I taught in a range of schools for many years before moving into FE, where I found creative and imaginative approaches just as rewarding with adults. Most of my resources are concerned with giving control to the learner, through a range of methods. Some are great for just giving them experience of examination questions, and the chance to discuss these with other learners. I now concentrate on spreading the range of creations from UK KS1 to KS4, and across the Common Standards.
I taught in a range of schools for many years before moving into FE, where I found creative and imaginative approaches just as rewarding with adults. Most of my resources are concerned with giving control to the learner, through a range of methods. Some are great for just giving them experience of examination questions, and the chance to discuss these with other learners. I now concentrate on spreading the range of creations from UK KS1 to KS4, and across the Common Standards.
Year 4 - Geometry – properties of shapes
Two separate bundles of activities covering (a) triangles and (b) quadrilaterals, all for the new KS2 specifications. Specifically written for Year 4, they can easily be used at any level. In Word for editing or PDF for clear copies. Activities, worksheets and assessments, plus a short presentations on triangles and quadrilaterals. The presentations are included as PowerPoints and PDFs, to ensure at least one will open on any computer.
Statutory requirements
Pupils should be taught to:
• compare and classify geometric shapes, including quadrilaterals and triangles, based on their properties and sizes
Notes and guidance (non-statutory)
Pupils continue to classify shapes using geometrical properties, extending to classifying different triangles (for example, isosceles, equilateral, scalene) and quadrilaterals (for example, parallelogram, rhombus, trapezium).
Pupils compare and order angles in preparation for using a protractor and compare lengths and angles to decide if a polygon is regular or irregular.
Surds are new to the Foundation part of GCSE maths, so I've made a very clear step-by-step PowerPoint that introduces surds, explains irrational numbers, demonstrates how to simplify surds, and gives examples and practice in applying all four rules of arithmetic using surds. Plus rationalising the denominator and more.
Throughout the presentation there are groups of questions on each aspect to apply the skills, all with answers.
Learners are now expected to appreciate that a surd gives an exact answer rather than a decimal approximation, and an understanding is essential for the new topics in algebra and trigonometry that are now on Foundation.
Plus, it could be a very solid introduction to Higher tier surds.
Everything you need for a lesson (or two) on creating, reading and interpreting histograms. Starter activity on PowerPoint on finding the areas of rectangles drawn on a co-ordinate grid, and finding missing lengths; a presentation in PowerPoint on creating, reading and interpreting a histogram with three examples, with equal class intervals and unequal class intervals; learner activities, with questions in Word or PDF; a plenary presentation in PowerPoint to check learning; and a lesson plan to make the whole thing complete.
Suitable for high achievers at KS3, or Higher Tier at GCSE now and for the 2015 specs.
Can be uploaded to a VLE for the learners to follow themselves.
Maths GCSE Ratio. Part (a) Dividing a given quantity into two parts
Introduction suitable for Foundation and Higher Tier, acting as a reminder and revision of KS3 Ratio.
Simply as is says - dividing into parts, with PowerPoint introduction and two sets of worksheets.
Standard style lesson plans put into PowerPoint for easy showing in the classroom, printing for handouts etc. All the objectives covering Algebra, Geometry and Measure, and Mensuration and Calculation included. Twenty seven lessons in all.
After getting 'one-star' review on the complementary set, which covers number, ratio etc., I decided to offer a free sample of the first three algebra PowerPoints so you can try them first before you commit to buy them. Find the three free samples here:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/maths-free-samples-gcse-higher-tier-specs-and-objectives-in-powerpoint-for-lesson-plans-display-11163392
Straightforward set of questions on standard form, adapted and adopted from genuine past exam papers. Arranged for developing the complexity, and for printing and accessibility.
Includes converting between standard form and ordinary numbers, ordering, multiplication and division, and a few word problems.
Specs for KS4:
'interpret and compare numbers in standard form
Nothing fancy - just a full set of questions reflecting those set by the big exam boards.
Introduction to surds and irrational numbers, surds in calculations, surds in trigonometry, surds investigations, surds in brackets, surds and rationalising the denominator. Presentations and worksheets, enough for two, three, maybe more lessons. All clearly presented, and based on current GCSE questions.
Finding the volume of cuboids, with a big selection of worksheets, from simple counting of cubes to working backwards from the volume to find other dimensions. Plus questions in the style of SATs and GCSE Foundation.
Developing area and perimeter to look at shapes with same areas but different perimeters, same perimeters but different areas, and equal area and perimeter. Engaging activities for the learners. Covers Year 5, but good for revision and practice at later stages.
Everything needed to introduce algebra in Key Stage 2 (Year 6) or to revise and build upon it in KS 3 or later. Formulas, sequences, missing numbers, number patterns and missing number problems.
Presentations, worksheets, activities and assessments covering the whole of algebra in Year 6, and also suitable for older learners. Lots of opportunities for deep thinking, and for differentiation, and all suitable for editing if required. Most have answers. And many questions based on previous SATs.
All written to new UK standards (2015).
Year 6 Algebra
Pupils should be taught to:
• use simple formulae
• generate and describe linear number sequences
• express missing number problems algebraically
• find pairs of numbers that satisfy an equation with two unknowns
• enumerate possibilities of combinations of two variables.
Notes and guidance (non-statutory)
Pupils should be introduced to the use of symbols and letters to represent variables and unknowns in mathematical situations that they already understand, such as:
• missing numbers, lengths, coordinates and angles
• formulae in mathematics and science
• equivalent expressions (for example, a + b = b + a)
• generalisations of number patterns
• number puzzles (for example, what two numbers can add up to).
Surds and and an understanding of irrational numbers are new to GCSE Foundation, so I’ve produced a clear and simple PowerPoint for classroom use to introduce the topic.
Other stuff available on working with surds etc.
I’ve added a pdf version to solve the problem of different versions of PowerPoint and some images not working well on ppt.
Maths. Descriptors and specifications for UK Key Stage 4, although equally adequate for KS3. All lovingly put into word clouds using Wordle.
I made B/W versions some time ago, but now I've been asked for colour, so here they are.
Copyright on final images (c)Colin Billett 2015
And all credit to Wordle, as cited on the website:
'May I make money off of Wordle images? Yes.
You may take a Wordle, put it on your book cover, your t-shirt, your campaign poster, what have you. You may get rich off it.
If you want to give credit to wordle.net, feel free!'
So again, all credit to wordle.net, and many thanks!
Any problems, please let me know and I can change the formats.
GCSE Higher Tier says ‘apply systematic listing strategies, including use of the product rule for counting (i.e. if there are m ways of doing one task and for each of these, there are n ways of doing another task, then the total number of ways the two tasks can be done is m × n ways)’.
A clear, colourful and carefully explained PowerPoint presentation building up the skills from simple matching problems to calculating combinations and permutations in a variety of realistic and original settings, with lots of opportunity for the learner to reflect, apply, and evaluate the problems.
Also available in my shop are two differentiated worksheets of adapted exam questions from sample and real GCSE assessments.
Plus a PDF version that will work on all operating systems.
A set of engaging activities to give the learners the concept of area. National Curriculum Year 4 mathematics.
Area by counting squares, area of rectangles as arrays, and addition and subtraction of rectangles to find the area of a rectilinear shape.
Statutory requirements
Pupils should be taught to:
• find the area of rectilinear shapes by counting squares
Notes and guidance (non-statutory)
They relate area to arrays and multiplication.
But also great for revision in Year 5 and above. I've done this sort of thing with Foundation GCSE!
Two sets of questions, differentiated by paper, for learners to complete. Plus answers.
Counting has always been on Foundation, so quite easy for learners.
Sophisticated counting strategies are new to the GCSE higher tier. The specs say:
apply systematic listing strategies, including use of the product rule for counting (i.e. if there are m ways of doing one task and for each of these, there are n ways of doing another task, then the total number of ways the two tasks can be done is m × n ways)
Hence also suitable for revision at A Level Statistics.
All questions follow the format of 2017 exams across the boards, and the SAMs and Mocks available.
