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Back to basics

Even the most mundane maths task can become a memorable activity, as this week’s resources show. Challenge your students to build a farm, revamp their bedrooms or show off their business acumen

31st January 2014, 12:00am

Tes Editorial

1. Floor show

What is it? Students design a tessellation of carpet tiles for their bedroom and work out how much it will cost

What users say “Brilliant. Thank you for sharing.”

2. Holiday plans

What is it? An extended problem-solving activity based on booking a holiday for a family of four

What users say “This is a quality real-life activity. I love the presentation and cannot wait to print these out and use them in class.”

3. In-depth digits

What is it? Six investigations into topics including rectangles and squares, data handling and positive and negative numbers

What users say “An absolutely fantastic and engaging resource with differentiated levels - ideal for any maths classroom.”

4. Catwalk counting

What is it? Students must use their knowledge of maths to make sense of clues and solve a fashion-show mystery

What users say “This kept a large, bright group of Year 10s entertained for a whole hour at the end of term. A much more entertaining way to revise quadratics.”

5. Bedroom designer

What is it? A complete pack of activities built around designing a bedroom, which makes use of the Ikea website

What users say “Thank you so much for this masterpiece. You have thought of everything, and a tired teacher can now relax and have a brilliant series of lessons at the ready.”

6. You’re hired!

What is it? A business-themed game based on television show The Apprentice, where students compete to make the most of an initial pound;200 “investment”

What users say “This was great and my classes enjoyed it. They still ask to play again.”

7. Rich rewards

What is it? A webpage offering six mathematical tasks that encourage creative thinking

What users say “Really helpful, thorough and well laid out.”

8. No problem

What is it? A website on focused mathematical problem-solving for children aged 7-14

What users say “Good problem-solving activities. The teacher notes are very useful to me, as I am not a mathematician.”

9. Farm hands

What is it? Functional skills classroom projects, with titles such as Build a Farm, Mobile Phone Deals and Space Station

What users say “Superb. We do a functional task with every group each term. The maths department got very excited about this and we loved the bake sale and the farm particularly.”

10. Gold standard

What is it? Students use a series of clues to calculate the answers to four Olympic-themed mysteries

What users say “Excellent. Have never heard my students so quiet and engrossed as they were with this. Will be using again very soon.”

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