Jonny Griffiths investigative activities for the pure A Level Mathematics classroom are well known (details are included in the A Level resources pages, see RISPS.  He has now published Further Risps, forty rich tasks for the pure Further Mathematics classroom. In these unusual times Jonny has generously made the pdf version available free from www.further-risps.co.uk.

Two editions are available – a hard copy or pdf version. The pdf not only provides the forty problems but also full teachers notes for each. The notes for each task begin with the topic or topics covered, identify the type of task, for example, introductory and state any preliminary knowledge required. This is a valuable resource for teaching Further Mathematics.

Investigating the first Risp on Matrices at the session this certainly would help students with fluency in finding the determinant of a matrix. Rich tasks like this can provide students with a greater understanding than just a traditional exercise and will hopefully stick for longer!

This has been added to the Teaching Resources section, part of the Further Maths series of pages.

Perhaps a good time to remind readers of all the Risp activities available.

From Jonny Griffiths try RISPS (Rich Starting Points), Open-ended investigative activities for the A Level Pure Mathematics classroom. On the home page  note the helpful index by topic, choose a personal favourite of mine, Risp 21 Advanced Arithmagons for example and you will see not only the task but also teachers notes.

Also from Jonny Griffiths his companion sites on Statistics and Carom-Maths -activities to bridge the gap between A Level and University. Have a look at Carom-Maths -activities for any of your students going on to study Mathematics at University this year.

You can find a resource collection  from Jonny Griffiths on TES Resources.

Making Statistics Vital has some tasks which could be excellent for the current A Level specification, look at the this task on World Wide Statistics for example which includes the task with answers and a spreadsheet with data for 191 countries.

On the subject of Transition, this time from GCSE to A Level, Colin Hegarty is releasing free lessons recorded on YouTube (and live daily) to help students prepare for A Level, Mathematics.

The announcement here was made on 22nd April, the live lesson was broadcast at 2pm that same day.

Regular readers will know that one of my favourite TES resource authors is Andy Lutwyche, Andy has added more resources recently, have a look at his latest, always high quality resources. So many good resources – I’ll definitely be using these!

Same or Different?
Robert Kaplinsky shared ‘Same or Different’ from Brian Bushart.

Have you seen https://t.co/7SQ0WGc6zz from @bstockus? Same or Different? is a routine that provides students opportunities to construct arguments when comparing objects, such as numbers or shapes. #iteachmath #MTBoS pic.twitter.com/Od95nWoB7c

— Robert Kaplinsky (@robertkaplinsky) April 25, 2020

Brian Bushart has created the site Same or Different which is for supporting mathematical argument in the elementary grades. Have a look, at the About page for further information on the Same or Different? routine

One of the comments to the above tweet on Same or Different referred to the Set Game, I had the same thought when seeing images such as the triangles on the left above. The Set Game is a daily puzzle from The New York Times. How many sets can you find? Click ‘How to play’ for the rules.

Perhaps a good exercise for all our students at home.

I have mentioned CPD in posts recently, Hannah (@missradders)  has helpfully shared her latest padlet which has many resources for free CPD for teachers.

Was about time for a new Padlet I think, Twitter.

Free CPD for teachers Padlet, first three columns are Maths specific but the rest are suitable for any subject.

Will keep updating, so feel free to fire suggestions for additions my way. https://t.co/WlFffC4eDN

— Hannah 🙋🏻‍♀️ (@missradders) April 17, 2020

I have often mentioned STEM Learning resources, we have their excellent selections for A Level such as the marking activities such as the one illustrated here many of which I have used successfully in class. This is one of Susan Wall’s resources; her excellent resources can be found in this Active A Level Mathematics collection on STEM Learning. ‘Marking’ is one of the many hand-picked resources by topic for Advanced Level. To quote STEM Learning “Each resource has been hand-picked to cover key subject content in Pure, Mechanics and Statistics, as well as meet the overarching themes of mathematical argument, language, proof, problem-solving and modelling.”

We also have resource collections for younger students, KS3 and 4.

STEM Learning now have Home learning activities for families with resources to support primary students and for Secondary students, Maths, Science, Computing, DT and Post 16 resources are available.

STEM Learning – Maths Calendar

Looking at Secondary Maths, we see a collection of games, activities and puzzles that can be used to support children’s mathematical education from home. This attractive calendar links to resources for each day of the term; follow the guide, or choose appropriate activities. No account is required for the home learning resources linked to on the Maths Calendar.

For teachers, below the calendar you will see resources including a section on STEM resources and NRICH activities where STEM Learning and NRICH have teamed up to link favourite activities from the NRICH website with resources on the STEM Learning website.

Graham Colman is publishing 4 questions a day, with answers provided in his Easter 2020 collection. As you can see he has provided an easier GCSE question, a harder GCSE question, “something interesting” and one A level question.

And watch this space, for we have coming soon …

A favourite site with many students is Maths Genie. Launching after Easter, from Tuesday 14th April, Maths Genie will be providing Home School Support for students covering a range of abilities in three streams from Key Stage 3 (and high ability Key Stage 2) to high ability Key Stage 4. A provisional timetable is available now and you can see from the description on Maths Genie, the careful structure which will be provided:  

It is important that students continue to learn when the schools are closed. In order to support home learning, after Easter (April 14) Maths Genie Home School will be launching. This will be a structured set of lessons to revise learning from school as well as introducing some new content. Each school day at 10.30 am a video will be launched to explain a maths topic and provide practice questions. Videos will premiere on YouTube and will be available on this website immediately after. At the end of each week there will be a recap lesson, and a mini online assessment from Maths Grader.

From 20th April, BBC Bitesize will be supporting students learning at home. Regular daily lessons in English and Maths, as well as other core subjects will be provided in an expanded version of the BBC Bitesize website and also on special programmes broadcast on BBC iPlayer and BBC Red Button.

From 20th April, ResearchEdhome promises us some wonderful cpd, beginning with Daniel Willingham.

Today we’re excited to launch @researchEdhome! Smart cookies beamed live (or recorded for later) at 11:00 every weekday over the summer term. Week 1 kicks off on 20/04 with the superb @DTWillingham. All are welcome, there’s no cost, watch this space for more and please share! pic.twitter.com/bWHtcfiIDV

— ResearchEdhome (@researchEdhome) April 6, 2020

For any of your students studying Physics, Warwick University are launching their Physics A-level Journal Club.

COMING MONDAY 20TH APRIL. Physics A-level Journal Club from @warwickuni A weekly guided reading of a piece of physics research, aiming to enrich the study of physics for A level students (and very keen GCSE students). For more information, see https://t.co/16jrKptvBi pic.twitter.com/p5U9g5Yaox

— Dr Chillimamp (@TChillimamp) April 11, 2020