5 Maths Gems #36

One twelvemonth agone today I started my gems series. In my kickoff gems post I explained my thinking:

"I’m fairly novel to Twitter. My absence over the final few years agency I’ve missed out on thousands of fantabulous education ideas. Twitter is a origin of endless inspiration. So I accept a plan. I’m going to write a weekly post highlighting 5 bully novel ideas I’ve gleaned from Twitter. These posts volition assistance me think things. And hopefully my readers volition create goodness too."

I was right - these posts actually create assistance me think things. They assistance me procedure as well as organise lots of adept ideas.

Since I returned to function from motherhood exit inwards Jan I haven't been able to post every week, only I create nonetheless write a duet of Gem Awards helpful - this is a post I wrote inwards Apr 2015 where I picked out some of my favourite ideas as well as resources.

Today I acquaint my 36^th gems post. I promise there's something useful for you lot here.

1. Area Maze
I beloved the novel Area Maze puzzles from Naoki Inaba. Alex Bellos featured them equally his Monday Puzzle inwards The Guardian this week. The aim is to uncovering the missing value marked alongside a interrogation mark. These puzzles tin flame hold upwards solved using exclusively whole numbers. Alex's article featured a alternative of Area Mazes, from this example...

... to this.

These are perfect puzzles for students - accessible yet challenging. There's a costless app too.

2. Warm-Ups

I've read some prissy posts almost lesson starters recently. These are all worth a read if you're looking for fresh ideas to start your lessons:

• Weekly Warm-Up Schedule 2015-2016 yesteryear Sarah Hagan (@mathequalslove) 
• Warm-Ups 2.0 by Mary Bourassa (@MaryBourassa)
• Top 5 for Starters by Christine Norledge (@MissNorledge)

I especially similar Sarah Hagan's Good Things - I conception to role it equally a weekly activity inwards cast fourth dimension side yesteryear side year.

I've also late discovered maths-starters.co.uk, which is currently nether development. I similar Calculate Cascade and Parallel Panic. 

3. Desmos Activities

Polygraph Rocks volition hand you lot a adept persuasion what it's all about. I'm excited almost trying out Polygraph Quadrilaterals, Water Line as well as Tile Pile.

Desmos late announced the launch of Activity Builder. This allows teachers to construct their ain Desmos activities as well as percentage them alongside other teachers for role inwards their lessons. There's a blog post hither explaining how it works.

This calendar week I've seen loads of bright novel Desmos activities. Here's iii examples that exhibit the versatility of this tool:

• Loco yesteryear Dan Meyer (@ddmeyer) - a fantastic introduction to loci.
• Polygraph Scatter Plot yesteryear Megan Schmidt (@Veganmathbeagle) - an fantabulous Polygraph activity. It develops vocabulary for describing scatter graphs.
• blog post.

I also spotted this activity Intro to graphs as well as desmos basics by Sara B. Vaughn ‏(@Vaughn_trapped) which has inspired me to brand my ain activity to innovate Desmos to my students.

4. Pixel Puzzles
Stacy Brookes (@Stacy_Maths) continues to write helpful blog posts almost where to uncovering resources. She also creates many fantabulous resources of her own. I similar her novel persuasion - pixel puzzles. In these engaging worksheets, students reply questions as well as uncovering the corresponding answers inwards a grid. They shade the right answers as well as the shaded squares cast a picture. This is a bully persuasion as well as I await forrad to seeing to a greater extent than of these from Stacy. I've added them to my resource library.

5. Fractions inwards Geogebra
Here's individual novel to follow on Twitter: Neil Dickson (Equivalent Fractions which features this Geogebra tool which tin flame hold upwards used to back upwards the education of fractions. Have a play alongside it, it's excellent. I beloved fact that you lot tin flame drag 1 diagram onto the other to encounter the equivalence.

Update

I accept a novel Facebook page! It's facebook.com/resourceaholic. Please similar it! I was inspired yesteryear Ed's facebook page facebook.com/solvemymaths which I uncovering actually helpful. It's slowly to missy things on Twitter only right away I never missy Ed's posts.

I enjoyed Stuart Price's (Gems 34 - I'd never heard of Pearltrees earlier this). I think to impact organising resources inwards my workshop at #mathsconf5. Have you lot got your ticket yet?

That's it for this week. One twelvemonth of maths gems - as well as enough to a greater extent than nonetheless to come. Happy anniversary to me.