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As the great 20th century philosophers Janet Jackson and Luther Vandross
said, the best things in life are free.
There is some great free stuff out there that can both enhance your
teaching and save you lots of time. Here is a collection of things
I have found very useful. Please, please, please let me know here
if you have found any good freebies out there!
I would also recommend you check out the Maths
Podcast page, as I was amazed just how much good (free!) stuff
there is out there!
it
always amazes me how even the brightest of children struggle
to use a calculator effectively, and it can be a major hindrance
to learning. calculators for IWBs are essential demonstrative
tools, but are normally pricey. however, this one has an unlimited
free trial, is cheap anyway, and does everything you could want!
I snapped it up right away!
if
you have looked through the teaching resources on this site,
you will see that i can't get enough of this software. it makes
creating jigsaws and follow-me cards so easy, provides you with
the solution, and jumbles up the cards so the pupils can do
all the time consuming cutting out! brilliant. help yourself
(or add) to my ever growing bundle here!
quite
simply, this is one of the best collection of top quality free
resources for teachers I have ever seen. everything from an
amazing musical countdown timer,
to games, to sketch tools, all freely available online, or to
download. fantastic!
here's
an interesting idea. you can design (for free) any type of maths
game you like. better still, why not let your pupils have a
go at designing their own games?
if
report writing is one of your least enjoyable times of year,
then this piece of software might be just for you! lots of well
written comments (subject specific, and form tutor) which can
be pieced together to make a flowing, relevant report, all for
free!
this
is a truly fascinating piece of software from the maker of the
excellent Furbles (see below).
the software aims to introduce students to the concepts of prime
numbers and prime factors, not by simply saying "this
is what a prime number is", but by allowing them to investigate
and derive it for themselves, which is the way maths teaching
should be. I would also recommend viewing the accompany ATM
article on the website for lesson ideas. this software has huge
potential!
iTunes
Podcasts
every
single podcast from the iTunes music store is completely free
to download, and many of them are brilliant! I have mentioned
a few of the best on my Podcast page,
but new ones are popping up all the time. search for "maths"
or "statistics", or "puzzles"
or something like that and, like me, you might just be amazed
at what is available. these podcasts can be an excellent teaching
device when played to the whole class. the iTunes software is
free to download, and you don't
need an iPod to listen to the podcasts.
the
ultimate starter and revision tool. this has been regularly
updated over the last couple of years and now contains virtually
every topic from key stages 3 and 4. brilliant. NOTE:
this is what is known as nag
ware, as the program will freeze for 30 seconds every
once in a while until you buy it, but it is well worth it!
google
pack
there's
lots of good free stuff available from Google, and with the
Google Pack you can choose to download what you like and ignore
the rest. perhaps the most useful to us maths teachers are the
latest version of Acrobat for reading
all those PDFs, and a version of Real
Player which allows you to download and watch YouTube
videos off-line (click here
for more details)
it
is often thought (and rightly so), that it is harder to approach
a level maths teaching in a rich, interesting way. well, check
out this resource. 40 activities, complete with teacher notes,
to engage a level students and deepen their understanding. visit
the website, and then download the amazing free e-book
this
is a photo sharing website, but which has huge potential to
enhance the teaching of many maths topics. try searching for
"geometry" or "constructions",
and look at some of the wonderful things that come up. ready
made starters and discussion materials!
with
the eternal push towards "rich"
activities, this updated 2008 bundle from CIMT might
come in handy. pupil and teacher resources for each one. excellent!
a
handy free tool which allows you to take a copy
of any size and shape of a web page, which can then be
pasted into an email, word document, or powerpoint presentation.
far slicker and more convenient than using Paint!
a
really interesting piece of software which lets you (or your
pupils!) create your own interactive stories, animations, games,
art, etc. have a look at this Maths
Collection to see what some imaginative people have already
come up with!
this
amazing website has close to 500 interactive classroom resources,
including tools for measuring angles, manipulating equations,
judging bearings, etc.
NOTE: your IWBs must have access
to the internet to use them, and make sure you use the search
facility at the bottom of the page or they'll take you to the
paid content!
more
excellent resources for your IWB. some really nice stuff on
algebraic substitution and probability tools, and each resource
comes with clearly written instructions. NOTE:
once again, you need to be on-line!
a
brilliant program for schools who don't have either GSP or Cabri.
combines the best elements of the two. free resources for geogebra
can also be found here
to get you up and running, and there are some tutorials here!
this
is a brilliant piece of software that has finally been updated
and released commercially. it can be used to convey many of
the basic principles of handling data, and with a little imagination
can be used to teach a level concepts such as conditional provability.
from the link on the left you can get a demo of the brand new
version, or download the free 2003 version.
a
handy little tool which has lots of potential. within a few
seconds you can record a "sketch", and then forward
the link onto whoever you want to see it. you can even record
audio! a nice way of explaining homework, or maybe the tool
could be used by students to build up a slick, electronic set
of solutions to exams?
similar
to sketchcast, but possibly a little slicker. you can set it
to record only when you are writing, however there is no audio!
give them both a go!
we've
all been there: it's getting towards the end of term, there
seems little point in starting that new topic, but it would
be nice if the kids could still be doing something a little
mathematical. why not make them a maths crossword using this
impressive (and free) software?
kenny's
pouch is like a gift from the gods. so much brilliant stuff,
and all completely free. dig in and see what you can find. my
personal recommendation are the key
state 3 level ladders, and the key
stage 4 make the grade worksheets. both are simply brilliant
for revision.
an
excellent user-friendly free sketching tool that has amazing
potential to convey concepts such as plans and elevations, constructions,
volume, and even trigonometry. really good tutorials and lesson
ideas can be found here.
if
you ever want to record some steps on a computer (perhaps to
design a tutorial for Autograph, or some other maths software),
then this is just about the best free software around!
a
brilliant set of resources from the coventry learning grid aimed
at helping pupils achieve a C at GCSE.
lots of clearly presented, specifically targeted worksheets
and activities free to download. combine this with kenny's pouch,
and your GCSE needs are sorted!
these
are brilliant. they are packs produced by the DFES
for children to take home during the holidays before either
their SATs or their GCSEs. the idea is that the pupils send
10 minutes a day for 10 days covering each topic they will need
for their exams. what i really like about them is that they
provide an opportunity for parents to get involved in their
children's revision. the support letter explains all.
a
really nice set of downloadable (so you can play them offline)
geometry software. there are tiles to make pretty patterns,
a unit of lessons on multi-connected universe, and the excellent
Torus Games package which explores finite and infinite spaces.
excellent.
a
really nice set of monthly maths puzzles available to download
from this american school's newsletter. the puzzles often rely
on algebra and would probably be suitable for higher gcse/a
level students, or G&T classes. full solutions are also
provided!
past
paper electronic copies of the junior,
intermediate and senior maths challenges make excellent
starter activities for all ages and abilities. download a few
and give them a go!
some
excellent puzzles (with solutions), which would be good for
an extremely able GCSE class, a keen a level group, or anyone
preparing for STEP exams.
a
brilliant gcse textbook, covering all levels and all topics,
compete with worked solutions. brilliant for homeworks or revision.
the pdf version is completely free to download!
a
really good website offering a whole bundle of posters and podcasts
of classic maths mistakes. ideal to stick up on the wall, or
use as a starter, to provoke discussion.
this
nice gentleman is giving away four excellent free maths e-books:
50 great maths websites; investigations; interactive teaching
programs; and tables tricks. He is also a magician who offers
a "magic of maths" show for schools!
loads
and loads of brilliant puzzle packs to download for free. the
shape stuff is amazing, and I am prone to using the logic puzzles
as starters to develop thinking skills. they are as good as
mysteries, but without the hassle!
an
excellent set of maths worksheets in pdf format. many come with
answers, and many have questions more interesting than those
often found in textbooks.
more
free maths worksheets in pdf form, mostly covering key stage
3 and early key stage 4. all worksheets come with answers and
would make good homework or revision activities.
an
excellent ebook which is a tribute to the greatest maths puzzler
of all time, Martin Gardner. The book features interesting articles
and loads of excellent puzzles.
some
excellent on-line graphing and stats software. with this you
can illustrate things like the area under a curve, arc length,
and lots of 3D stuff. very good, especially if your school does
not have autograph.
at
the last count there were some 14 free resources which can be
downloaded for use on your interactive whiteboard. many take
the form of interactive number grids, with content that can
be hidden and then revealed. very impressive!
this
piece of software is from the wonderful csf, and replaces their
old who wants to be a millionaire product. it's the same sort
of idea, but many more aspects of the quiz can be customised.
the player itself is free, and comes with a 30 day trial of
the quiz editor. NOTE: any quizzes
you create during that 30 days can be saved and used forever!
decent
software designed primarily for use with Smart boards. you download
the browser, and then choose from a host of other programs to
download, including interactive number lines and co-ordinate
grids. worth a look.
an
amazing set of java based applets that could be used as part
of a demonstration, or an interactive computer lesson. topics
include solving equations, plans and elevations, impossible
objects, and so much more! click on "applets"
in the top corner to get going!
this
is a really nice idea. its a pack of fun, interesting maths
challenges, aimed at younger pupils, which can be freely printed
out and distributed. what i like best is the fact that there
is a parents' section, encouraging them to get involved with
the development of their child's maths.
some
brilliant packages to download from this wonderful site. help
yourself to materials about fractions, enigma codes, and football
statistics.
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