Help Dr Barnes Wallis's team to position the spotlights on the Lancaster Bombers for the Dambusters' raids led by Commander Guy Gibson. Willing suspension of disbelief required with respect to the numbers (unless you choose to alter them to match researched reality!). Timed for use on the anniversary of the raids (17 May 1943). Roll the theme....

Something inspired by thoughts on sun dials and a once-held belief that the world was flat; possibly a flat disc floating in water. In essence it may provide (at least) a "holding" answer to an old teenage question: "If zero degrees is north (a.k.a. "up" on a 2D map) for bearings questions, why is it east for more advanced trigonometry?". The STEM-Ginger Beer Glass answers a separate (but related) question (or begins to).

Pupils are asked to label a circle with compass directions and angles. The trick is that the circle is already labelled: with months and times [in hours (12 and 24) and minutes]. All jolly confusing... until they stop to process, sort and think! The dice at the edges add potential for an extra question around how to randomly choose a time/angle for something! There is a second circle with weeks, suits of cards, letters of the alphabet and two marathons. More confusion! More thought. Where will your pupils take you with them...

I have simply transformed the work of superb artist angelustenebrae into poster form (A2). Simultaneously beautiful and informative.

A series of links for World Space Week 2020. Designed to spur exploration. The truth is out there…

Folllowing the timeline for the Spring term I have provided on this website, this breaks each objective into four steps: consolidating; developing; securing; mastering. Each objective is taken directly from the "new" UK National Curriculum for Key Stage 3 [where an objective is given for each bullet point (from page 5): https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239058/SECONDARY_national_curriculum_-_Mathematics.pdf ] . Consolidating - is generally pitched for the weakest pupils: who are revisiting key stage 2 material that may have been first taught before year 6. Mastering - will generally pitched to stretch at or beyond expectations for key stage 3. Problem solving exercises will need to be set within and around material each week. Three hours per week has proven enough to deliver the material to the very most committed and able pupils (when accompanied with sufficient homework); however, five hours per week (and some looping back to earlier objectives if/when later objectives prove inaccessible) may suit pupils who would benefit from such an approach.

Folllowing the timeline for the Autumn term I have provided on this website, these break each objective into four steps: consolidating; developing; securing; mastering. Each objective is taken directly from the "new" UK National Curriculum for Key Stage 3 [where an objective is given for each bullet point (from page 5): https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239058/SECONDARY_national_curriculum_-_Mathematics.pdf ] . Consolidating - is generally pitched for the weakest pupils: who are revisiting key stage 2 material that may have been first taught before year 6. Mastering - will generally pitched to stretch at or beyond expectations for key stage 3. Problem solving exercises will need to be set within and around material each week. Three hours per week has proven enough to deliver the material to the very most committed and able pupils (when accompanied with sufficient homework); however, five hours per week (and some looping back to earlier objectives if/when later objectives prove inaccessible) may suit pupils who would benefit from such an approach.

This is a light hearted starter for a lesson on proportion and chance or simply for a little thinking about proportion and chance before approaching another topic.

From days at Primary; animated & adjusted to work for -ve powers of 10 as well as +ve.\nKibel [pp34-40 Miles T.R., Miles E. (2004)Dyslexia é mathematics] has +ve story to tell about Dienes blocks.\nWorth remembering that their use can be scaled up é down. Hence BETTER version will be made by someone with time é 3D ICT kit. It’ll ZOOM in é out to enable pupils to view (é correctly name - for US é Brit purposes!) numbers as big as a Googol é as small as...\nIt'll use techniques like those in these slides; but combined with ZOOMING as seen in this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-Tym_6YLUI

To be used after pupils familiar with use of #Pythagoras’ theorem, properties of #isosceles #triangles and #symmetry and sum of #internal #angles of a triangle. Gentle, steady, step-by-step progress.

Translations-based code word revelation.

This is being posted in Black History Month: an important time in history, for a period, whilst curricula chose (for diplomatics reasons or otherwise) not to teach the young people of the UK about “the End of Empire” or about what preceded it or about life beyond what is now the Commonwealth - not to mention the tensions of integration in past decades as those, in the UK, who were less-well-educated and less-well-travelled had to get their heads around changes to the people and customs they were seeing. It was nothing new in some places. In others it was. “New” meant one thing in one place; another in another. Times have changed, of course, since the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2010s. What we watch on the internet or TV from overseas feels closer to “home”. What those fortunate few (who can afford the medical insurance, passports, flights, etc) to travel and see overseas and report back has changed too. Often it is forgotten, courtesy of the internet or TV, that the USA is a long way further from the UK than Europe and Africa and the Middle East. It is often more expensive to get to as well. It is also forgotten, at times, that British and American (and indeed European) history are not quite so intertwined, at all times, as we might perceive or wish to believe: fog in the English channel has also been fog in the Atlantic at times. Indeed, there has even been fog between London and other British cities - and between London and the countryside. Everywhere is not anywhere. Anywhere is not everywhere. Even if ubiquitous retail chains like McDonalds, Nandos, Tescos, Morrisons and others may make us feel like the opposite is the case. There was a time, before the Empire (no I don’t mean Star Wars! that’s the point!), that David Olusoga advises saw the Catholic Church of the Mediterranean courting favour with African leaders. There was a time when King James I of England VI of Scotland had an Ambassador located in India. Presumably people travelled in both directions. Marco Polo and “Samurai William”, not to mention Caractacus in Rome, are worth a look too. There’s a big planet out there - and many of the issues raised by Black History Month are human issues: as applicable in Western China or South America or Eastern Europe as they are in the UK; but to different peoples. And, in that context, prejudice is an idea worth being careful with. So, just as the global history of all peoples matters in the other eleven months of the year too, here’s something to prompt a decent debate. It does not even limit itself to skin colour - which is, in itself, is refreshing - as every straight Christian male of African heritage and a certain age will doubtless appreciate.

A set of slides to introduce Pythagoras' Theorem like the Rugby Off-side rule: (i) with little extra information [maybe supplemented with explanation]; (ii) with movement; (iii) with different (technical) labelling.

Trigonometric Ratios from first principles & pythagoras’ theorem. Set in context of tracking a star orbiting an Earth assumed to be flat (as it seemingly was at the time the principles were first developed!).

A gentle starter for those beginning to grasp proportionality. It enables extension by encouraging pupils to design their own questions (with answers). Proportionality is visualised using a familiar item (beans) that they may see at home. Recognising that such a familiar item may be used in this way may lead to experimentation beyond the classroom.

Key Stage 3. Ratio & Proportional Reasoning 4. For the beginnings of ratio and where it is found and used.

Builds on Ryan Brewer's set. Adds a few more complex solids, a clear 'top trump'(!) and an extra category: 'Platonic?'. Aimed at opening GM15 from new KS3 syllabus (or at revising / AfL during it!): 'use the properties of faces, surfaces, edges and vertices of cubes, cuboids, prisms, cylinders, pyramids, cones and spheres to solve problems in 3-D'. Assume Top Trumps logo OK to upload since Ryan Brewer has (and since others have used various images from cartoons etc). Presumably it acts as (in)direct advertising for their brand [for which, arguably, maths teachers/TES should be remunerated]!

Self explanatory. Identify gradient and y-intercept of line so correct shot is taken by laser to stop Kim Jong Il’s missiles. If the wrong equations are chosen, and the back-up fails, the consequences are clear…

Expanding one and two binomials (single and double brackets); with positively wibbly wobbly variables.

Subject to further development…