TES Podcast Resources

Alison appeared on the second episode of the TES maths podcast. Here are some of the resources she shared.

The podcast theme was Introducing Algebra.
Here are a couple of my favourite NRICH resources on that theme:

Perimeter Expressions is so easy to introduce, all you need is a sheet of paper. But by the end of the lesson, students are confident in creating and simplifying algebraic expressions.

What's it worth? is a useful problem for many different stages of teaching algebra. It can be used with children who have done no algebra before to introduce the idea of representing numbers with symbols, or later on to introduce simultaneous equations. The worksheet with eight different methods is great for opening students' eyes to strategies they otherwise wouldn't think of.

You can read more about NRICH's history and aims here.

My all-time favourite problem is Summing Consecutive Numbers. I first met it when I was a teacher, and since joining NRICH have worked on it to republish it in its current form. I love how simple it is to state, and how complex it can become - it is the archetypal example of a Low Threshold High Ceiling task.

My favourite game is the Factors and Multiples game, again it is a very simple idea but it is very easy to get hooked on searching for the longest possible chain of factors and multiples.

For articles about using rich tasks in the classroom and information about booking secondary CPD, visit our Professional Development page.