Here is a great starter from Transum
http://www.transum.org/Software/SW/Starter_of_the_day/starter_April14.asp
Apr 172013
Apr 052013
Nelson Thornes have published a very attractive Functional Skills Maths Childcare workbook. It covers levels from Entry 3 to Level 2 and all the maths is set in the context of childcare. Topics include Body Mass Index, Child Protection Legislation, Childcare provision, Children in Need, National Child Measurement Programme, Staffing Ratios and lots more. This book will not only be useful to Childcare students but will be an invaluable resource for teachers and lecturers with mixed groups of students looking for ways to make maths relevant and “functional”.
I particularly like the section on measuring babies which looks at length and head circumference and uses a centile chart for boys weight during their first year. I like the way each section includes questions at three different levels, making differentiation a doddle!
I originally posted “The only down side with the book is that there are no answers. How do students working on their own know that they have got the calculations right? Busy teachers still have to work out all the answers!” but I stand corrected. The answers are all freely available by registering on the website at
Mar 252013
Mar 252013
Mar 192013
Be systematic! What sort of numbers are important to help you solve this problem?
Mar 022013
Here are two clear examples showing how to find the prime factors of a number.
Mar 022013
How many triangles are in this shape? (A Transum starter)
Download a pdf worksheet here.
When you are absolutely sure you have counted them all, click here and press the yellow button to see if you are right.
Mar 022013
This cube has 6 faces, 8 vertices (corners) and 12 edges.
This square based pyramid has 5 faces, 5 vertices and 8 edges.
See how quickly you can do this quiz from Purpose Games. Click start, then the computer will give you a number for either F (faces), V (Vertices) or E (Edges). You just have to click on the letter next to the right shape.
Mar 022013
Do you know your prisms from your pyramids? See how quickly you can do this quiz from Purpose Games. Click start, then click on the shape whose name appears at the top.
Feb 282013
Here is a great site to discover all about three dimensional shapes. Find some scissors and glue, print off some of these nets and see what you can make! http://www.korthalsaltes.com/cuadros.php?type=p
Feb 102013
Feb 072013
To play this 2 player game from Transum you need to be able to calculate mean, median and range.
Feb 072013
To do this quiz you need to understand the mean, mode, median and range.
Feb 072013
Here are some probability questions from Transum. If you get one wrong use your back button on your browser and try again.
Jan 262013
Number of players 2-4
Equipment. One pack of cards with picture cards removed.
Play
The black cards are positive numbers and the red cards are negative numbers. Ace is one. Each player is dealt 2 cards. Each player chooses whether to accept a third card from the dealer. The object is to make the total of the cards in your hand as close to zero as possible. The hand shown on the right is +7.
Each round the winner scores zero and losing players score the difference of their hand from zero. The pictured hand would score 7 points.
Play continues until one player reaches 50 points. The winner is the player with the least points.
Jan 252013
Maths with Graham recommends this great revision book from CGP.
Follow the link and you can see some of the pages inside the book and order it on-line.
M3SRA3 – New Functional Skills Maths Entry Level 3 – Study & Test Practice (for 2020 & beyond)
This unbeatable Functional Skills book has everything students need to prepare for the Entry Level 3 Maths test! It covers every exam board and every topic, including all the calculator and non-calculator skills needed for the new EL3 Functional Skills specifications in 2019 and beyond.
Jan 232013
Play “Got it!”Try to find a strategy so that you can always win! Can you explain your strategy to someone else?
Jan 212013
1. Write down your date of birth using 6 figures. So 25th December 1974 would be 25.12.74
2. Write down the last two digits of the year. (eg 74)
3. Divide by 4 and ignore the decimal part or remainder. (eg 74 ÷ 4 = 18)
4. Add together the answers to 1 and 2 (eg 74 + 18 =92)
5. Add the number of the day of your date of birth. (eg 92 + 25 =117)
6. Add a number according to your month of birth as follows.
JAN 1 (0 for Leap Year) How do you tell if a year is a leap year?
FEB 4 (3 for Leap Year) How do you tell if a year is a leap year?
MARCH 4
APRIL 0
MAY 2
JUNE 5
JULY 0
AUGUST 3
SEPT 6
OCT 1
NOV 4
DEC 6
(eg 117 + 6 for Dec = 123)
For years beginning 18.. add 2
For years beginning 19.. add 0
For years beginning 20.. add 6
(eg 123 +0 = 123)
Divide your answer by 7 and work out the remainder.
(eg 123÷ 7 = 17 remainder 4)
The remainder gives the day of the week you were born on.
1 = Sunday
2= Monday
3= Tuesday
4= Wednesday
5= Thursday
6 = Friday
7 = Saturday
(s0 25.12.74 was a Wednesday)
Links
Jan 212013
Ask your teacher (or somebody else) to
1. Write down your house number.
2. Double it.
3. Add the number of days in a week.
4. Multiply by 50.
5. Add your age.
6. Subtract the number of days in a year. (not a leap year)
7. Add 15
The answer is your teachers house number and their age!
Can you explain why this works?
Jan 202013
Here is a letter from the Coop Bank offering Mrs Givusabob a loan. Can you help her understand it?
Here is a worksheet version.
(MathswithGraham likes the Coop Bank because of their ethical principles, but borrowing from any bank can be very expensive.)