5 Maths Gems #50

Hello as well as welcome to my 50^th gems post. This is where I portion v maths didactics ideas.

1. Fractions as well as Percentages from Don Steward
I was incredibly happy to have a retention stick inwards the postal service at the foremost of term - it was sent to me past times Don Steward as well as it contains all of his PowerPoints for Key Stage 3, 4 as well as 5. I'm really grateful to stimulate got access to such fantastic resources. Much of what he sent me is on his blog, precisely alongside his slides I've also flora a few things that I've never seen before. This Fractions to Percentages activity is brilliant. I used it equally a starter for my Year 10s this week. This is i of those wonderful 'works good with whatsoever historic menstruation group' activities.

2. Statistics

I flora a lovely website - Stats The Way I Like It - which was created by Allison Horst of the Bren School of Environmental Science as well as Management.  Most of the content is exclusively relevant to academy score statistics, precisely the clear explanations of hypothesis testing as well as probability density functions mightiness move useful for teachers of S2. This lovely graphic showing the deviation betwixt discrete, continuous as well as qualitative information (from: What Type of Data Do I Have?) may move useful at Key Stage three too:

3. Enrichment 
This calendar week I presented an enrichment lecture at schoolhouse based on ideas from Simon Singh's majority 'The Simpsons as well as their Mathematical Secrets'. I adapted the slides that Simon provides for teachers - if you'd similar to borrow my presentation as well as thus you lot tin download it here. It covers Fermat's Last Theorem, Mersenne primes, perfect numbers, narcissistic numbers, binary numbers as well as rock-paper-scissors. The slides include footage from The Simpsons, Futurama as well as The Big Bang Theory.

To promote my lecture I set upwards posters inwards the Maths Department showing the puzzle pictured above. I was pleased to consider students gathered around the posters trying to solve it. This puzzle plant good for whatsoever historic menstruation grouping - I've seen teachers utterly confused past times it as well as I've seen a 12 twelvemonth onetime solve it inwards seconds! I gave it to a grouping of Year 4 students inwards a principal enrichment session this calendar week - they took a acre to piece of employment it out precisely in i lawsuit they solved it, they all wanted to accept a re-create domicile for their parents to try.

4. Starter Packs
Thanks to Ed Southall (@solvemymaths) for sharing his starter packs. These tin move printed equally A5 booklets thus each pupil has their ain starter pack. As good equally tasks for 'the basics', the packs include a lovely assortment of puzzles. Ed helpfully provides the answers too.

5. Leap Year Maths
It's 29th Feb on Mon - what a cracking chance for some enrichment inwards your maths lessons. I'm planning to exhibit my Year 10s Matt Parker's (@standupmaths) excellent video Leap Years: We Can Do Better.

Source: harjotbal.com

#mathsconf6
I'm looking frontwards to #mathsconf6 side past times side weekend. I'll move inwards Peterborough all twenty-four hours on Fri - if you're staying at the Park Inn as well as thus you lot tin run across me inwards the entrance hall at 7.30pm if you lot desire to bring together me for the pre-conference drinks.

On Sat I'll move running a contest at the Tweet Up - create come upwards along as well as bring together in.