Mathematical Concept Cards 2: The New Batch

Having been recently reminded about an activity I did in class last year by Mr Cavadino (see his blog post at wp.me/p34gWb-3c) I decided to try out the activity with some of my new classes in the last week of this half term.

To see my original post on the idea and discover the origins of it click on the below link:

http://mrcollinsmaths.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/mathematical-concepts-wall-for-want-of.html

So, here's the new display, with the best of the concept cards selected to go up here...

And here's some of my favourites that have been created this year by my students...

 I think this has to be my favourite one?

 Must be a fan of Dead or Alive?

I thought this one was hilarious - especially when Miley made an appearance!

 Maybe some confusions here as to what 'expressions' are, but the effort was commendable. Most other students in this class chose 'volume' and drew speakers etc

 Being a Marvel geek I loved this one, if only there were some Loci examples around it to go with it though...

 Nice use of both words here

 I wonder why the 'hundredth' was the one that was working out?

 Inspired by the examples I showed the class from last year.

 The best pie shop in the world...3.14 (brilliant)

 Hilarious!
 This one definitely thought outside the box

I am impressed with the creativity that came out of the classes I ran the activity with. There are a few I am waiting on with my Year 10 class too, so there may be some more to follow. Watch this space.

Good Data Day

Nothing revolutionary here. Just what turned out to be a nice sequence of experiences with a group of preservice elementary teachers. No handouts, just a story and pictures of what happened.

Previously... we measured some distances, from a whiteboard marker to an outdoor commons. We discussed technique and accuracy, and I shared a bit on with what elementary students struggle. They went off and measured, and then we shared data in a Google doc. (New to some, somehow.) Choice 1 we agreed on as a class. Choice 2 was up to their group. Distance to the bathroom, trash bins, and one group was obsessed with how do they measure a bus. Then we talked about how do we go from all those different numbers to a specific measurement. How tall is a desk? We want a single number! Of course, they first go to the average.



I always push on that. One, because you need to justify, man! Always. The other because the mean is so inappropriate for low sample size because of the power of outliers.

Then last class was a day to explore  measures of central tendency. I love human statistical displays and it was a gorgeous day. (October in Michigan.)

First sort: height.

They naturally lined up this way. We found the median height, with some good discussion about 19 students, which was the middle and what if it was between two people. When the middle height person stepped forward, we talked about if she was a good representation of the typical height of student in our class. People were a little uncomfortable about that. Especially at the tall end of the line.

Second sort: age.
First take, they lined up like they did for height. We found the median and discussed how well she represented typical. People were curious about the twins, who were gracious to answer age questions. I asked if it was true that boys tended to be older than girls, which led to a comparison of the significance of their position in the height chart vs their position in the age chart.

Then I asked them to line up spaced for their age. Start at 19, each sidewalk section was 4 months. "What if we're the same?" "Just line up." "Oh, it's a line plot!"   Students sorted themselves within a month by age. So when we determined the median, we talked about whether to count from the front or back of that month's line.  They thought that this showed the data much better because of the gaps, and were surprised how old it made that ancient 22 year old look.

Third sort: name length.

Finally split up the twins! For this one, we added unifix cubes. They made a stack of cubes the height of their name, first and last as it is on their birth certificate, and used that for comparison. The new question - could we use the cubes to figure out the mean? Would the mean be higher or lower than the median? "We could lay them all down in a big line and divide it by 19!" (Literal adaption of the arithmetic rule is pretty typical.) "What does that do?" "Could we all just share to have the same?" "We have these left over... what do we do with them?" Then we discussed if that meant the mean was closer to 13 or 14. Why was it higher than the median?

Fourth sort: shoe size.

I gave them the option of what to sort, but they were too shy to say anything. When I say shoe size, they jumped at it, and several said they were thinking about that. I like the ambiguity between men and women's, and the apparent diversity from shoe size not varying perfectly with height. I wanted to use the cubes again, but how do we do that with half sizes? Two cubes for each half size... that works! This time they sorted themselves into a line plot without being asked, working out their own spacing.

Again the mean was higher than the median. Will that always happen? How would it be different if we added 4 cubes to the men's shoes?

Starbursts
As they came back inside, I distributed Starbursts, very unfairly. Enter your data on the board before you sit down. DON'T EAT THEM YET. (Only one person did. Not bad.)

We discussed the challenges of using candy in class. Sugar, red dye, communicated values. (Why are prunes the only individually wrapped healthy snack?)

I asked them to make a line plot and pie chart of this data. The group that shared had a very nice way to make their pie chart:take the 80 starbursts, and think about 20 per quarter. Then half that is 10, half that is 5. "But there's 81?" someone asked. The class agreed that this wouldn't change the pie chart much.

Next was the hard discussion. If we want to be fair, how many should each person get? 2, since that's what most people got? But if people contributed, then there would be enough for 3 each. Wait a second, there's enough for four for each of us. With some left over! I tried to make the connection between this idea of equal distribution and the mean. Here's where we want to take outliers into account.

(Unfortunately, I showed them a graph of US income distribution at this point. Probably should have skipped that. It is one of the reasons I think statistical education is important - we can't understand our world and society without it. What do you think?)

Finally we looked at one more way to make a pie chart.

You can see two wrappers there. We compared this to the pie chart on the board, and they said that the lines really helped and they would add them. But they agreed that the drawn chart was very close.

After that we discussed how to share them fairly. I shared that this was real problem solving. The textbook problem is 81 starbursts, 19 students, how many do each get. The real life problem includes messy things like people wanting particular colors.   We did a quick check of color preferences by going to the corners of the room. One corner each for red (30%), pink (25%), orange (15%) and yellow (5%).  Center of the room for no preference (25%). A few methods were suggested, then someone said we should just do rounds of taking one. People agreed and we started. They wanted to make the pie chart for each one and who am I to argue.

So it was a good data day. Statistics and sunshine, who could ask for more?

Next class: starting the glyphs project!

F13 - My New Classroom

Over the past week I've been setting up my new classroom ready for the new school year. I've spent 2 and a half days getting it the way I want it and putting up all my displays etc, I figured it's worth putting in the effort now as it will save time later in the year when I'll undoubtedly have other things to worry about. As you may know from seeing my previous post 'my blank canvas' http://goo.gl/WuvqcV  my classroom (F13) was redecorated over the Summer holidays and so I had a fair amount to do...cue before and after photos...

Front of the classroom

Before

After

I've kept a lot of the front of my room the same as I had it last year in my NQT year. I have my 'Mathematical Alphabet', laminated letters of the alphabet made using www.tagxedo.com to have all mathematical words beginning with each letter of the alphabet made into the shape of that letter of the alphabet. I have a big number line above my whiteboard that I downloaded from teacher resources on line (see my 'go to' resources blog post for the link to this site and my others http://goo.gl/NczZoB). Above the IWB I have one of my new starter displays for this year - my 'number cruncher' (see http://goo.gl/3s16aR for more information). To the left of the whiteboard I have a selection of the 'Minds at Work' posters available from www.sparkyteaching.com as well as a self indulgent 'Mr Collins Maths' sign (I could, so I did) :)
Behind the class door I have one of my 3 display boards that were put up on Thursday when I wasn't at school - I was so happy on Friday when I came in and they were up, as well as the curtains). I backed this using some bright wrapping paper I got from Ikea. Below the board is a bookcase with some textbooks that were in the class last year. I'm not sure If I'll make much use of these this year, but they're there if needed, or for students to use if they get stuck whilst I'm helping others. I also have some '1, 2, 3' pots (also from Ikea). I'm going to use these in a very 'Primary School' style way...they will be filled with mini whiteboard pens and rubbers for use with the mini whiteboards, I may also put other equipment in them for each table as the lessons dictate. I will then plan to have these on the tables for groups of students to use from 'the off' each lesson. One thing I found last year is that I wasted a fair amount of time handing out resources (especially the mini whiteboards). So, to minimise this 'downtime' I will have the resources ready on the table for my students much like they do in the Primary setting. I'm expecting to have to make my expectations very clear with these as I can see them being 'fiddled' with when not needed if not instructed as to their 'proper' use. We'll see how this works (or not).
You will also see the nrich posters displayed on the beam going across the centre of the classroom. I have picked challenging puzzles that all my classes will be able to attempt, some are harder than others, but each class will be able to do at least 3 or 4 of them. See my 'go to' resources post for the link to their posters page of their website - they're great!

Back of the Classroom

Before

After

Tables and Chairs! These were one of the last things to go into the room as I was trying to leave the premises team space to get to the walls to put up the displays and the curtains. Also, I wasn't really sure how or where I was going to fit them all in. I'm still not 100% sure they will stay like this, but for now I have 4 groups of 6 and then 4 individual tables each seating 2 students. So, as my reflections on my seating arrangements from last year gave me I have gone for a mixture of 'rows' and 'groups'. To see my reflections on all my seating layouts last year see my blog post here --> http://goo.gl/Y65XL8. You can then just about see another of the display boards on the right of the picture - again, the wrapping paper to back them was from Ikea and I used my department's borders to finish it off. In between the windows at the back of the room I have a selection of displays that I (and my students) will use over the course of the 1st term. I have: my 'the number of the day is...' starter display (see http://goo.gl/3s16aR for more information), my Twitter board, my 4 fours challenge and some 'why do I need maths' posters and revision posters from http://www.mathscard.co.uk/ (free and rather good, I'm going to order their revision cards for students soon too).
Lastly, above each window there is a cover to hide the curtain rails. So, on each of these I have put a formula that students are required to know for the Mathematics GCSE examinations. I have: Pythagoras' theorem, area and circumference of circles, sum of interior angles of a polygon, SDT and DMV. I also have a website url for my YouTube channel above my desk's window and I plan on putting a Manga High/MyMaths login/password reminders up too once I've got the details.

Here's my Twitter board...for my 'tweets plenary'...

I've used one of www.magicwhiteboard.co.uk's A1 whiteboards so the post-it note tweets can be better 'stuck' to the wall as they don't stay on the walls for long for some reason? Plus, for my smaller classes they can write their tweets straight onto the whiteboard! I bordered the display with some Twitter images and a few #s.











My 4 fours challenge display...

I've done this a few times over the past few years and it has always worked really well and it keeps amazing me how many students are keen to find solutions to the target numbers 1-100, especially when there are only a few left!

The best thing about this is when I'm not teaching in my room (this will happen very rarely this year due to my full timetable now I'm no longer a trainee/NQT) and other classes/students do some of the target numbers.








Other views of my room...

The view from the back corner of the room looking towards the 'room of the room' room. The table for 2 that is right in the corner will only be used for my class of 32, otherwise it will be a 'free' desk for anybody that will visit my room this year.

This is the view from in the 'room off of the room' room. As you can see I have my dartboard (see my '180!' blog post for more information http://goo.gl/hN6h4e), a magic whiteboard ready for a round of '501' and...'Mathematical Mario', see other picture below for more on him...

This is the view from the centre front of the room. On the pillar in the middle of the class I have the 'Fail Safe' resource posters I downloaded from www.sparkyteaching.com. I'm hoping these, and other displays will help build an environment where students won't be afraid to make mistakes.
You can then see my CD player/stereo on the windowsill. I'm my school's resident DJ and have used certain types of music (not to mention my Maths DJing) in class to help students focus. So, I'll use this at points throughout the year as required...and it'll be there for me to chill out to after school when I'm planning, marking etc. I'm hoping to do more work at school this year and less at home so this will hopefully allow me to create a similar atmosphere to that I'm used to working in at home?

My class door...

I love my 'Mr Collins' on the front of the door. I used an Origami app I downloaded for free on my iPhone and made each of the letters from a piece of Marvel wrapping paper I managed to find in Primark of all places. I've also backed my 'room divider' in this - it looks pretty cool. I then put a F(sq rt)169 on the door so everyone knows what room it is (there's an F(2^2 + 3^2) on the back)!










Mathematical Mario

Inspired by a YouTube video I saw where someone made a stop motion video of Pacman and Mario using just post it notes I have created my own post-it note Mario character. I found out the hard way that the post-it notes I got (PoundWorld) didn't stick to the wall for long so I laminated them and 'blutacked' them to the wall. I plan to write key formulae and words on each post it note. It's more of a 'WOW' factor display than anything else. Much like my Space Invaders window decals I had in my classroom last year I hope it brings out a bit of my personality.

I'm also thinking of jazzing up the wall outside my classroom door by having a post-it note Tetris display using the same sort of method as I have here. I'll see if I get enough time, otherwise it may be left until I can find some time.



So there it is...my new classroom. I'm really happy with it and already feel right at home in my 'new' school. I'm looking forward to seeing the reaction of my students (and colleagues) to my room and can't wait to get started. We have 2 INSET days on Tuesday and Wednesday this week and then all the kids start on Thursday. Here's to a great year...

Starter Displays

I'm in the process of setting up my new classroom and when thinking about what displays I wanted to have up in my new room I was trying to think about what has worked best for me in the past. The displays I think work the best are those that you can either use or refer to in lessons. In the past I have used the '4 4s' problem, my '2 0 1 3' display and my 'Mathematical Concept Wall' displays in class as starter problems to pose my students; their answers then go up on the displays for all to see.

You can view my blog posts on these displays by clicking on the below links:

4 4s --> http://mrcollinsreflectivejournal.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/4-fours-challenge.html
2 0 1 3 --> http://mrcollinsmaths.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/2-0-1-3-challenge.html
Mathematical Concept Wall --> http://mrcollinsmaths.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/mathematical-concepts-wall-for-want-of.html

All of the above displays will be used again this year at some point. I already have a space marked out for the '4 4s' problem and a wall in mind for the 'Mathematical Concept Cards'. However, I wanted some displays that I could use on a daily basis. Displays that would allow me to direct students and then allow them to get on with a short task that we could then discuss the results to as a class. So, with this criteria in mind I have created the following...

'Number Cruncher'

This starter activity is often found in daily newspapers and comes under many different names 'Brain Gym', 'Mental Maths' etc etc. I downloaded a resource from dwatson802 on the TES website last year which had an interactive version of this starter task (http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/KS3-KS4-Mental-Maths-practice-Numbercrunch-Starter-6120840/). The ppt has 2-3 of these puzzles that are displayed on the board with a minute timer counting down before revealing the answer. I used this and my classes liked it, however there were too few of these to use on a regular basis and I didn't really want to spend loads of time creating a mega ppt of 'numbercrunch' puzzles. A reason for this is that I regularly forget about all of the starter tasks that I have used in the past/created - there's just too many ideas I have used. So, in order to forget forgetting about this one I have made a 'number cruncher' display. The display is simply a set of laminated arrows and start/finish circles that I can write on and change as I feel fit.
I have put the display above my IWB so the class can see it easily and as soon as they enter the class be getting on with it whilst I do the register and other adminy things.

Here it is...

The start number will go to the far left then the students will follow the operations on the arrows until they get to the end shape where the answer will be written when going through the workings as a class after they have enough time. I may even start from the 'finish' shape and get students to do the inverse operations to get back to the 'start' number.





The thing I like about this starter is that I can differentiate by my classes by changing the operations on the laminated arrows, the 'size' of the starting number, the type of operations on the arrows etc.

I may even write the 'start' and 'finish' numbers and then the workings in between each arrow before asking students where the mistake(s) are and to correct it. This will be one of the ways I try to get my classes to think about the mistakes they make in Mathematics, that it is OK to do so and how they can go about correcting them.

I will change the operations on the arrows as required depending on what class I choose to do this starter with and how often. By no means will I do this starter with every class every lesson. But it is there as and when I need it!
I'm hoping my students will get into the habit of doing it so much that they'll want to do it?

The number of the day is...

Another starter display I have made is a 'the number of the day is...' display. Here it is...

I made this using the www.magicwhiteboard.co.uk products I use all the time when putting up displays. I just put one of their A1 magic whiteboards on the back wall of the classroom (visible to all students) and on it I put half of one of their green A4 magic whiteboards.

Simply, I will just write a number of my choosing on the green magic whiteboard sheet and get students to answer the 7 questions written below.
The 7 questions range in difficulty and are suitable for most, if not all, classes. Some lower KS3 classes may not be able to do the 'product of prime factors' question but all the others are doable by all. Some of the questions are quite open too and have multiple entry points which helps the 'growth-mindset' I'm trying to induce in my students. For example, if the number of the day was 24 students could answer 20 + 4 or 12 + 12 for the first question. They could answer 8 and 3 or 6 and 4 for the 3rd question and question 7 allows them to pull out any other fact about the number. It could be that it is the square root of 576!? It's up to them.

Again, this display can be used as and when I decide (or my students desire). It won't be used every lesson with every class but is there when I need it. I can already see certain days of the week/year being used as 'the number of the day'. For example, Pi (3.14....) can be used on Pi day, 13 for Friday the 13th etc. I can get other teachers to guest on the display and choose the number of the day, perhaps in the style of Sesame Street where 'Today's 'the number of the day is..' is bought to you by...Miss Moore'. Perhaps my Twitter followers would like to suggest some too...

I'm hoping that both these displays will take off from the 1st week back. It will hopefully create a bit of intrigue in my students and will get them wondering what the 'number of the day is' or what the 'number cruncher' will be (I can only hope). If nothing else it'll jog my memory of two tasks that I can pull out of the hat at the last minute if necessary!

My 'go to' websites and resources

In preparation for starting the new school year I've been busy going through my 'favourites' tab on my Internet Explorer browser. I thought this would be the ideal time (having deleted a lot of old sites and blogs that aren't regularly updated) to list them for future use over the course of the next school year. I figured this would be useful, not only to me, but to other teachers (and in particular Mathematics teachers) that are looking for a few reliable sources. So here they are...

Mathematics Websites/Blogs:

The TES Mathematics Resources page
http://www.tes.co.uk/maths-secondary-teaching-resources/

This is definitely my first port of call when I'm looking for new resources to teach a particular topic. Being on the TES Maths Panel has its advantages too in helping sift out the very best resources on the site. Check out the @tesMaths Twitter account for regular updates on 'resource of the day' and 'resource of the week'.

Don Steward's 'Median' blog
http://donsteward.blogspot.co.uk/

This blog is crammed full of brilliant tasks and images that can be easily printed off to use in class. It is by far the site/blog I wish I was the creator of, thank you Mr Steward!

Nrich
http://nrich.maths.org/6840

I love the Nrich posters (link above) and have many of these laminated and put on display in class for students to be inspired by and to do when they may have finished their task/s. The challenges, rich tasks and lesson ideas on the site are great.

Great Maths Teaching Ideas
http://www.greatmathsteachingideas.com/

This site, by William Emeny (@Maths_Master) is excellent when looking for...'great maths teaching ideas'. I particularly like his orange peel lesson to help show where the formula for the surface area of a sphere comes from. William regularly tweets out his ideas from the site so be sure to follow him (if you don't already - I'm sure there's 1 or 2 out there).

Ellie's 'Active Maths' blog
http://activemaths.edublogs.org/

This was one of the first blogs I came across when I first joined Twitter. I followed @PivotalEllie and soon signed up to her 'active maths' e-mails. Although the site appears to not have any recent blog posts the e-mail tips are still being sent out and I would recommend signing up to these by going to the 'Join Free Tips List' page using the above link.

Mr Taylor's 'To Infinity and Beyond' blog
http://taylorda01.blogspot.co.uk/

I follow Mr Taylor on Twitter (@taylorda01) and regularly read his blog posts. I find his reflections on his teaching and the regular posting of his own resources really useful. I particularly like the @mathschallenge tweets images that he has recently put together.

'I Speak Math' blog
http://ispeakmath.org/

The 'I Speak Math' blog is one that I have only recently stumbled upon and is by @jreulbach. It's a blog from the US for Middle School math teachers and each Sunday has a 'MS Sunday Funday' blog topic (much like the #blogsync) where math teachers all blog on a similar topic, which are then hosted on this blog. Great to get some ideas from across the pond!

Just Maths
http://justmaths.co.uk/blog/

Follow these 3 maths teachers on Twitter @Just_Maths for regular updates on the resources they create. They have some fantastic stuff on their website/blog free to download for others to use.

Would You Rather? blog
http://wyrmath.wordpress.com/

This is another recent find - a blog that has a lot of 'would you rather...?' questions that could be used as starter questions, extension problems, mini-plenaries etc. Well worth keeping in mind for the coming year.

Sheffield Maths
http://www.sheffieldmaths.co.uk/index.html

This site has loads of resources ready to download and use in class. I've used the 'Chris Moyles Quiz Night' loads in the past and are a favourite of my previous students.

Mathsbox
http://www.mathsbox.org.uk/index.html

The 'Settlers', in particular, are simply amazing. If you haven't seen on used them yet you're missing out.

Websites great for everyday resources & displays:

Teacher Resources on Line:
http://www.cleavebooks.co.uk/trol/index.htm

This site has number lines, graph paper, isometric paper, scales, grids, tables etc etc. I can't remember how many times I have thought to myself 'I need some 6 by 6 grids...' or 'where did I get my giant number line for the board...'. Everything is in one place here.

Teacher Created Resources
http://www.teachercreated.com/free/monthly-calendars.php

I like the monthly calendars on this site that you can download free as a pdf. They include information for each day that could spark conversations in tutor time.

A Maths Dictionary For Kids
http://www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/dictionary.html
and
Maths Charts (for teachers)
http://www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/mathsCharts.html

A great website for kids to use as part of homeworks, to aid in their understanding of the key mathematical terms and the charts are fantastic for displays. Print A3, some information can get lost (hard to see) if printed on A4.

Web Sudoku
http://www.websudoku.com/?level=1

A site to get all levels of sudoku puzzle for your students to do in class.

Ken Ken
http://www.kenken.com/teachers/classroom

An alternative to Sudoku, slightly more 'mathsy' than sudokus and just as popular with the kids.

IWB Tools

Online Stopwatch
http://www.online-stopwatch.com/full-screen-stopwatch/

I love this tool. I use it lots in class to time certain activities. I have also used it as a behavioural technique to count up the amount of time a class wastes talking when you're waiting at the front of the class.

Random Number Generator
http://www.e-beam.com/fileadmin/user_upload/misc_images/Flash_Tools/randomnumber.swf

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Choose your own range too.

Flash Maths
http://flashmaths.co.uk/viewFlash.php?id=1

My favourite resource on the site is the 'Memory Maths' 'game'. Students get a 4 by 4 grid and sums flash up randomly in the boxes throughout the time limit allowed. You have to work out the answers and fill in the grid before the time is up.

Sum Sense
http://resources.oswego.org/games/SumSense/summulti.html

This IWB resource flashes up times tables with a twist...the numbers are given, and the spaces for them but you have to drag and drop the digits in the correct order to make the sum correct.

Form Time

Form Time Ideas
http://formtimeideas.com/

This site was set up by Jonathan Hall @StudyMaths this year and it's brilliant. It includes links to the BBC News articles of the day, has maths sums, science periodic table symbols, literacy tasks, jokes, facts and plenty more. I used it loads as soon as I saw Jonathan's tweet and will continue to do so next year.

Wonderopolis
http://wonderopolis.org/

Great for those questions that make you think. A site from the US that is updated daily. You can scroll back through 'wonders' and search via categories too to find something suitable dependent on your tutor group theme that week? Follow them on Twitter to find out the daily 'wonders' @Wonderopolis

100 Word Challenge
http://100wc.net

My form group regularly took part in this last year and I love the idea, the site and the way students get enthused about writing to each of the weekly prompts. Follow them on Twitter @100word and @TheHeadsOffice


And that's it for now. I'm sure there's loads I have forgotten and this is by no means an exhaustive list of the resources/sites I have used over the past few years. I'll update if I realise any I've forgotten...

Displays for Learning

This week I was lucky enough to be able to visit one of the other local secondary schools to my school and take part in a NQT training morning. Part of the morning involved us taking a 'learning walk' around the school. We were 'toured' round by one of the 6th formers and saw lots of great lessons taking place.
Prior to the 'learning walks' taking place we were asked to look out for: assessment; differentiation and 'displays for learning'. The latter was one I was quite interested in as I like to think I present my classroom in an engaging way to my students and often change my displays dependant on my students' work etc. The school had recently changed all of its displays too and so there were lots of brand new displays on show.

As I walked round I was trying to take in all the ideas that the teachers were using. There were rooms where they had a 'Twitter board', much like the one I have in my classroom. Some rooms used the magic whiteboards (www.magicwhiteboard.co.uk) that I use in my room. We saw classroom doors that had speech bubbles on them with quotes or questions for students to be thinking about (presumably whilst queueing for the class in the corridor. The most impressive displays I saw were in MFL and I asked our tour guide if I could take some photos and here they are...

 Being the massive geek that I am it is easy to see why I chose to take pictures of these particular displays...

Angry Birds!

 Space Invaders!

 Pacman!

Spiderman!












Clearly a lot of time and effort have gone into these displays and they have given me ideas for future displays I can create in my own classroom!

'Mathematical Concept Wall', the cards keep coming in!

At the start of the year I blogged about my 'Mathematics Concept Wall' and since it has become one of my most viewed posts this year. You can see the blog post here.

I also posted some examples of the Concept Wall Cards my students had produced here and here.

Well, since these posts I have had a whole host of other cards handed into me by my students. Some were done as an extension task for a cover lesson when I was on one of my county's NQT sessions, others were just done by my students in their own time. So, here's some other examples to add to the already excellent collection I have up on my classroom wall...

 I love the randomness of this one. Oh, and the 'clickity clack! clickity clack!'

Not strictly mathematical this one, but then neither was the 'Optimus Prime' card in the previous post!









I will definitely do this 'display' in coming years, refreshing the topics to choose from etc. My students have responded really well to the idea and enjoy creating their cards.

Mathematical Concept Wall - More Examples!

Here's some more examples of my students' Mathematical Concept Wall cards - some of them are just brilliant! To see my original post on the idea see http://mrcollinsmaths.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/mathematical-concepts-wall-for-want-of.html

Year 7: