MathsClass

For the new year

Sunday, 30 January 2011 | 2 Comments

Here are some resources for the new year…

Downloads

Last year I changed the downloads page on this site to be some handy items for maths teacher. There are a few grids that are designed ready to be inserted into a Word document for a worksheet or a test. Also, there’s some grid and lined paper (of course many other sites, linked on MathsKit, have larger collections of grid paper).

Mutliplication Bingo

I use multiplication bingo in my class a lot; as a reward, as practise, to fill in a gap, after a fire drill… The standard version I play is to write up a 6 × 6 grid (or sometimes 6 × 10) on the board and have them copy. I usually remind them that this is just the times tables. Then, depending on time, they might circle 2 lots of 3 numbers which need to be called for them to win.

I use my dice which means I can start the game showing the answer and at a later point in the game remove the answer (this gets the lower ability kids starting the game rather than just giving up).

I recently made a different version of the game. Download the game card. Designed for two 10-sided dice. In this version, they pick the numbers they want on their game card – although we still may play only 2 lines required to win. After the first game, they tend to notice that some numbers occur more frequently. Next game, those willing to take the risk might put columns of the most frequently occurring numbers.

As I said, multiplication bingo is a very handy resource to have in your maths teacher toolbox – I even play it when I have an extra lesson with a non-maths class, just pack some dice and lollies in my pencil case.

MathsLinks

The MathsLinks site will get more useful as people contribute links and “favourite” sites. Maybe you could let staff at your school know about the site with this poster (PDF, 451 KB). There’s also a poster for the MathsKit site.

Facebook & Twitter

You can now keep up with updates from all three of my sites on Twitter and Facebook.

I hope the new year starts well for you.

• ← Mathematician’s Dice
• Online picture graphs →

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