.

Lionel is still refusing to writing any workings so your students need to show him the way. He is tackling trigonometry, bearings, parallel lines and speed (measures, which I know could come under Number but…)

The usual “answer the questions and reveal the punchline” for some worded questions. This is designed as a task for Year 6 or 7.

More Lionel stuff here; he doesn’t write his workings so loses loads of marks. Can your students help him? This is slightly more challenging than “Number 1”, involving standard form, LCM (involving prime factors), proportion, mixed numbers.

Lionel is a decent mathematician but will not write his method down so loses loads of marks in exams etc. Can your students help Lionel write full solutions? Here Lionel tackles averages, pie charts and probability (expected outcomes).

Help Lionel gain full credit for his answers (he gives no working whatsoever); this one involves recurring decimals to fractions, surds (rationalising and expanding two brackets), proportion (recipes).

Lionel loses marks because he doesn’t write full solutions. The students in your class need to show Lionel how he could get full marks. This is designed to get students talking about solutions and contains solving equations, equations of lines, indices and factorising (difference of two squares).

This is designed to force students in to showing their workings by giving them the answer by asking “show that” questions. This involves equations of lines including perpendiculars.