Stretching Practice

I currently instruct at a girls' grammer school. This agency all of my students are on runway for an Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 or A* at GCSE. It's a combat similar teaching exceed fix all the time, but without the confidence levels you lot would appear from such brilliant students. They acquire novel concepts really chop-chop but are oftentimes unwilling to receive got risks.

Finding suitable resources for such smart too hardworking students tin last difficult. If I conduct exercises that are equally good easy, they'll experience patronised too acquire bored alongside maths. Besides, it's non a skillful purpose of their fourth dimension to produce exercise that's equally good easy. But if I conduct exercises that are equally good difficult, they'll last frustrated too it won't assistance them educate fluency. So I seat a lot of effort into ensuring my resources are the appropriate flat of challenge.

It tin last hard to find stretching practice questions. I oftentimes receive got to brand my ain worksheets past times piecing together questions from a multifariousness of sources, which tin last actually time-consuming. In this post service I recommend skillful places to appear for challenging questions. I'm focussing on topic specific practice here, non full general occupation solving questions similar those from UKMT.

Finding challenge inward recap
Last calendar week I was planning a lesson on ratio for my Year 10s. My school's schemes of function are the really Definition of a 'spiral curriculum' (mastery people, appear away now!). My students report ratio too proportion inward Year 7, too 1 time again inward Year 8, too 1 time again inward Year 9. The Year 10 system of function includes 1 lesson recapping ratio. I demand to brand this lesson suitably challenging or it volition last a waste materials of time, but I can't discovery a unmarried GCSE inquiry on ratio that this flat would discovery inward the slightest combat difficult. Thankfully my subdivision has simply about copies of the textbooks from the serial 'Extension Mathematics' which comprise splendid stretching questions. Some examples of their ratio questions are shown below - they're harder than the measure ratio questions inward other textbooks.

1. Paula finished a cross province race inward twenty minutes. When Paula finished, Sonia had solely completed 5/8 of the total distance. Sonia’s average speed was 75 metres per infinitesimal less than Paula’s. Find the length of the race too Sonia’s speed (in metres per minute).

2. Two numbers are such that their difference, their amount too their production are inward the ratio 1:4:15. What are the 2 numbers?


3. Find x if  2 + x : 4 + x = 6 + x : 9 + x

Questions similar this volition likely acquire to a greater extent than commonplace over the side past times side few years equally nosotros create students for the 'new' GCSEs which volition receive got a increased focus on occupation solving.

Online sources of exercise questions
1. CIMT - The Mathematics Enhancement Programme from CIMT offers an extensive collection of exercises for all Key Stages. I was using their website thence much inward my NQT twelvemonth that I bought a fix of their textbooks to flick through (order cast here). Since then, Craig Barton has really helpfully provided links to CIMT's textile on his website (via TES) - it's organised past times theme instead of past times book, making it easier to locate what you're looking for. For instance if you're teaching angles thence you lot tin access all the textile through this link, including worksheets, activities too assessments.
2. Brilliant.org - I've mentioned this website earlier but it deserves simply about other recommendation because I'm straight off using it on a daily footing to discovery extension questions. Two examples are shown below for the theme of linear graphs. The questions on brilliant.org are brilliant(!) too there's plenty to line together a challenging worksheet on nigh topics.

 
3. surds extension task.

4. Maths Malakiss - Written past times an experienced maths instructor based inward Dubai, this website provides a attain of worksheets which include a skillful flat of challenge. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 circle theorem instance is shown below.

I of late made a homework on angles for my exceed fix Year ix using questions from this website. I recommend the Windows snipping tool to brand the physical care for of collating questions equally quick too painless equally possible.

5. Exam Questions - If you're looking for GCSE exercise questions thence there's simply about splendid sources of questions past times topic, including:
6. .com! I characteristic a attain of recommendations inward my resources libraries (many - but non all - are aimed at 'high ability' students). In 3 months I'm moving to a comprehensive schoolhouse thence I may instruct Foundation GCSE for the kickoff fourth dimension - appear my resources libraries to grow accordingly.

Questions to brand students think
I desire to destination this post service alongside an instance of a inquiry my exceed fix Year ix students of late encountered inward a test. They'd studied indices (including fractional too negative indices) too nigh students constitute it pretty straightforward, thence it was hard to discovery a way to actually brand them think. The inquiry below worked good - the vast bulk of students got it wrong. In the instance reply shown, at to the lowest degree the pupil attempted to evaluate each expression, although simply about clear misconceptions receive got emerged. When I went through the inquiry inward flat nosotros wrote the decimals equally fractions too it all became clear. It was definitely a inquiry worth looking at. This is the form of affair I should ensure I include inward my lessons - questions that require proper thinking rather than simply next a measure procedure.
I'd honey to take away heed where you lot acquire your nigh challenging questions from - receive got I missed whatsoever skillful sources? What produce you lot purpose to come about your best mathematicians on their toes? Please comment below or tweet me.