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A set of three colourful questions to encourage pupils to understand: (i) why angle-naming conventions exist and (ii) how to apply them.

Folllowing the year 7 timeline for the Summer term I have provided elsewhere on this website, this breaks each objective into four steps: "Consolidating", "Developing", "Securing", "Mastering". Each objective is taken directly from the "new" UK National Curriculum for Key Stage 3 [where an objective is given for each bullet point (from page 5): https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239058/SECONDARY_national_curriculum_-_Mathematics.pdf ] . "Consolidating" - is generally pitched for the weakest pupils: who are revisiting key stage 2 material that may have been first taught before year 6. "Mastering" - will generally pitched to stretch at or beyond expectations for key stage 3. Problem solving exercises will need to be set within and around material each week. Three hours per week has proven enough to deliver the material to the very most committed and able pupils (when accompanied with sufficient homework); however, five hours per week (and some looping back to earlier objectives if/when later objectives prove inaccessible) may suit pupils who would benefit from such an approach.

This is being posted in Black History Month: an important time in history, for a period, whilst curricula chose (for diplomatics reasons or otherwise) not to teach the young people of the UK about “the End of Empire” or about what preceded it or about life beyond what is now the Commonwealth - not to mention the tensions of integration in past decades as those, in the UK, who were less-well-educated and less-well-travelled had to get their heads around changes to the people and customs they were seeing. It was nothing new in some places. In others it was. “New” meant one thing in one place; another in another. Times have changed, of course, since the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2010s. What we watch on the internet or TV from overseas feels closer to “home”. What those fortunate few (who can afford the medical insurance, passports, flights, etc) to travel and see overseas and report back has changed too. Often it is forgotten, courtesy of the internet or TV, that the USA is a long way further from the UK than Europe and Africa and the Middle East. It is often more expensive to get to as well. It is also forgotten, at times, that British and American (and indeed European) history are not quite so intertwined, at all times, as we might perceive or wish to believe: fog in the English channel has also been fog in the Atlantic at times. Indeed, there has even been fog between London and other British cities - and between London and the countryside. Everywhere is not anywhere. Anywhere is not everywhere. Even if ubiquitous retail chains like McDonalds, Nandos, Tescos, Morrisons and others may make us feel like the opposite is the case. There was a time, before the Empire (no I don’t mean Star Wars! that’s the point!), that David Olusoga advises saw the Catholic Church of the Mediterranean courting favour with African leaders. There was a time when King James I of England VI of Scotland had an Ambassador located in India. Presumably people travelled in both directions. Marco Polo and “Samurai William”, not to mention Caractacus in Rome, are worth a look too. There’s a big planet out there - and many of the issues raised by Black History Month are human issues: as applicable in Western China or South America or Eastern Europe as they are in the UK; but to different peoples. And, in that context, prejudice is an idea worth being careful with. So, just as the global history of all peoples matters in the other eleven months of the year too, here’s something to prompt a decent debate. It does not even limit itself to skin colour - which is, in itself, is refreshing - as every straight Christian male of African heritage and a certain age will doubtless appreciate.

Four pics one word Bedford vocabulary

The people running Bedford bridges mini-marathon in England, UK want to extend the number of bridges it crosses. Bedford, England has a great many bridges. Can you find a route that crosses each bridge only once?

I have simply transformed the work of superb artist angelustenebrae into poster form (A2). Simultaneously beautiful and informative.

At present it is a bit of a bind converting from Pearson “steps” from Pearson’s Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 (GCSE) unit and termly tests to GCSE grades. This spreadsheet simply undertakes the mapping and provides a -/on/+ range within each grade. If anyone from Pearson is unhappy with this being placed on this website, please do contact me so we can discuss our comparable levels of time and effort and a just and equitable solution for busy teachers using the Pearson tests but needing to record and share GCSE-level marks for pupils, parents and internal and external reporting. NOW UPDATED FOR PEARSON’S NEW KS4 UNIT TESTS (July-September 2018)

Help Dr Barnes Wallis's team to position the spotlights on the Lancaster Bombers for the Dambusters' raids led by Commander Guy Gibson. Willing suspension of disbelief required with respect to the numbers (unless you choose to alter them to match researched reality!). Timed for use on the anniversary of the raids (17 May 1943). Roll the theme....

Multiplying Powers of ten

A gentle starter for those beginning to grasp proportionality. It enables extension by encouraging pupils to design their own questions (with answers). Proportionality is visualised using a familiar item (beans) that they may see at home. Recognising that such a familiar item may be used in this way may lead to experimentation beyond the classroom.

This is a light hearted starter for a lesson on proportion and chance or simply for a little thinking about proportion and chance before approaching another topic.

The United +Kingdom+ is a constitutional monarchy, so resources around the Diamond Jubilee are useful. Time: aligning 60 years' worth of facts in 60 minutes or 60 seconds! Simply colour in 25 years (silver Jubilee), 50 years (Golden Jubilee) and 60 years (Diamond Jubilee). Fractions: colour & discuss the first quarter of HM QE II's reign, the second quarter, or... maybe thirds, or twelfths, or... you get the idea.

Transformations - enlargement Arguably the ultimate 'shrink ray' opportunity and certainly a great opportunity to revise linear enlargement skills in a starter with Gru and Vector. Sounds are courtesy of http://movie-sounds.org.and images are courtesy of Google and First News. As ever, if there is doubt as to whether the images/sounds are subject to copyright, the no-profit, educational purposes and no-charge-advertising/no-charge-product-placement arguments apply: it's not about how much teachers should pay so much as it is about how much they should charge.

How much will your pupils pay *you* to switch over to a Red Nose Day-themed revision sheet/lesson? Charge them what you can and pay it through to Comic Relief! :-)

The brief: "Probability: using diagrams for combined event including Venn diagrams and two way tables". Accordingly, this was possibly created in reaction to a "typo" in a challenge that was set; possibly created in reaction to an ongoing clash between the jargon of mathematics and Crystal-mark plain English; possibly not. This resource looks (constructively and positively!) at how one could find an event (singular) which features combined probabilities (think combined=compatible and hence of withdrawing, say, Queen of Diamonds from a pack of cards). This resource then moves into more traditional territory: combined independent events (plural!): each event with its own set of distinct mutually-exclusive outcomes. The resource encourages pupils to think about how to arrange data from these events and it can be used to lead them towards either (somewhat complex / technically flawed?) Venn diagrams or (more traditional and clear!) two-way tables [albeit a "sample space" would be preferable to both] as a means to clarify and present the raw data for speedy analysis. The language and symbols of set theory are used in places and may need decoding for pupils. The absence of a true sample space may render these slides "unsatisfying" for mathematicians likely to progress to the highest grades and on to A-Level; however, the faith was kept with the brief; next time... ;-)

Quadratic Linear Equation Inequality

Simple exercise. Pupils given rough cooking times for Christmas Turkey; asked to create graph to see if there is a clear relationship and, if there is, to answer a couple of questions.

Key Stage 3. Ratio & Proportional Reasoning 4. For the beginnings of ratio and where it is found and used.

AfL tool to assess topics requiring teacher's input when starting unit on charts and graphs. Aligned with new GCSE mathematics curriculum. Can also be used as mid unit or end of unit test.

Brief intro slides with a little annotated animation. Give them a try. They may provide a pleasant surprise.