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…

This is an exercise in finding the best way of buying what a customer wants given four different “deals” on pricing. You can buy more than required but not less which should add an extra bit of challenge. Workings are essential and I have provided answers on a separate slide each time. There are five to work out and this should lead to nice mathematical discussions. I have also put this in a format that could be used easily online if this is desirable.

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!

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.

Five HCF and LCM functional questions using the characters from Phineas and Ferb. All put together in a PowerPoint and including answers. Now with a link to the Phineas and Ferb theme tune! Typos corrected.

This is designed to lead students through solving quadratic equations by completing the square from quite basic to difficult. The activity is also there to encourage discussion in class and helps them get into good habits regarding setting their solutions out.

Three spiders on transformations (both describing and drawing) that getting increasingly challenging from spider 1 to spider 3. Spider 1 contains reflections in the x and y axes, translations and rotations about the origin. Spider 2 contains reflections in horizontal and vertical lines (x=n or y=n), rotations around points away from the origin, and an enlargement. Spider 3 contains reflections in diagonal lines (y=-x), roattions away from the origin and fractional and negative enlargements where the centre is not the origin. They should encourage discussion and I hope the diagrams are large enough (they are as large as I can make them).

The aim of this is as a starter or plenary but could be used as a class activity. This activity is designed to get students thinking and discussing properties of number. The aim is to allow students to show what they do/don't know and understand. I have two versions: one where students find the number given the properties and vice versa which I suspect will create more discussion. There will be extra properties I've left out on purpose. There is a blank to make up your own too.

This is designed as a starter, plenary or a discussion exercise. There are four "explosions" to work through and I have given you the choice of the students working out the shapes from the properties or finding the properties given the shape. This moves from triangles and quadrilaterals to polygons to 3D shapes. Some shapes have the same property so link to the same cloud. This has been designed to check understanding and to give some the opportunity to expand on properties. I have not included all properties of all shapes to naturally generate discussion and differentiation.

Eight matching activities, getting increasingly difficult, on various different formulae to rearrange. These are designed as plenaries or starters and should encourage discussion.

There are four "explosions" for students to deal with, each covering different types of algebraic fraction. The first slide involves simple indices and simplifying, the second involves adding and subtracting (find a common denominator), the third has algebraic expressions as denominators and the fourth involves factorising quadratics. These are designed to stop students getting in a rut of doing the same thing over and over again, plus they should (hopefully!) generate good mathematical discussions.

This is a set of 6 sheets of increasingly difficult simultaneous equations designed to make students think and discuss how to work through their solutions by giving them different parts of the process. They include simultaneous equations that involve a linear and a non-linear equation. This is also designed to stretch at GCSE or could be used at the start of A level.