I was looking back through my blog posts around this sort of time last year, just to reflect on what I was doing, when I came across my 'go to' resources blog post - http://goo.gl/NczZoB
On looking at the resources/websites, all of which I still regularly use, I thought about those websites that I have used since I wrote the post that I would add to the list. So here they are...
Corbettmaths.com
http://corbettmaths.com/
I've got to say that this is probably my favourite 'go to' resource that I have stumbled upon this school year. I have used the website loads with my GCSE classes and used it when revising in the run in to their examinations. The site has so many resources on it, which so much time has gone into, that it is a treasure chest for Mathematics teachers. Personally, I have used the 5-a-day questions the most, but have recently seen the new addition of the 'conundrums', which look fantastic!
Definitely worth following @Corbettmaths on Twitter for ongoing updates and reminders of the daily questions (3 different versions - numeracy, foundation and higher).
In the last week of the school year I sent an e-mail round to the parents/carers of my Y11 classes next year (my current Y10 classes that I'm continuing to teach in September) to thank them for their support this year and to advise on what the students can be doing over the Summer to ensure their, what I call, 'Mathematical state' doesn't drop over the Summer. In this e-mail I mentioned corbettmaths.com and have asked students to complete 5 days of the 5-a-day resources (at least) over the holidays (when they have spare time). I'm also planning on putting up a 'Have you had your 5-a-day?' display in the corridor outside my room to make other students aware.
Thank you @Corbettmaths!
ilovemathsgames.wordpress.com's 'Puzzle of the Week'
http://ilovemathsgames.wordpress.com/category/puzzle-of-the-week/
Now I was aware of this one this time last year, but for whatever reason I forgot about it (sorry Emily)! This blog has been a godsend when preparing and sending out numeracy 'puzzle(s) of the week' to my tutor group team this year. The weekly puzzles that Emily creates (and freely shares) on her blog are fantastic. The Year 9s have found them both interesting and challenging this year and it has been part of our weekly schedule during tutor time.
Follow Emily (@ilovemathsgames) on Twitter for more great resources etc, thanks Emily!
Cheney Agility Toolkit by @ASTsupportAAli
http://cheneyagilitytoolkit.blogspot.co.uk/
Amjad Ali's collection of teaching ideas is as comprehensive as it possibly could be. There is no lesson idea/game/strategy/activity etc that isn't included on this site, but Amjad regularly updates it with more and more ideas as they are shared throughout the web. I have found this website/blog really useful in the past year when trying to think of a type of activity that would suit the phase of the lesson I had planned. The ideas on the site can add a certain 'umph' to your lesson and with the huge variety of ideas in the toolkit there's bound to be something that could suit any lesson, regardless of what subject/class/age you're teaching.
Follow Amjad on Twitter for the regular updates to the Toolkit @ASTsupportAAli
Diagnostic Questions
http://www.diagnosticquestions.com/
This is the site I WILL be using much more next year. Created by Craig Barton & Simon Woodhead, Diagnostic Questions is a website with 1000s of questions to test previous learning/misconceptions/understanding etc of your students. The questions are gathered from existing resources uploaded to the TES, newly created questions specifically for the website and users ongoing newly created questions. The site allows users to set up an account to make their own quizzes, by either using the 1000s of existing questions on the site, or by creating their own questions to share with others. The site includes a 'random question' feature where a question is chosen at random from the archive for you to use on your IWB. There is an option to choose the answer from those suggested (most questions are multiple choice to ensure misconceptions are addressed) and the correct answer is provided. Some questions even come with explanations as to why students may have believed incorrect answers to be true - explaining some of the misconceptions students have.
I plan on using the questions on the site in a number of different ways:
1) with my ABCD fans as mini quizzes - see http://goo.gl/8h61Rb
2) by putting the options on the whiteboard for students to place a post-it note under the letter of the answer they believe to be true - see http://goo.gl/d8omaJ for an example on this
3) using the random question feature for revision purposes
4) with mini whiteboards
5) in the ICT room to get students to create their own questions/quizzes to share with each other
+ many more I'm sure!
Follow @MathsDQs, @mrbartonmaths and @autographmaths for updates etc.
I'm sure there are other sites/resources that I use regularly that I've forgotten about...still! So I'll probably do a similar thing this time next year...
On looking at the resources/websites, all of which I still regularly use, I thought about those websites that I have used since I wrote the post that I would add to the list. So here they are...
Corbettmaths.com
http://corbettmaths.com/
I've got to say that this is probably my favourite 'go to' resource that I have stumbled upon this school year. I have used the website loads with my GCSE classes and used it when revising in the run in to their examinations. The site has so many resources on it, which so much time has gone into, that it is a treasure chest for Mathematics teachers. Personally, I have used the 5-a-day questions the most, but have recently seen the new addition of the 'conundrums', which look fantastic!
Definitely worth following @Corbettmaths on Twitter for ongoing updates and reminders of the daily questions (3 different versions - numeracy, foundation and higher).
In the last week of the school year I sent an e-mail round to the parents/carers of my Y11 classes next year (my current Y10 classes that I'm continuing to teach in September) to thank them for their support this year and to advise on what the students can be doing over the Summer to ensure their, what I call, 'Mathematical state' doesn't drop over the Summer. In this e-mail I mentioned corbettmaths.com and have asked students to complete 5 days of the 5-a-day resources (at least) over the holidays (when they have spare time). I'm also planning on putting up a 'Have you had your 5-a-day?' display in the corridor outside my room to make other students aware.
Thank you @Corbettmaths!
ilovemathsgames.wordpress.com's 'Puzzle of the Week'
http://ilovemathsgames.wordpress.com/category/puzzle-of-the-week/
Now I was aware of this one this time last year, but for whatever reason I forgot about it (sorry Emily)! This blog has been a godsend when preparing and sending out numeracy 'puzzle(s) of the week' to my tutor group team this year. The weekly puzzles that Emily creates (and freely shares) on her blog are fantastic. The Year 9s have found them both interesting and challenging this year and it has been part of our weekly schedule during tutor time.
Follow Emily (@ilovemathsgames) on Twitter for more great resources etc, thanks Emily!
Cheney Agility Toolkit by @ASTsupportAAli
http://cheneyagilitytoolkit.blogspot.co.uk/
Amjad Ali's collection of teaching ideas is as comprehensive as it possibly could be. There is no lesson idea/game/strategy/activity etc that isn't included on this site, but Amjad regularly updates it with more and more ideas as they are shared throughout the web. I have found this website/blog really useful in the past year when trying to think of a type of activity that would suit the phase of the lesson I had planned. The ideas on the site can add a certain 'umph' to your lesson and with the huge variety of ideas in the toolkit there's bound to be something that could suit any lesson, regardless of what subject/class/age you're teaching.
Follow Amjad on Twitter for the regular updates to the Toolkit @ASTsupportAAli
Diagnostic Questions
http://www.diagnosticquestions.com/
This is the site I WILL be using much more next year. Created by Craig Barton & Simon Woodhead, Diagnostic Questions is a website with 1000s of questions to test previous learning/misconceptions/understanding etc of your students. The questions are gathered from existing resources uploaded to the TES, newly created questions specifically for the website and users ongoing newly created questions. The site allows users to set up an account to make their own quizzes, by either using the 1000s of existing questions on the site, or by creating their own questions to share with others. The site includes a 'random question' feature where a question is chosen at random from the archive for you to use on your IWB. There is an option to choose the answer from those suggested (most questions are multiple choice to ensure misconceptions are addressed) and the correct answer is provided. Some questions even come with explanations as to why students may have believed incorrect answers to be true - explaining some of the misconceptions students have.
I plan on using the questions on the site in a number of different ways:
1) with my ABCD fans as mini quizzes - see http://goo.gl/8h61Rb
2) by putting the options on the whiteboard for students to place a post-it note under the letter of the answer they believe to be true - see http://goo.gl/d8omaJ for an example on this
3) using the random question feature for revision purposes
4) with mini whiteboards
5) in the ICT room to get students to create their own questions/quizzes to share with each other
+ many more I'm sure!
Follow @MathsDQs, @mrbartonmaths and @autographmaths for updates etc.
I'm sure there are other sites/resources that I use regularly that I've forgotten about...still! So I'll probably do a similar thing this time next year...