Expanding Binomials and Factorising Quadratic Expressions Objectives: To be able to: • expand products of two binomials • factorise quadratic expressions of the form x2+ bx + c, including the difference of two squares All the research says that girls learn best by understanding, and that by far the best approach to expanding and factorising is by using the grid method. I’ve done this very successfully for years, and retention is greatly improved by giving as little input as possible, and giving the learners challenges to complete. Plus an investigation to give that stretch and challenge. A full set of resources for learning how to expand and factorise, with a PowerPoint that can be used for class discussion. Plus some extra exercises for homework or assessment in a subsequent lesson. And a reminder of multiplication and addition of positive and negative numbers for a quick warm-up. All answers included!

Forty six questions of general arithmetic in the style of UK SATs papers from 2000 onwards at KS2. The difficulty is deliberately spread through each of the two sections so that learners who find one question difficult can move on and still find accessible questions later. Great for revision at any time during the year, and quite appropriate for KS3 aiming for Foundation GCSE. In fact, good for any time when learners need a bit of practice on the sort of questions they will meet in exams and tests.

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 GCSE Foundation & Higher. Surds & irrational numbers, three activities or investigations in shape and measure. Finding the length of a the side of a square that leads to an irrational number. Comparing ratios of paper sizes to derive the ratio of length to width for A4 paper. Finding the area and perimeter of the pieces of a tangram. All good stuff that leads the learner through different process to derive lengths and areas using surds, and to add and simplify with surds. Needs knowledge of Pythagoras, which is KS3. So great for revising Pythagoras with surds.

I teach 16 plus learners in a thirty or so week programme for GCSE - some retake and some new learners. What I have done here is put the Edexcel Linear A new scheme into the weekly slots, and devided all the criteria/spec statements into Aims and Objectives. I wouldn't expect anyone to follow the same order, or keep my jokes, but please copy slides as you want. Inspectors love to see the aims pasted up, so I use PowerPoint.

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).

A simple little activity that can get the learners thinking - no more than a warm up. Ask the question, and show the second screen. You don't need to face the screen, just know the position of the cards. A learner tells you which cards (first, second, third etc.) contain the date of their birth. The rest is the puzzle!

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.

Ordering of fractions for Year 3 of KS2. Revision of work in Year 2, then a PowerPoint presentation with identical worksheet. Use the PowerPoint as answers, or for class work on an interactive board. Great for discussion of equivalences, percentages or decimal equivalences. Entirely suitable as revision in later years. Specs: 'compare and order unit fractions, and fractions with the same denominators' Notes and guidance (non-statutory) They begin to understand unit and non-unit fractions as numbers on the number line, and deduce relations between them, such as size and equivalence. They should go beyond the [0, 1] interval. Full lesson of activity.

Area and perimeter at Key Stage 2, but also good for revision and practice at any stage. Questions in the style of SATs.

Short presentation to define and demonstrate perimeter, with pages of activities, worksheets, and a full assessment based on previous SATs KS2. Colourful, and can be extended in many ways, with centicubes for example. KS2 – Year 4 - Perimeter Statutory requirements Pupils should be taught to: • measure and calculate the perimeter of a rectilinear figure (including squares) in centimetres and metres Notes and guidance (non-statutory) Perimeter can be expressed algebraically as 2(a + b) where a and b are the dimensions in the same unit.

Formulas begin in KS2 so by KS3 learners should be able to talk about what one is, and for, and to substitute into more sophisticated formulas. A clear PowerPoint presentation that delivers a set of questions for the learners to answer as part of the lesson, and each with a clear answer. Ranges from very easy to a bit more complex. Plus forty questions of increasing difficulty, arranged in a variety of views - one page, or two pages for more space for working, or two pages for differentiation. Plus answers!

A full presentation, developing surds to show how to expand two brackets with surds, rationalising the denominator, and using the conjugate (difference of squares) to simplify expressions in number and algebra. Plus two differentiated worksheets that give practice in application and reasoning.

Posters and Displays. I spent a rainy afternoon putting the GCSE maths specifications into Word Clouds using Wordle. Great little application. And after that I shared it.

A serious of simple tasks that lead to identifying primes, then GCSE questions on products of primes, LCM and HCF etc.

Solid shapes come up with reassuring regularity on GCSE papers, yet are often done badly, accoring to examiner's reports. Each time we struggle with a concept I make a net for the learners to cut out and hence aid understanding. The prism is very useful - I get the learners to write down as many questions as they can - volume, surface area, faces, vertices, edges, and so on. It works for us!

I'm a great believer in letting the learners look for themselves, so along with the formulae books I have lots of posters on display - &'teaching without talking&';, as we say. Mostly Pure, or 'Core&', with a couple of Mechanics, all in pdf.

In this PowerPoint are a few questions to get learners to look at percentages from puzzles - the mathematics is not difficult, the learners simply need to consider creative approaches. The questions give everyday examples.

This is more of an idea than a set of resources. Having a young learner who struggled with both simple addition in his head, including counting on, and poor recollection of tables, I turned to dice games as a way of helping the learner to develop fluency and retention. I found some online, and I give an example from NRich here. But I also produced addition and multiplication grids, first up to six and then up to ten, for six sided dice and ten sided dice. We take turns to throw the two dice, and mark off the score on our grids, either on an addition grid or a multiplication grid. First one to four in a row, including diagonals, wins the game. Or three in a row if we are short of time - let the learners decide. And finally I've added some with addition for three dice - Bingo style cards with 3 to 18. Each card has one missing number, so there are eighteen in total, with numbers jumbled on each. It would be easy to devise simple tables for the difference between the two dice - I might try that next. Let me know what you think. My young learner loves the games we devise, and his skills have come on wonderfully.