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Quizzing Using Catch Phrase - Revision Strategy

quizzing strategy catchphrase
Catch phrase is a great quizzing tool that can be used within the classroom. It is important to continualy allow students the opportunity to retrieve information they have previously learnt. Catch phrase is a quizzing strategy I regularily use as it allows me to quickly assess a student’s understanding of a topic with either open or closed questions. Engagement levels are maxed out when we play catch phrase and it brings out the competitive side in many students. As a team game this allows for students to collaborate both their ideas and methods of answering a question, as well as building class moral. This is an ideal revision strategy for students to add to their revision toolbox when working at home.  

Closed Questions

This is perhaps the easier style of questioning to use catch phrase for. 
 
  1. Place keywords onto the grid and ask students to provide the definitions or vice versa. This good for when the students need to remember lots of key terms and processes. The example I’ve used for this is the river processes of erosion, transport and deposition. This method works the same for when students need to remember key formulas in science and maths.
     
  2. You could ask a series of questions on the squares and ask students to provide the answers.
    For example ‘Who said ….’, ‘When did …’ or ‘What happened when ….’

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Silence is Golden

Silence is Golden Students Take Risks

Silence.

We’ve all experienced it at some point in life and we’ve probably experienced it as teachers more so than those who aren’t.

Silence.

The moment when you ask a question to a class or when training colleagues and nothing happens. Well I say nothing happens… physically in the room nothing happens. However I could swear I’ve seen tumble weed rolling around my classroom and I’ve heard several pin drops inside my head.

When I first started teaching this would often send me into a tail spin. I would either end up answering the question for the students or provide enough hints and suggestions that the students were none the wiser of the answer to the original question.

 

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GCSE Maths Passports Grades 1 to 9 Revision

Maths GCSE Passports Grades 1 to 9 Revision

The new grades 1 to 9 GCSE maths passports are a resource designed to encourage students to have independence of their revision. However the maths GCSE passport resources also provides direction for the students about how to revise maths, which maths topics to revise and where to look for maths resources. Students commonly struggle to be able to correctly revise mathematics. Many believe reading through a revision guide is enough no matter how many times you tell the students the need to complete maths questions. 

Since the new 1-9 curriculum has been launched, I thought very carefully over whether to make a new version of the passports and I have decided it would agian be useful. A word of caution I have given each passport targeted grades, this does not mean the subjects inside the passports are grade x, it is just roughly what I see students of each ability are generally able to achieve. 

The new grades 1 to 9 GCSE maths passport resources are more detailed than ever before. Instead of there being only three passports there are now five. The GCSE maths passports support students with revision of basic numeracy skills up to complex mathematical concepts. There are five different passports in total two foundation, one cross over foundation/ higher and two higher passports.  

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A Mean Murder Mystery III

Mean from a table Murder Mystery Miss B

It's been a while since I have last shared a murder mystery. So here is my Harry Potter themed murder mystery. The topic if you haven't guessed it yet is calculating the mean specifically from a table. Everybody loves a play on words, right?

This murder mystery was part of a lesson I did with my year 7's recently, I've wanted to spend the time in creating a good mean from the table lesson for a while. I started with a stopclock starter where students had to calculate the median, mode and range from lists and tables. This warmed the students up and refresh their knowledge of both grouped and ungrouped tables. 

I introduced the murder mystery by asking the students to read the newspaper article which always gets a buzz in the classroom. Following this I displayed the four suspects Professor Snape, Sirus Black, Draco Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. This information card also includes their individual stats. 

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Navigating Students Fear of Mistakes

Make a mistake
Some students struggle to even attempt questions because they think they only ‘might’ know how to answer the question, however because they are not 100% sure they just leave the question out. Other students who feel they only know how to tackle the first part of the question often to choose to again leave it out, particularly the longer wordy questions. You hear the mutterings around the classroom when handing test back of ‘oh, I thought it was that’ or ‘I crossed out the right answer’.
 
Recently I’ve placed a big focus on praising effort rather than attainment, to try and help tackle this. I’m still testing and tracking students, but I’ve be praising students differently and monitoring what I say careful. Through modelling, team work and positive praise for effort on a task I’ve seen a noticeable difference in the students I teach and their attainment. 
 
I’ve noticed that the students from my class are now imparting the strategies we use to help their friends, without evening noticing they are doing it. When they are practising mathematics in different groups, I hear them say ‘just try’, ‘you never know you might be right’ and ‘it’s like a ladder, come on you can get on the first step’. Their words are quotes of mine and it is lovely to see the support network and positive use of words rippling out amongst their friends. This is really helping to build a larger positive maths culture and community.

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“Miss B is always coming up with great new ideas. I have been delighted to work with her on linking numeracy and literacy”

Simon Blower 
Simon Blower
@simonpobble
Co Founder of pobble.com

 

“Makes Maths interesting, relevant and accessible.”

Mark Anderson 
Mark Anderson
@ICTEvangelist
Author of ‘Perfect ICT Every Lesson’ and international speaker.
www.EducationEvangelist.Com

 
 

“Maths teachers looking for inspiration and quality resources? Look no further than @MissBsResources.” 

Jon Tait
Jon Tait
 @Teamtait
Olympic torch bearer, deputy head teacher and international speaker.
www.edutait.co.uk

 
 
 

Danielle Bartram

Maths Lead Practitioner

Acklam Grange School
Middlesbrough
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