Showing posts with label Exercise Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exercise Books. Show all posts

Thursday, October 24, 2019

5 Maths Gems #26

post.
Things people produce on Pi Day - Spiked Math
1. Helpful Exercise Books
I spotted foldable vertical disclose lines when reading Sarah Hagan's splendid blog Math = Love. I'm definitely going to operate these adjacent twelvemonth - I'll endeavour it out amongst my novel Year 7s inwards September. They'll stick a vertical disclose line of piece of occupation inwards the dorsum of their practise book. The disclose line of piece of occupation tin terminate hence live on unfolded as well as referred to whenever it's helpful to produce so. It's skilful to larn students inwards the habit of using disclose lines, as well as I intend that vertical disclose lines are to a greater extent than helpful than horizontal ones.

Speaking of disclose lines, this postal service virtually Open Number Lines by @mburnsmath is worth a read. I operate disclose lines similar this on the board all the time.
Back to practise books, I was actually interested in @Ms_Kmp's postal service 'Indexed Learning' which is virtually students numbering every page inwards their practise books. The postal service describes the numerous advantages of page numbers - I specially similar the regard of students creating a topic index at the dorsum of their book.

2. Parallel Line Mazes
I enjoyed Gems 23 - he made an interactive display on the wall for students to bring a larn at.

5. Pi Day
My schoolhouse doesn't commonly produce anything for Pi Day but this twelvemonth nosotros bring a few things planned, including a pie baking competition, a treasure hunt as well as a Poetry Pi-Cital. The latter involves students writing as well as reciting a brusk poesy form virtually Pi, inspired yesteryear the poesy form at the offset of this video:

Here's a few to a greater extent than Pi Day ideas that you lot mightiness non bring regard of:
  • Pi recital competition. Prize for the pupil who recites the most digits of Pi. 
  • ‘Tell a maths instructor an interesting fact virtually Pi’
  • Freehand circle drawing competition
  • Make a giant Pi newspaper chain (a dissimilar coloring for each number).

There's besides 2 dainty ideas inwards this post from @InteractMaths.

That's it for today's gems. If you're coming to the conference adjacent calendar week hence I await frontwards to coming together you, either at my workshop or during the Tweet Up (information virtually both sessions tin terminate live on constitute here). Do come upwards as well as tell hi.

Finally, here's around pictures of the fantastic piece of occupation done yesteryear my Year 10s - I dear my novel circle theorems wall. It was an slow as well as enjoyable lesson to run - I only gave them newspaper plates, straws as well as pins as well as they got on amongst it!





Thursday, October 17, 2019

5 Maths Gems #35

Hi there. Welcome to my 35th gems post. This is where I part 5 instruction ideas I've seen on Twitter. The summertime holidays are at nowadays inward total swing thus Twitter has been placidity this week. I hold off it volition acquire busier inward August - results days volition orbit us lots to utter about, as well as and then we'll all start making preparations for September. I'm off on a position unit of measurement vacation side yesteryear side calendar week (including an exciting solar daytime out at Peppa Pig World!) thus somebody volition cause got to fill upward me inward on what I miss! I tweeted my 10,000th tweet yesterday. I exclusively joined Twitter concluding May thus I retrieve that officially makes me a chatterbox.

1. Angle Chase 
I featured angle chases in Gems 24, Gems 26 and Gems 32 . I find this type of action actually enjoyable. @MathedUp shared a whole charge of angle chases here. I honey these - they're a groovy resources both for classwork as well as for revision.
@mathninja3 suggested putting a permanent angle chase on the classroom wall. This reminded me of the display by @ExplainingMaths pictured below. I retrieve it would live on groovy to pose a large angle chase up, possibly yesteryear sticking record on a large whiteboard or a wall painted amongst whiteboard paint. If anyone has done this inward their classroom, I'd honey to encounter a photo.

2. Presentation Standards
I've written earlier most setting expectations for the presentation of classwork as well as homework. The start of a novel schoolhouse yr is the fourth dimension to create upward one's hear how to approach this. latest post about Analysing Errors is no exception. From September I innovation to start setting regular low-stakes tests. For my Year 10s, I'm thinking of a brusque weekly quiz (perhaps multiple choice, marked amongst Quick Key). As suggested yesteryear Sarah, I innovation to flat these quizzes A, B or Not Yet, amongst anyone scoring a Not Yet having to accept some other test. In Sarah's postal service she suggests that earlier retaking a quiz, students are required to analyse their get-go attempt. She's going to orbit them an mistake analysis sail that does these things:
  • Require students to operate out each work correctly
  • Ask students to position what they did incorrect when they get-go attempted the problem
  • Direct students to reverberate on how they volition avoid making this same mistake inward the future
  • Get students thinking most what types of errors they are making
Sarah has produced a fantastic poster to depict dissimilar types of errors. Read her post for to a greater extent than most this as well as to download the poster.
Types of Errors by @mathequalslove
5. The Famous Five
I honey this post from @mccreaemma. It's most an approach called 'The Famous 5' that Emma uses in every lesson. When students move inward the room they are straight off presented amongst a task. The names of 5 students that begin/finish/engage good amongst the chore are written on the whiteboard. Their vantage is to exit the classroom get-go at the destination of the lesson. Emma says that her students honey it (I retrieve this would operate actually good for my students too) as well as it reduces wasted fourth dimension at the start of lessons. Her postal service is good worth a read.

Update
I'm continuing to operate on resourceaholic.com behind the scenes when I acquire a chance. I've added some resources to my libraries as well as made updates to my New GCSE Support page. If you've got some fourth dimension over summertime to brand resources, here's a listing of topics that nosotros demand to a greater extent than resources for:
Huge cheers to post most the additional sequences content on the novel GCSE. It features examples of examination questions as well as resources. I was pleased to acquire a novel method for finding the nth term of a quadratic sequence.

I'm enjoying spending lots of fourth dimension amongst my daughters this summer. It's all going likewise speedily for my liking though! It's August already, which way I'm dorsum to schoolhouse i calendar month today. #mathsconf5 is side yesteryear side calendar month too. Have you lot got your ticket yet?

Finally, I honey this homework for the summertime holidays that's been going circular Twitter. What a lovely idea.
Holiday homework yesteryear Tom Christy



Some Things I've Tried

The in conclusion 8 weeks have got been the busiest I've e'er experienced. There's been lots of factors at play to brand this current specially exhausting, both at schoolhouse as well as at abode - it doesn't assist that my 17 calendar month former immature adult woman nonetheless doesn't slumber at night! H5N1 interruption is much needed. Half term also provides a practiced chance to reverberate on roughly novel things I've tried this term.
Source: The Guardian/ Ros Asquith
1. Famous Five
This is an thought from Gems 35. It plant similar this:
  1. Before each Year 10 lesson, I write the words 'Famous Five' on the board.
  2. As my students brand it I have got a starter activity ready for them. 
  3. Under the championship Famous Five, I write the names of the first of all v students to settle downward as well as start working. They LOVE existence on this list! It's getting harder to select the Famous Five because they've all responded thus good to this.
  4. At the destination of the lesson I say, "If you're on today's Famous Five listing you lot tin larn out now, the remainder of you lot pack upwards as well as stand upwards behind your chairs quietly". The Famous Five dash out of the room.
The funny affair is that roughly of these students have got registration inward the same room directly after my lesson, thus they have got nowhere to rush off to! They simply similar the glory of existence Famous Five. 

This has been a actually successful inaugural to minimise faff at the outset of my lessons. Also, because it's a fleck dissimilar to what they're used to, it has helped me construct a practiced human relationship alongside this class. Huge thank you lot to Emma Mccrea for sharing the thought - hit read her original post to encounter how it plant for her.

2. Assessment 
I've been doing variety of sources and keep the format consistent - each quiz is xv minutes long as well as consists of 12 multiple pick questions.

These quizzes have got chop-chop conk an established routine. Most students have got total payoff of the 'open book' dominion - during the examine I encounter them looking dorsum through their exercise books at notes as well as examples. This encourages practiced complaint taking during lessons.

I degree the quizzes A, B or Not Yet (inspired past times this post from Sarah Hagan). If a educatee receives a 'Not Yet' as well as thus they haven't demonstrating sufficient agreement of the theme thus they have got to have got roughly other quiz after schoolhouse the next week. Of class at that spot has to hold upwards remedial activeness betwixt receiving a 'Not Yet' as well as resitting the quiz - these students either encounter me for assist after lessons, or I ship them links to Corbett Maths or Hegarty Maths videos.

My first of all quiz resulted inward xiii Not Yets as well as entirely 8 As. H5N1 worrying disclose of students couldn't multiply decimals thus I taught the theme to the whole cast in ane trial again using a dissimilar approach. The results were much improved inward the retake.

These quizzes entirely have got virtually xxx minutes to score - inward those xxx minutes I gain a valuable insight into my students' understanding. I promise that these regular depression stakes quizzes volition encourage my students to rest focused, have got practiced notes as well as seek support. Do read Kris Boulton's post 'How tests learn as well as motivate' which inspired me to start doing these quizzes. So far it's been a slap-up success.

3. Modelling Good Work 
Every classroom inward my subdivision has a visualiser. Unfortunately none of them seem to travel (probably due to recent software updates) thus this foiled my invention to utilise visualisers this twelvemonth to demo examples of educatee work. Instead, I have got photos of practiced travel piece I'm marking. There's no indicate inward telling students that they should laid their travel out amend without giving examples.

I've been trying this out alongside my Year 12 class. They're studying S1 as well as we've been working on summarising information (eg hateful as well as criterion divergence of continuous data). It's slowly to brand accuracy slips inward these calculations as well as students who neglect to demo clear workings inward exams could destination upwards scoring no method marks.

The painting demo below is an instance of a student's respond to a criterion divergence enquiry - I showed this photograph to the cast when I returned their most recent homework. Few students inward this cast had received total marks for this question.
It's non perfect, but this educatee has definitely got the correct idea. He's drawn out the whole tabular array clearly as well as written downward the formula for criterion deviation. He's shown intermediate steps as well as his workings are really slowly to follow. If entirely all my students laid their travel out similar this - the worst examples were those who tried to squelch their workings into the margin of the enquiry newspaper ('Fermat-style' workings). I promise that past times showing practiced examples to the class, the character of travel volition improve. I'll written report dorsum on this subsequently inward the year!

4. Communication
At my previous schoolhouse the entirely straight communication I had alongside parents was on Parents Evening. I never called, emailed or met alongside parents. At my novel schoolhouse every instructor recognises the importance of engaging parents as well as this is done really effectively across the school. I decided to engage the parents of my Year 10 students past times means of an introductory electronic mail at the start of term, followed past times half-termly newsletters. Here's my first of all newsletter:


I've included an update on what we've been studying, praise for students who've done specially well, information virtually membership of the Society of Young Mathematicians and more.

I'd been planning to hit a newsletter similar this for years thus I'm glad I finally did it. I found this MathedUp post encouraging - it includes a lovely instance of a newsletter produced past times Mo Ladak which is worth a look.

As Jim Riley (@tutor2u) said when I shared my newsletter on Twitter, "Most parents mightiness non tending - but if simply ane or 2 do, it is all worthwhile".

So that's it - 4 ideas that seem to hold upwards working well. I'll weblog in ane trial again subsequently this twelvemonth to update you lot on whether these initiatives conk along to hold upwards effective. Thanks for reading!





Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Questions Close Practise Books - #Mathscpdchat

To me, exercise books are a agency to an destination - they are only a identify for students to jot downward workings inward lodge to solve problems. It is the act of practising that's important, non the written tape of that practice. I'd happily convey my students produce all their piece of occupation on scraps of newspaper that they throw away at the destination of the lesson.

"Oh but what virtually their notes? They'll request those for revision". I specifically say my students to revise for exams past times doing practise questions (past examination papers, workbooks etc). I say them to sentinel a video or inquire me for help alongside anything they exceed stuck on. I never say them to 'read their exercise book' for revision. So what value is at that spot inward spending fourth dimension together with attempt out focusing on the organisation together with presentation of classwork, if that classwork volition never last referred to again?

I'm deliberately playing devil's advocate here, but I produce think this is worth discussing. How of import are exercise books inward the pedagogy of mathematics?

Please bring together #mathscpdchat at 7pm on Tuesday 15th March to part your opinions.

I'm certain many of you lot volition convey a catch on the importance of good presented exercise books. I aspect that people volition utter virtually students taking pride inward their piece of occupation together with the advantages of a disciplined approach to setting out workings.

I'm certain people volition also convey views on when together with where to laissez passer on feedback. I solely laissez passer on feedback on homeworks together with assessments - my homeworks are e'er on worksheets, pregnant I never write straight inward my students' exercise books. In fact I rarely aspect at them. Does it matter? Some #mathscpdchat participants may convey views on the score of independence nosotros should laissez passer on students - how much should nosotros monitor their classwork books? Do you lot monitor the classwork of 6th cast students?

The pictures below present a good presented exercise mass together with a poorly presented exercise book. These are from 2 real dissimilar types of pupil - I wonder what you lot tin infer virtually each student.


If nosotros attention virtually presentation, how tin nosotros educate our students to introduce their piece of occupation well? At the kickoff of each schoolhouse twelvemonth I ready out my mass presentation expectations alongside each class. What produce you lot do?

How produce you lot bargain alongside worksheets? I piece of occupation a lot of worksheets (mostly Don Steward) together with I'm terrible at remembering to say my students to stick their sheets in. Their books are bursting alongside loose sheets. Perhaps band binders would last better.

On Twitter I've seen a make of ideas for exercise books including collapsible release lines, treasury tags together with raffle tickets. Do you lot produce anything that's 'a flake different'? Please share!

There are many interesting give-and-take points here. Please bring together #mathscpdchat at 7pm on Tuesday 15th March to part your opinions. I'd dearest it if you lot could part pictures of your students' exercise books too!





Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Folder Experiment

I'm trying something novel alongside my Year 11s this year.

I ended upward inwards a chip of a mess alongside this shape final year. Their practice books overflowed alongside worksheets, inwards fact it got together with then bad that at 1 betoken I was emailed past times a raise complaining most the amount of expose newspaper her boy was carrying around. Some of my students tried difficult to move on things tidy, simply my worksheet habit overwhelmed them together with fifty-fifty the tidiest books buckled nether the pressure.

I know I'm non the alone instructor alongside this problem. Here are closed to of the causes:
1. I don't convey access to textbooks. I role printed resources (often Don Steward together with MathsPad) inwards every lesson... I dearest resources, inwards instance you lot hadn't noticed.
2. I produce travail to display every bit much every bit I tin on the board instead of printing it out (to salve printing budget), simply most of my activities don't move every bit good if non printed out.
3. I used to learn girls - most would plication together with stick their worksheets beautifully (see painting exhibit below). I forthwith learn boys... most aren't together with then bothered most keeping things neat.
4. I'm non specially adept at reminding students to stick sheets inwards during the lesson.

I don't shout out upward that messy books are the worst matter inwards the world, simply I felt that in that place was room for improvement.
Good sticking!

My solution is to laissez passer on a telephone binder to each student. I've ever had my H5N1 degree students role telephone binders simply I've never done it at Key Stage four before.
So far, it's awesome. It's working actually well. I volition explicate hither what I'm doing, together with study dorsum after inwards the twelvemonth on whether it's nevertheless working well.

Worksheets
For each lesson I create 1 double sided A4 sheet which includes a starter, infinite for notes, the master copy classwork practice together with an extension activity. If they withdraw to a greater extent than infinite for notes or classwork, they convey a stack of newspaper at the dorsum of their folder.

The worksheets are forthwith a good established routine. They laissez passer on my lessons a actually clear construction - this fits good alongside my didactics style. With a dedicated infinite for notes together with examples, I'm seeing an improvement inwards their banking concern complaint taking (which was almost non-existent final year).


Revisiting Year 10 topics
My Year 11s convey nine hours of maths a fortnight (last twelvemonth Year eleven alone had six, together with then this is a big improvement). Because I convey immature children I alone move four days a week, pregnant that 1 of their nine lessons is taught by closed to other teacher. In her lessons my students are given a 1 lx minutes Edexcel topic seek out to move through (these tin live downloaded from the Emporium) - these are kept inwards a separate department inwards their folder. So 1 time a fortnight my students are spending an lx minutes doing seek out manner questions on previously taught topics. This is adept training for their upcoming mocks together with allows me to learn on alongside didactics novel content.

Multiple choice quizzes
I wrote here most the multiple choice opened upward mass quizzes that my Year 11s produce every week. I dearest these! There's a department inwards their folder to move on their marked quizzes. When they learn a quiz dorsum they tape their score on a tracking sail together with then they tin easily encounter topics that withdraw to a greater extent than work.

Marking
There's also a department inwards their folders for marked homeworks. This agency that when my Head of Faculty does a mass scrutiny she'll easily encounter the feedback I've given. In previous years my marked move oft ended upward lost inwards a stack of expose sheets, together with then it looked similar I never did whatsoever marking.

I educate 1 assessed homework per fortnight that I grade together with laissez passer on feedback on. This gives me a adept feel of how each educatee is getting on and, along alongside the quizzes, ensures they learn regular feedback. Every other calendar week I educate a self-marking homework. My workload is far besides heavy to grade homework every calendar week for every class.
Admin
My Year 11s convey an 'information' department inwards their folder which includes a topic checklist, topic timeline, progress information together with seek out information.

Considerations
So far I'm loving the switch to telephone binders. It's working actually well. My students' maths notes together with classwork are good structured together with organised. This volition live beneficial when they revise for their GCSEs. Although a few folders are getting a piffling chip messy (eg file dividers falling out), the bulk are inwards actually adept shape. I produce worry that the folders mightiness overflow past times May - mayhap lever arch files would convey worked improve given the mass of move nosotros learn through.

This was a fairly pricey experiment for me (I'm reluctant to pass whatsoever of my ain family's coin on equipment for schoolhouse simply this cost me £40 for foldersfile dividers together with paper). One pocket-size setback is that I learn this shape inwards 3 dissimilar classrooms together with most direct to learn out their folders alongside me, which agency I convey to behavior folders betwixt rooms at the halt of the day. Life would live easier (in many respects) if I were based inwards 1 classroom.

Overall my folder experiment is going actually well. I volition study dorsum at the halt of the twelvemonth on whether I'll produce it 1 time again side past times side year!

Thursday, September 5, 2019

5 Maths Gems #26

post.
Things people produce on Pi Day - Spiked Math
1. Helpful Exercise Books
I spotted foldable vertical disclose lines when reading Sarah Hagan's splendid blog Math = Love. I'm definitely going to operate these adjacent twelvemonth - I'll endeavour it out amongst my novel Year 7s inwards September. They'll stick a vertical disclose line of piece of occupation inwards the dorsum of their practise book. The disclose line of piece of occupation tin terminate hence live on unfolded as well as referred to whenever it's helpful to produce so. It's skilful to larn students inwards the habit of using disclose lines, as well as I intend that vertical disclose lines are to a greater extent than helpful than horizontal ones.

Speaking of disclose lines, this postal service virtually Open Number Lines by @mburnsmath is worth a read. I operate disclose lines similar this on the board all the time.
Back to practise books, I was actually interested in @Ms_Kmp's postal service 'Indexed Learning' which is virtually students numbering every page inwards their practise books. The postal service describes the numerous advantages of page numbers - I specially similar the regard of students creating a topic index at the dorsum of their book.

2. Parallel Line Mazes
I enjoyed Gems 23 - he made an interactive display on the wall for students to bring a larn at.

5. Pi Day
My schoolhouse doesn't commonly produce anything for Pi Day but this twelvemonth nosotros bring a few things planned, including a pie baking competition, a treasure hunt as well as a Poetry Pi-Cital. The latter involves students writing as well as reciting a brusk poesy form virtually Pi, inspired yesteryear the poesy form at the offset of this video:

Here's a few to a greater extent than Pi Day ideas that you lot mightiness non bring regard of:
  • Pi recital competition. Prize for the pupil who recites the most digits of Pi. 
  • ‘Tell a maths instructor an interesting fact virtually Pi’
  • Freehand circle drawing competition
  • Make a giant Pi newspaper chain (a dissimilar coloring for each number).

There's besides 2 dainty ideas inwards this post from @InteractMaths.

That's it for today's gems. If you're coming to the conference adjacent calendar week hence I await frontwards to coming together you, either at my workshop or during the Tweet Up (information virtually both sessions tin terminate live on constitute here). Do come upwards as well as tell hi.

Finally, here's around pictures of the fantastic piece of occupation done yesteryear my Year 10s - I dear my novel circle theorems wall. It was an slow as well as enjoyable lesson to run - I only gave them newspaper plates, straws as well as pins as well as they got on amongst it!





Wednesday, September 4, 2019

5 Maths Gems #35

Hi there. Welcome to my 35th gems post. This is where I part 5 instruction ideas I've seen on Twitter. The summertime holidays are at nowadays inward total swing thus Twitter has been placidity this week. I hold off it volition acquire busier inward August - results days volition orbit us lots to utter about, as well as and then we'll all start making preparations for September. I'm off on a position unit of measurement vacation side yesteryear side calendar week (including an exciting solar daytime out at Peppa Pig World!) thus somebody volition cause got to fill upward me inward on what I miss! I tweeted my 10,000th tweet yesterday. I exclusively joined Twitter concluding May thus I retrieve that officially makes me a chatterbox.

1. Angle Chase 
I featured angle chases in Gems 24, Gems 26 and Gems 32 . I find this type of action actually enjoyable. @MathedUp shared a whole charge of angle chases here. I honey these - they're a groovy resources both for classwork as well as for revision.
@mathninja3 suggested putting a permanent angle chase on the classroom wall. This reminded me of the display by @ExplainingMaths pictured below. I retrieve it would live on groovy to pose a large angle chase up, possibly yesteryear sticking record on a large whiteboard or a wall painted amongst whiteboard paint. If anyone has done this inward their classroom, I'd honey to encounter a photo.

2. Presentation Standards
I've written earlier most setting expectations for the presentation of classwork as well as homework. The start of a novel schoolhouse yr is the fourth dimension to create upward one's hear how to approach this. latest post about Analysing Errors is no exception. From September I innovation to start setting regular low-stakes tests. For my Year 10s, I'm thinking of a brusque weekly quiz (perhaps multiple choice, marked amongst Quick Key). As suggested yesteryear Sarah, I innovation to flat these quizzes A, B or Not Yet, amongst anyone scoring a Not Yet having to accept some other test. In Sarah's postal service she suggests that earlier retaking a quiz, students are required to analyse their get-go attempt. She's going to orbit them an mistake analysis sail that does these things:
  • Require students to operate out each work correctly
  • Ask students to position what they did incorrect when they get-go attempted the problem
  • Direct students to reverberate on how they volition avoid making this same mistake inward the future
  • Get students thinking most what types of errors they are making
Sarah has produced a fantastic poster to depict dissimilar types of errors. Read her post for to a greater extent than most this as well as to download the poster.
Types of Errors by @mathequalslove
5. The Famous Five
I honey this post from @mccreaemma. It's most an approach called 'The Famous 5' that Emma uses in every lesson. When students move inward the room they are straight off presented amongst a task. The names of 5 students that begin/finish/engage good amongst the chore are written on the whiteboard. Their vantage is to exit the classroom get-go at the destination of the lesson. Emma says that her students honey it (I retrieve this would operate actually good for my students too) as well as it reduces wasted fourth dimension at the start of lessons. Her postal service is good worth a read.

Update
I'm continuing to operate on resourceaholic.com behind the scenes when I acquire a chance. I've added some resources to my libraries as well as made updates to my New GCSE Support page. If you've got some fourth dimension over summertime to brand resources, here's a listing of topics that nosotros demand to a greater extent than resources for:
Huge cheers to post most the additional sequences content on the novel GCSE. It features examples of examination questions as well as resources. I was pleased to acquire a novel method for finding the nth term of a quadratic sequence.

I'm enjoying spending lots of fourth dimension amongst my daughters this summer. It's all going likewise speedily for my liking though! It's August already, which way I'm dorsum to schoolhouse i calendar month today. #mathsconf5 is side yesteryear side calendar month too. Have you lot got your ticket yet?

Finally, I honey this homework for the summertime holidays that's been going circular Twitter. What a lovely idea.
Holiday homework yesteryear Tom Christy