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

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.

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?

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).

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.

Lionel is a decent mathematician but only writes answers and loses lots of marks as a result (he loses all of them on this sheet). Your class’ job is to help Lionel gain full credit. Topics on here involve repeated percentage change, proportion and calculating with bounds. It is designed to create mathematical discussion.

So I’ve decided to use a different song for each one of these and Depeche Mode were always going to feature. There are four slides each containing four questions (one on number topics, two on geometry topics and one on data topics) of increasing difficulty where equations need to be formed to solve them but equations aren’t always used in this context.

Sequences in contexts you may not expect… three slides each with four mathematical problems involving sequences of increasing difficulty. Couple that with a classic late 80s Belinda Carlisle single and you have a resource that could make a nice starter or plenary. Topics include angles in triangles, Pythagoras, averages and more…

Ten questions of increasing difficulty (you can choose which you do); four hypothetical students have had a go and one has got the answer correct with the other three making common errors. Not only should your class work out who got it correct but as an extension/part of the activity they could work out the misconception for the wrong answers. This involves lines, polygons, quadrilaterals, circle theorems and bearings.

Designed for the AQA Further Maths Level 2 Certificate course, answer the questions, reveal the joke. This is essentially multiplying matrices.

Ten “trees” of increasing difficulty, each with three or four questions also of increasing difficulty. Answers are provided on separate slides and this is designed to allow students to choose their start (and end?) point or to be used as a plenary in each case.

Solve the quadratic inequalities to work out the order in which to cut the wires. I find these sheets useful as the answers appear on the sheet and therefore students can check quickly (without asking the teacher) whether they are on the right track; this means that the teacher can help those who genuinely require it.

Six trees to climb on percentages, covering equivalence, of an amount, change and repeated change. Each tree gets increasingly challenging as the tree is scaled so these might be useful for a plenary or starter to inform you of where they feel comfortable/challenged.

Four questions, ten possible answers. Students seem to like these and can just get on with them as answers appear on the sheet. This only involves the cosine rule.

Ten questions of increasing difficulty on sets and Venn diagrams; four possible answers are given for each of which three have common misconceptions that can be discussed in class. These are designed to encourage discussion.

Ten questions of increasing difficulty; four answers given but only one is correct. Can your classes decide who is correct and where those who aren’t correct have got their answers from? This is designed to create discussion over vector problems (and have worked in my classroom). Arrow changed in Q1!

Includes one and two brackets for expanding, including simplifying as well. I wanted to have 8 trees in total so also put in a completing the square tree. Each tree has 3 or 4 questions of increasing difficulty; students choose their start and finish which should allow you to judge where to pitch your teaching; or you could just use it however you like.

Each tree has three or four questions that get progressively more challenging as you work your way to the top. The idea is for a student to start where they think they’ll be challenged and then move up from that point, but ultimately it can be used however.