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What is it?
It is no secret that alutwyche is one of my favourite Tes Maths resource authors; in fact, I think the bloke should be knighted for services to maths education over the years! Alutwyche does not just produce good one-off resources, he produces entire series. This is important because it means students get used to the structure, rules and format of these activities, meaning precious time is not lost explaining exactly how things work. Therefore we can crack straight on with the lovely maths.

Andy’s spider series is simply superb! From a central prompt, students are asked to calculate a host of things, each focusing on a key skill or concept. Take this particular spider, for example, which covers interpreting speed, distance and time graphs. From a single graph, students are asked to calculate speed, distance, time, as well as to interpret the various sections of the graph.

How can it be used?
For me, this is far superior to a worksheet. Students gain all the necessary practice – there is no shortcut to expertise, of course – but they do so in a more engaging format that also has another significant advantage. By basing a set of questions around a single prompt, students are forced to address both similarities and differences, instead of cruising through on autopilot. It is the same philosophy that underpins SSDD Problems, and one that I am convinced helps our students develop into the problem solvers that we all want them to be.

Oh, and as ever, alutwyche provides all the solutions. My hero!

Thanks so much for sharing.
Craig Barton

Download: Speed-Time Graphs Spiders
View the author’s other resources