This is a different way to allow students to gain some practice in short bursts and helps introduce fractional indices. The point is to generate discussion in class whilst the students do some work.

Four sets of four problems where students have the answer but there are blanks in the questions which require filling in. This is designed to create discussion in class and hopefully provides natural differentiation (stretch the “top end” by finding the general solution where possible compared to finding a single solution). I will be using these as starters or plenaries as I believe they will develop deeper understanding of topics, but feel free to use them as you like.

I just wanted something that covers bar graph; this covers “normal”, comparative and composite bar graphs and is designed, in two cases at least, to create discussion.

There are 8 sets of five questions that have been answered either correctly or incorrectly, the students have to decide which. These are designed to create discussion in classrooms and include one-step, two-step, brackets, variables on both sides, equations involving fractions, simultaneous equations (linear only) and quadratic equations (both factorised and non-factorised). Hopefully there should be something for all levels up to GCSE.

There are four trees where students can work from bottom to top, choosing an appropriately challenging start point if they wish. This is “introduction to algebra” stuff, I will do expanding and factorising on a separate file but these could offer nice starters or plenaries. It contains adding/subtracting as well as multiplying variables and collecting like terms.

Find the appropriate equivalent fraction and find the punchline to Tim Vine’s joke; designed as a bit more practice for some of my Year 7 and 8 classes, but could be useful for others. I have uploaded PDF versions so those who don’t have Equation Editor can see them; no need to thank me…

Eight situations where forming and solving an equation could be required; topics include Perimeter, angles, averages, percentages, fractions, compound measures, probability and ratio (the final two involve quadratics). Read the instructions and from that form and solve. I have done solutions should you need them.

All triangles and quarilaterals plus a regular polygon slide with 8 statements that students must decide whether they are always, sometimes or never true. This should create discussion. I have said that squares are a type of rectangle, and a rhombus is a type of parallelogram.

This is an attempt to relate algebraic questions that children struggle with to worded questions they can all do. It is designed to start you off, building up from 'I think of a number' to a full blown linear equation.

Calculate how much the catering compnay should order of each ingredient. The recipes are about right (if a little bland) as they are lifted from the BBC website essentially.

This is designed to help introduce factorising of quadratic equations in order to solve them. This should lead to some discussion.

Show it for 20 seconds then they have to remember it exactly. I put the picture of me on there so they would concentrate on their reproduction rather than staring around the room, but feel free to change it to a picture of your choice!

A student gave me the title (pun on 'The Hunger Games' - original was 'The Number Games'), I did the rest. Five different sets of questions in a functional style for students to work through either individually or in pairs/teams.

In this activity various cartoon characters have been transformed - can the students describe each transformation?

Choose one of the 6 options and then say what happens next when solving the equation. I used a template (with permission!) for the music from the excellent resource written by DanielBurke - check his resources out as they are top quality. The animations are little clunky, but do the job - I'm sure you could all make it look like Avatar! If you find the answers already on the slide then powerpoint has messed up the animations. Just contact me and I can send you my version.

The idea is Mr Barton's, but this is my probability contribution. Show for 30 seconds, they then get down what they can remember. Show a few times until they think they&'ve finished then check their against yours. Simples!

This takes students through expanding a single bracket, factorising a single bracket, expanding two brackets and factorising quadratic expressions. Hopefully this should lead them in manageable steps to factorising quadratics, including a few with the coefficient of x squared being greater than 1. When I find errors I have corrected them...

I am about to tackle rearranging formulae (a topic so many find difficult) with my Year 10 class so came up with this in an attempt to make them more comfortable with playing with algebra; it should also encourage discussion about different ways of doing it.

This contains 4 solving equations activities of increasing difficulty. This encourages discussion and insists upon students showing their working.

Six "spiders" on six different sets of angle properties starting with "on a line", "around a point", "triangles", "polygons", "parallel lines" and "circle theorems". The final two require students to name the property used and I have left a couple of the parallel lines with the answers filled in so that students can draw their own diagram. The activity is designed to create discussion.