I put this together for my strong Year 9 (13/14 yrs old) class. 4 terms of 8 weekly homework Challenges (includes answers for most) - use them any way you want for many other groups. HUGE thanks to both Chris Smith (aap03102@gmail.com) & vikki bushel for allowing me to use so many of their puzzles. If you haven’t already, get onto Chris’s weekly newsletter or Vikki’s stuff at vikkibushel -they are brilliant.

The idea for this investigation came from reading The Number Devil – A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Magnus Enzensberger. Basically lots of number work looking at patterns in Pascal's triangle. I added an old Fibonacci PPT because the last slide leads into Fibonacci. You could probably find a better resource for that in TES. Hope you find it useful.

NOTE - ERROR on YR 11 GEN PROBABILITY FIXED 15/6/2013.Five Lock Problems that I put together after seeing the idea from Chris Smith (check out his resources on TES - inspirational ideas) Covering Rates & Ratios aimed at lower ability 14 year old, basic Probability é Counting Techniques aimed at middle ability 15 to 17 year olds, one for a seminar for higher level 17 yr old, but I didn't know their ability level, Basic Probability for lower ability 15 yr olds é basic statistics for lower ability 15 yr olds.

A set of 40 investigations into different types of numbers - Narcissistic, Kaprekan, Keith, Betrothed, Bell, Proth and many more. Each investigation explains something about the number being investigated & then sets a challenge for the students. All answers are from 1 to 100. Solutions on last 2 pages. (errors corrected 11/1)

NEW COMPUTER GENERATED BOX PLOTS ADDED 09/07/13 - thanks to TES member Rebecca (McBec) Sticky tape a box & whisker graph onto the back of each student. They need to move around é ask questions to find out their 5 scores to draw up 'their' box é whisker plot. Suggest you limit questions to a YES/NO answer é only 1 question per person (so they move around to ask different students). Did this just today with 16 yr olds , last period of a Friday é they loved it!

Not sure where I got some of these (apologies & credit to anyone on TES), but I have added a few unusual Australian buildings to the collection. Updated again 15.10.15

100 questions in a trivia like quiz aimed at having a bit of fun with maths in the classroom. Not sure where I got this as it has been in my files for over 20 years!!

You have 48 cards - 16 each of graphs, descriptions & equations of quadratics. Students have to match them up to get 16 sets of 3. I copy each set of 16 in a different colour - see answer sheet. Haven't had a class that hasn&'t enjoyed this. Apologies about scans - lost everything in a school fire é only have copies from a friend. Upside of the fire is I discovered Tes!!

3 worksheets involving fractions of an amount, simplifying & converting to mixed fractions. Involves using answers to decode 3 stories - one an old fable, one an urban myth, the other a historical myth.

Based on the old game of boxes where you join dots with horizontal & vertical lines to capture a square. here your square contains algebraic terms - skills involved are collection of like terms é substitution. Kids always like this game. NEW NEATER PRINTED VERSION.

11 Lock Problems (+ a template) that I put together after seeing the idea from Chris Smith (check out his resources on TES UK - inspirational ideas)Covering Rates & Ratios aimed at lower ability 14 year old, basic Probability & Counting Techniques aimed at middle ability 15 to 17 year olds, one for a seminar for higher level 17 yr old, but I didn't know their ability level, Basic Probability for lower ability 15 yr olds & basic statistics for lower ability 15 yr olds + so many more added since I last put these up. Check them out!

I have placed a challenge in every school newsletter for thee last 10 years or so. These are collected here together as powerpoints so they can be used in class. The more recent ones are in the word document that I will load separately. Search for No 2 etc ...

Powerpoint presentations on how to make flexagons - from a trihexaflexagon (3 sides) thru to a nonahexaflexagon (9 sides)!

A powerpoint outlining the universally accepted strategies to solve a problem - * look for a pattern * draw a sketch * make an organised list * simplify the problem * guess and check * make a table * write a number sentence * act out a problem Each strategy is accompanied by an example and a problem for student to try, plus solutions

You'll need a box with a 4 digit padlock for this puzzle. Kids have to answer 8 questions & substitute answers into an equation to get a 4 digit number - to open the box é win whatever you put in there. Check my other ones .. Easy to make your own é share. Thanks Chris Smith for your original that caught my imagination.

I have used these for a few years now as 'extra&' voluntary fortnightly challenges. You will need to change my name & some other details to suit yourself. I have seen some of these as a PPT elsewhere on TES. .SOLUTIONS NOW ADDED TO END OF DOCUMENT.

Treasure Hunt (Coordinate Geometry) based on idea from laura.reeshughes (thanks Laura - check her resources - brilliant). 24 questions involving finding distance, gradient & midpoint from a pair of given points.OOPS! Mistake on answer 14 (should be 10/3) - fixed 26/07/12. Sorry.

Why you need to get your maths right! A set of 16 posters that identify something that went wrong & the mathematical error that caused it. Just for a bit of fun. Re expletive comments: Fair cop, I missed it, but you can delete that sheet - as word in image can’t be changed - sorry!

I made up this set of posters from an article in Business Insider Australia (http://www.businessinsider.com.au/important-mathematicians-modern-world-2012-7#william-playfair-inventor-of-charts-1) Should look great on the wall coming in to class.

I have collected these since I started teaching - from newspapers, books, internet .... I put many together in a PPT (also added a pdf version) - you can entertain a class or print off as posters. I covered my back wall with them so teachers on exam duty had something to read! Kept a lot of people happy. Both BIG downloads - sorry. Pdf is smallest.

A collection of 8 linear equations, 8 function boxes (I call them 'dogboxes&' after the greyhound boxes at the start of a race) & 8 graphs. Students have to match them up to get 8 sets. Answer é answer sheet included. I first saw the idea from Laura Reeshughes on this site - her stuff is great.