Quadratics Unit & Non-Linear Functions (BHS Weeks 7-9: Year 10 Maths)

Originally I wanted to deliver a unit around non-linear functions more generally, but once I had done some initial formative assessment of the students capabilities I determined it would be more beneficial for them if we just spent that time drilling/ practicing some algebra — rearranging equations, expanding brackets, factorising. To this end, the unit ended up very quadratics centric, because that facilitated the development of the skills I wanted them to practice.

Penny Circle

As the first lesson of the new unit was late on a Friday afternoon I wanted to start it with something a little fun, and not too challenging, and I wanted to try out a Desmos activity too, so I ran them through the “Penny Circle” Desmos activity.

Workbook

For the following week, I also wrote up a workbook (*.tex source file also available)with some optional context sections at the beginning for those students who needed the extension and wanted a little more explanation. The bulk of the unit then involved me walking them through this workbook with examples and explanations of each skill as we went. This actually allowed for very good differentiation, as each student worked through the exercises at their own pace, some racing ahead with the extension problems, others spending time practicing lots of similar questions to build confidence before moving on. It actually worked surprisingly well.

PAT-MTeach

During this time, the students also had to complete their PAT-M testing.