How to Simplify Surds

When learning how to simplify surds students need to understand the difference between a rational and irrational number. Rational numbers include integers and terminating and repeating decimals. They can be written as a fraction with both the numerator and denominator as integers. An irrational number is a number which, in its decimal form does not […]

Sharing an Amount to a Given Ratio

There are three common methods for sharing an amount to a given ratio.  Depending on the age group and ability range I am teaching I would choose one approach over the other two. The three methods are: Using fractions Unitary method Using a table In this blog I will demonstrate each of the three methods […]

Plotting Scatter Graphs and Understanding Correlation

To introduce plotting scatter graphs and understanding correlation I ask students to think about the relationships between different variables and to describe how they might be related. Here's my starter activity which students discuss in pairs then present to me on mini-whiteboards. When the students have had time to discuss the matching pairs we talk […]