How to make every KS3 student enthusiastic about maths

Enthusiasm is not always the first thing we think of when looking at the faces of KS3 pupils as they enter the room for a maths lesson.

And yet it is an easy emotion to achieve.

It happens like this. On the whiteboard waiting for the students is a “Cloud Starter picture”. This is effectively a game through which the students work in small groups and use any of the four operators to create a given number out of nine given numbers.

Then the students take it in turns to come to the board to share one of their ‘sums’. If a student gets ‘stuck’ showing their sum at the board, the others are encouraged to offer them ideas enhancing the co-operative ethos of these classes.

However this activity should not be thought of as just a simple introduction to the lesson. Using Cloud Starter leads to the students confidently using brackets, square and cube numbers, to arrive at the target. An example from one year eight class was 3 (4+5) + 2 (8-6) = 31.

This resource contains 16 powerpoint slides and is £29.99 + VAT.

Once purchased the CD can be freely copied and networked throughout the school.

To see sample pages please email sales@classroom-resources.co.uk quoting the order code 10130.

You can order the Cloud Starters CD in any of these ways:

On our website
By phone on 0117 940 6409
By fax on 0117 940 6408
By email (quoting a school order number) to sales@classroom-resources.co.uk
By post to: Classroom Resources, PO Box 1489, Bristol, BS99 3QJ