This is essentially forming and solving equations using angle facts and percentage change skills. I have used angles at a point on line, angles in a triangle, quadrilateral and a pentagon. Each gets more challenging as it goes in a bid to scaffold the activity.

Two more fish jokes to be discovered; the first deals with y=mx+c (what is the gradient? what is the y-intecept?) whilst the second could be considered a little more challenging as students have to find equations given two lines but I have done it so a sketch would be possible as long as you can calculate the gradient. Ideal for lockdown lessons or classwork/homework as they mark themselves.

This is designed to create discussion in class regarding average and range whereby students change one value in a set of numbers in order meet certain requirements. The final two slides are similar to a Don Steward task where students can change numerous values to meet three average and range requirements. I have left a template on the presentation so that you can create your own if you like.

I wrote this for students entering Year 11 to do over the summer (if they wanted to) given that they hadn’t attended school due to lockdown for a few months. Each of the eleven topics is typical Year 10 higher topics and each sheet is self-marking whether is forms an image, questions and answers match or a punchline to a joke, so students can work independently and ensure that they are not rusty in September. Topics include algebraic fractions, completing the square, compound measures, cumulative frequency, functions, negative/fractional indices, proportion, simultaneous equations, surds, transformations, tree diagrams. If they get stuck, each sheet has a QR code that when scanned using a smartphone takes you to a short tutorial video. There are two activities for each topic (22 activities in total) and answers are provided; if printed out as a booklet the answers are on the reverse of the question sheet.

I wrote this for new students joining Year 10 to do over the summer (if they wanted to) given that they hadn’t attended school due to lockdown for a few months. Each of the eleven topics is a typical Year 9 topic and each sheet is self-marking whether is forms an image, questions and answers match or a punchline to a joke, so students can work independently and ensure that they are not rusty in September. Topics include bounds, circle theorems, compound measures, equations of line, indices, percentage change, trigonometry, sequences, simultaneous equations, quadratics, standard form. If they get stuck, each sheet has a QR code that when scanned using a smartphone takes you to a short tutorial video. There are two activities for each topic (22 activities in total) and answers are provided; if printed out as a booklet the answers are on the reverse of the question sheet.

I wrote this for new students joining Year 9 to do over the summer (if they wanted to) given that they hadn’t attended school due to lockdown for a few months. Each of the twelve topics is typical Year 8 topics and each sheet is self-marking whether is forms an image, questions and answers match or a punchline to a joke, so students can work independently and ensure that they are not rusty in September. Topics include angles in polygons, averages, bearings, equations of lines, quadratics, inequalities, percentage change, perimeter/area/volume, Pythagoras, speed, transformations. If they get stuck, each sheet has a QR code that when scanned using a smartphone takes you to a short tutorial video. There are two activities for each topic (24 activities in total) and answers are provided; if printed out as a booklet the answers are on the reverse of the question sheet.

I wrote this for new students joining Year 8 to do over the summer (if they wanted to) given that they hadn’t attended school due to lockdown for a few months. Each of the twelve topics is typical Year 7 topics and each sheet is self-marking whether is forms an image, questions and answers match or a punchline to a joke, so students can work independently and ensure that they are not rusty in September. Topics include angles, area, averages, directed numbers, HCF/LCM, probability, properties of number, ratio, sequences, simplifying expressions, solving equations, substitution. If they get stuck, each sheet has a QR code that when scanned using a smartphone takes you to a short tutorial video. There are two activities for each topic (24 activities in total) and answers are provided; if printed out as a booklet the answers are on the reverse of the question sheet.

I wrote this for new students joining Year 7 to do over the summer (if they wanted to) given that they hadn’t attended school due to lockdown for a few months. Each of the ten topics is taken from the Year 6 national curriculum and each sheet is self-marking whether is forms an image, questions and answers match or a punchline to a joke, so students can work independently and ensure that they are not rusty in September. Topics include angles, coordinates, fractions, decimals, percentages, measures, ratio, rounding, numerical calculations, statistical graphs. If they get stuck, each sheet has a QR code (bar a metric conversions one) that when scanned using a smartphone takes you to a short tutorial video. There are two activities for each topic (20 activities in total) and answers are provided; if printed out as a booklet the answers are on the reverse of the question sheet.

Given one coordinate, can students come up with a second coordinate so that the line between the two meets certain criteria? This is an activity designed to create discussion, covering gradient and equations of lines. Extension should be pretty easy, allowing students to generate equations of lines etc. I have left a slide template so that you can create your own if you wish.

This time we combine ratio with fish puns; the first is basic sharing and simplifying, the second is some worded, slightly more challenging problems and each comes with a (slightly lame?) fish gag. Self-marking and useful as a starter, plenary or main task and this format worked well during online lessons.

Using the “Impossible” game show format where each question has three options: a correct answer, an incorrect answer which would be correct in a different concept and an impossible answer. There are 12 questions tackling transformations, surds, quadratics, inequalities and more. Students need to calculate which is the correct answer, which is impossible and which is incorrect but “partially right” so this should encourage discussion in class and develop a deeper understanding.

Based on the format of the BBC game show “Impossible”, there are 12 questions with 3 potential answers: one is correct, one could be correct in another context and one is impossible. These are designed to create discussion and debate in class, possibly leading on to other mathematics. I have left a template slide at the end so you can write your own if you wish.

Another fish joke revealed upon converting some metric measures. Self-marking so useful both in class or online.

Two fish jokes to figure out; the first codbreaker asks students to find prime factors and the second is on finding HCF or LCM. I use these as starters, plenaries and main tasks as they are self-marking; this means that they have been useful for online learning/lessons too.

Inspired by an idea @McGuirea499 posted on Twitter I thought I would write these. There are two; the first gets students used to the idea of changing one particular aspect (this could be pushed into generalisations if you like) and the second allows students to pick one element of an equation to fulfil a numerical property in the solution. There are obviously loads of different solutions for each task so discussion should evolve as a result. I have given examples of answers and left a template slide on each so you can design your own if you wish.

The usual concept: do some maths to find the punchline to a cheesy (fish-related) joke. These work well both online and in class due to the answer spelling something so students know whether they are doing it right (or wrong!) quite quickly. There are two codbreakers here: one on expanding a bracket and one on factorising into a single bracket. Typos corrected…

More fish jokes having simplified some algebraic expressions; The first one is using just one variable, the second uses two. These offer incentive to complete the sheets (to find the joke) beyond just finishing and whilst the students often groan at the jokes they secretly love them (I have convinced myself).

Clive is looking at some questions on linear graphs, but as usual he is making mistakes that your classes need to help him with, explaining what he has done incorrectly so that he (hopefully) doesn’t make the same mistakes in the future. This is designed to encourage discussion and help students to develop a deeper understanding of the topic.

Clive is tackling two tests on surds and indices; the second is more challenging than the first. As usual he is making mistakes and needs your students’ help to explain what he has done wrong and show him how he should have completed the questions correctly. These activities are designed to create discussion and develop understanding and model the new style “spot the error” questions that now appear in many exams.