Guidance for students as to how to attack difficult and unfamiliar problems, and practice in doing so. The resource includes: “Methods for attacking unfamiliar problems” - a collection of strategies that I (a pretty decent mathematician) use when tackling hard problems, laid out clearly for students Collections of tricky exam problems, organised by AS/A-level and by Pure/Statistics/Mechanics. An overview/instructions sheet so that the resource may be easily set for independent practice Most of the problems have been sourced from OCR sample assessment materials, but align with any other A-level specification. Other problems were written by me. The problems may be used as good revision/practice before exams, after spec content has been covered. The “methods” sheet may be introduced at any point in the year, to support students’ problem solving. If using the problems in class, try not to help students with the maths! Instead, talk to them about their thought processes, direct them to relevant “methods” from the sheet, and encourage them to persevere. pdf and editable docx versions included.

A “framework” for three/four weeks of data handling lessons, based upon data about the world. The resource intends to educate and spark discussion about pertinent issues - inequality, carbon emissions - while teaching specific GCSE data handling content. Data is provided about countries’: Median income per person Mean yearly CO2 emissions Population Life expectancy Data samples can be printed and provided to students. Students should be encouraged to be critical, to ask questions and to make their own hypotheses. This motivates the learning of specific data handling skills. Data is sourced from Gapminder.org. The slides include links to other excellent Gapminder resources. “Standard” practice of skills is not included in the slides; this can be slotted in, appropriate to the level of your group. The slides are adaptable for KS3, GCSE Foundation or GCSE Higher. Skills: Time series graphs Scatter graphs Averages (mean/median/mode) Range Cumulative frequency diagrams Boxplots Histograms Files: Lesson slides (pptx) Easily printable data samples (docx) Complete data sheet (xlsx)

A project that guides students to investigate Edexcel’s Large Data Set using Google Sheets and Desmos, for homework or in a computer room. The project includes a series or tutorial videos that teach students: why we use the data set what’s in the data set how to navigate the spreadsheet how to calculate Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient in Google Sheets how to draw scatter graphs in Google Sheets how to calculate summary statistics in Desmos how to draw boxplots in Desmos how to draw histograms in Desmos It then instructs students to investigate a question about the data and put their analysis together into a document to submit. Initially developed during lockdown for students to do at home. Available to download as a pdf or docx.

A resource suitable for one or multiple lessons, for homework or in a computer room. Students use Desmos to recreate some lovely graph patterns, developing their understanding of types of graphs/equations (ellipses, cubics and reciprocals in particular) and how to transform them. Initially developed during lockdown for Year 11 and Year 12 students at home. Downloadable as pdf or docx.

“Variations on the theme of x^3 - 1” Three exam-style problems including this equation in different contexts. Written to encourage students to link their understanding of roots of unity to their understanding of other A Level Further Maths content (roots and coefficients of polynomials, hyperbolic functions, complex loci). Useful as a revision resource and problem-solving practice before exams. Single worksheet, as pdf and docx.

Slides providing practice finding the areas of compound shapes including circles, also with a focus on accuracy and perseverance. Credit for the original, beautiful, hand-drawn worksheets goes to Pete Jones; created at some time between the invention of the printing press and the invention of the internet.

Six questions involving circles, practising AS Level coordinate geometry skills. The questions are almost exam-style, but with more of a focus on developing students’ geometrical reasoning and demonstrating the importance of a good sketch. The resource may be used at the end of a Year 12 coordinate geometry topic or as revision before exams. Single worksheet, as pdf and docx.