Home Archived Resources of the week Back Resources of the week Three subject teachers recommend a high-quality resource that they have tried and tested in their own classrooms 24th October 2014, 1:00am Tes Editorial Share Resources of the week https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/resources-week-17 Copy Link MathsPractice makes perfectWhat is it? This collection of interactive spreadsheets, uploaded to the TES website by daniels2, has been designed to improve students’ numeracy skills. Many crucial areas are covered, including mental arithmetic, fractions, percentages and rounding up. The pice de rsistance is the starters sheet, which contains more than 150 activities that can be randomly generated and projected at any point in a lesson.How can it be used? With the new curriculum in England bringing an increased focus on mastery learning, this resource will become a key component of my teaching this year. Students must have basic skills in place before they can become problem-solvers and independent learners, so I plan to dip into the starters worksheet throughout my lessons to focus students and keep them on their toes.Craig Barton is an advanced skills teacher at Thornleigh Salesian College in Bolton and a TES secondary maths adviser. Find him on Twitter at @TESMathsEnglishCreative writing challengesWhat is it? This PowerPoint, uploaded by felpetai, is a brilliant tool for getting students to write creatively. A selection of writing prompts have been organised into four categories and hidden behind numbers. Students select a category and number, but have no way of knowing which challenge they will receive. The element of chance means that they will agonise less over story ideas and can get straight down to the business of writing.How can it be used? These tasks would make excellent warm-up exercises before students attempt a longer piece of descriptive writing. You can use them for independent working or ask small groups to produce pieces of collaborative writing on A3 paper. This work can then be shared with the rest of the class as inspiration for individual stories. As an extension task, get students to devise their own writing prompts to challenge their peers. This is a versatile resource to help students practise a creative skill that can be tricky to teach.Helen Amass is a former English teacher who writes for the TES websiteScienceLab safetyWhat is it? All science teachers know that combining uncoordinated and occasionally unruly students with hazardous chemicals can be a toxic mix. This resource by Charlotte Dawson aims to boost practical lessons by improving students’ knowledge of safety (as well as the mental well-being of their teachers).How can it be used? Consisting of three PowerPoints, a card-sort activity and a worksheet, this resource contains enough material for two whole lessons. It is ideal for making students aware of laboratory safety rules and hazard symbols. The suggested activities, which include learning to light a Bunsen burner and safely melt an ice cube, are ideally suited to the lesson objectives. I have used this with my Year 7 class and thoroughly recommend it.Aimee Mckeon is a science teacher at St Andrew’s CE High School and Sixth Form in Croydon, South LondonTo offer suggestions, please email helen.amass@tesglobal.com Want to keep reading for free? Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters. Register Log in Keep reading for just £1 per month You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get: Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content Exclusive subscriber-only stories Award-winning email newsletters Subscribe now Read more Weekly round-up: Capita loses Sats and GCSE fears Tes Editorial • 18th April 2024 Reception Baseline Assessment: what you need to know Gráinne Hallahan • 3rd April 2024 Weekly round-up: Teacher pay drop and school moves Tes Editorial • 28th March 2024 Weekly round-up: Teacher pay and staff shortages Tes Editorial • 21st March 2024 Recent Most read Most shared Heads: DfE failure to scrap Ofsted grades ‘deeply disappointing’ News 25 April 2024 Keegan: I’ll look at how we can fund teacher pay rise News 24 April 2024 Exams: How Ofqual plans to cope with AI News 24 April 2024 A simple but radical new way to assess writing Teaching & Learning 22 April 2024 Fitness to teach cases in Scotland hit 10-year high News 23 April 2024 5 basic errors that ruin teacher job applications Analysis 23 April 2024 5 basic errors that ruin teacher job applications Analysis 23 April 2024 Starmer: Halt ‘damaging decline’ of PE News 22 April 2024 A 4-point plan for transparent AI use in schools Analysis 22 April 2024
