If you’re a regular Twitter user, there’s nothing revolutionary on this list – these are the sites that I check first before scouring the Internet for other problems, and that’s because they’ve usually got something great that requires little adaptation for the classroom.
However, if you’re a regular Twitter user but you know colleagues who aren’t, I really recommend sharing this list with them, as it may be that they’ve never heard of some.
Median
Don Steward’s blog is probably my favourite place to go for problem solving, rich tasks or just something a bit different to jazz up a topic or lesson. Every year, I find one or two things that are completely unlike anything I’ve seen before or anywhere else – this fantastic factors activity was one from last September, and I’ve used it three times since then with different classes. The index by topic down the side of the page is particularly handy, although it’s easy to get lost and end up just looking at random problems!
A+ Click
A+ Click is a recent discovery for me, but I’ve found some lovely stuff on there. The problems are fairly short and the answer is provided in the form of multiple choice, but that doesn’t mean that the exploratory nature of the tasks is limited – here’s a random one on fractions with plenty of scope for discussion.
Three Act Maths
I discovered Dan Meyer’s Three Act Maths a couple of years ago, and some of the lessons on his site are excellent. I used Fry’s Bank this year when I did compound interest with Year 10, and the Filing Cabinet lesson by Andrew Stadel is my favourite way of teaching surface area of a cuboid.
I’m less willing to just let pupils go completely along their own train of inquiry, as is suggested by the model – I think a bit of careful steering is necessary so that pupils end up meeting the objective you’ve set – but with this caveat, the Three Act Maths stuff is great for making a topic richer and introducing elements of critical thinking and problem solving.
NRich
No list on problem-solving and rich tasks would be complete without inclusion of NRich, which has to be one of the largest and most comprehensive collection of maths problems available online. One tip I was given on using their resources is to consider dropping down a level (such as using Upper Primary resources with Year 7) for some groups, as the problems can be incredibly challenging.
I’ve just noticed that the NRich team are also developing another site, Wild Maths, which seems to be more pupil-directed than the original site. I’ll be interested to see how it develops.
Illuminations
Illuminations is run by the American group NCTM. Some of the full lessons on there are excellent once you’ve got to grips with American curriculum structure, but the Brainteasers pages are equally good for sourcing problem-solving activities. Each problem comes with a solution and a printable PDF version for pupils.
