GCSE Subject Content – Graph Sketching

For GCSE, students are required to be able to sketch graphs, an essential skill too for Advanced Level. Students can be taught graph sketching skills in Key Stage 3 as they study any work on graphs.

AQA – Higher Tier Teaching Pack

For AQA’s Maths Digest I recently recommended their Higher Tier Teaching Pack which contains a library of classroom resources.

On the same page, the word document, GCSE 8300 Topics list, is a useful index of resources and if we look at Algebra, for example, we see Sketching Graphs.

Selecting Sketching Graphs takes you to a page where you will see a choice of tabs, Plan, Teach and Assess, under Teach we have several resources for the topic.

Several resources are available including Craig Barton’s Diagnostic Questions which are ideal when looking at Graph Skectching.

Diagnostic Questions

Under Activities, you will see a favourite of mine, I often recommend Transum resources, Graph Match has various levels of activities in which a number of linear, quadratic, reciprocal and other graphs must be matched up with the given equations. Note too ‘More Graph Activities‘ including this lovely Advanced Level starter.

Transum – Graph Match

A recommendation under worksheets comes from CIMT, Chapter 13 of their GCSE material, is on Graphs and section 13.11 is on graphs of common functions is a very useful summary.

CIMT GCSE – Graphs

Note too, the Topic Tests, such a valuable resource as we have tests providing excellent coverage of the specification. Included in the Higher Topic Tests is one on Further sketching graphs.

AQA Topic Test – Further sketching graphs

There are two recommendations for (free) TES resources which we can see from the reviews have been very well received.

Under Activities, we have Recognising graphs – Higher GCSE and a suggested resource under Worksheets, Quadratic, Cubic & Reciprocal Graphs.

When using graphing software to illustrate graphs when discussing sketches, we can turn off the axis numbering.