The following collection of resources have been assembled by the TES Maths Panel. They can be downloaded for free by registering on the TES website.
TES Maths panel member Jessica Ballard picks out 10 of the best back to school maths resources to help make that first week back a little bit easier.
1. Mega maths quiz (100 multiple choice quizzes)
Age range: 11 – 16
Format: PowerPoint
You must save this resource as it will prove invaluable! I regularly use these in my lessons for both starters and plenaries with laminated ABCD cards. To prevent pupils from looking around the classroom and copying others, I tell pupils not to show me their answer until I’ve given them sufficient ‘thinking time’ and then tell them to show me simultaneously.
Paul Collins has made some ABCD fans here. Just fix them with a treasury tag once you have laminated them.
2. Maths group challenges puzzle sheet
Age range: 11 – 16
Format: PDF
A great collection of maths puzzles designed to get pupils really thinking. These are best done in small groups and you could introduce a competition element. You could print these out or display on IWB.
Before you panic, answers are included.
3. GCSE revision worksheets suitable as starters
Age range: 14 – 16
Format: Word
Let’s not pretend our pupils have spent the summer holidays with their heads buried in a textbook and why should they? They need a break too. This resource will help your more able pupils shake off the cobwebs in Geometry and Algebra, topics that often cause a problem. Each document contains three sets of starters, then a longer exercise which can be used for homework or a more extended revision task.
4. Maths starters, Display, Algebra, Data, Number
Age range: 11 – 16
Format: PowerPoint
A selection of images, with differentiated question prompts to engage pupils. The image slide could be laminated and given to pupils, and the questions could be displayed on an IWB with pupils answering on mini whiteboards. Pupils could even write their own question to extend further.
5. Maths investigations
Age range: 11 – 14
Format: PDF
Six investigations for pupils to carry out which are suitable for year 7s but could also be used with years 8 and 9. There’s teacher guidance as well as prompts to help pupils get started and a section for each investigation that levels pupils work.
6. Mathemagic games for ages 11 – 14
Age range: 11 – 14
Format: Word/Excel
25 ‘mathematical tricks’ to amaze your pupils and allow them to witness the true beauty of maths. Each trick has a set of instructions on how to use in the classroom.
7. Shape properties mystery
Age range: 11 – 14
Format: PDF
This is a really good resource which can be used as a starter or plenary, it gets pupils thinking about key words and properties of shapes. An extension could be to get pupils to write their own and swap with a partner.
8. Maths symbols
Age range: 11 – 16
Format: PDF
An attractive poster suitable for the classroom which helps pupils to understand the different maths symbols, vocabulary and their meanings.
9. Collective memory – number operations KS3
Age range: 11 – 14
Format: PPT
A collective memory on number operations, perfect for a lesson in the first week to dust off those cobwebs. Collective memories promote group work and encourage pupils to use key vocabulary. If you’re unsure of how to set up this lesson, check out Craig Barton’s instructions on collective memories
10. Interactive Excel resources by Tim Buckton
Age range: 11 – 16
Format: Excel
I feel like I am cheating here, writing a topic special and recommending a whole collection of resources but these are too good to miss out. They’ve been created by Tim Buckton and anything he has produced is guaranteed to be of quality. The majority of these can be displayed on the IWB to create quick-fire questions. My favourites are the grid multiplication and quadratic worksheets as you can very quickly scaffold the question to give support. The Loop Card worksheet will need printing off prior to the lesson and make sure you enable the macros.