I've finally put together a blog about all the changes I've been making to the sequence in which we teach A Level Maths. Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions! sxpmaths.wordpress.com/2026/03/26/a... @tickyvanner.bsky.social @runningstitch314.bsky.social
there was a young man
from cork who got limericks
and haikus confused
My year 13s are struggling with reverse chain rule, so wrote these as a bridging task before we look at adjusting to get a reverse chain rule result. #MathsToday #ALevelMaths
Also, probably not for the girls, but this on the tube made me smile this morning, so I feel like sharing
How about this one:
Little Arabella Miller
had a fuzzy caterpillar.
First it sat upon her mother,
then upon her baby brother.
They said, “Arabella Miller
put away your caterpillar!”
Buy the book, Tom. Buy the book.
I get it. What do you think about always using lang like “the nth power of 5” and binning off “to the power of” completely? I think we’d also have to regularly say something like, “people say 5 to the power of 6 but we’re going to say it properly as the sixth power of 5”
My current favourite phrasing is “the fourth power of 3” but I actually think it’s important that we acknowledge how ppl will say it in common parlance, else pupils will hear it in the wild and get thrown.
It’s a tough one! Teachers are almost always surprised when they see the use of “power” in this first slide. There’s not even clarity amongst staff, let alone pupils. We’ve tried to build in some deliberate practice of simply saying the words a lot, but does it reduce the misconceptions? Don’t know
“playing fast and loose with the word measured” is the most mathematician thing I’ve heard in a long time and I’m here for it.
Small Rhombicosidodecahedron if u even care.
I know it can be made with a single (incredibly long) modelling balloon because every vertex only has four lines coming from it, so it has an ✨Eulerian path✨
Not sure what phase of my life I’m in, but here’s that modelling balloon icosidodecahedron nobody asked for!
In theory it could be made out of a single modelling balloon, although in reality they don’t make balloons long enough :(
And feels like a “gotcha” when it’s really not - many people have wrestled with the relationship b/t OT and NT, Hebrew laws and NT replacement of them, etc.
Harari tell us here to look at the “opening gambit” of the 2 texts - the constitution and the 10C - but then erroneously extends his conclusion about the second to the *whole Bible* or, generously, the whole OT. Either way, it’s an overreach.
DIY SOS, David.
I walked past Nick Knowles in a corridor.
Jemma @jemmaths.bsky.social did such a great thread on Twitter in 2022 that I wanted to put it together and share it with teachers. You can pause it wherever you want for individual or group discussion. Not new but worth a repost. youtu.be/YBx1rcPjuck?...
Thanks Bernie! Given my account there is now gone, this is nice to see :)
Hat tips for my latest gems post! 🎩
Thanks to @harryzafar.bsky.social @hannahkettlemaths.bsky.social @1stclassmaths.bsky.social
My account’s deactivated now. I thought I’d be more bothered. Turns out the nostalgia for a better time had already passed and I feel much better knowing I’m out.
Thanks, Harry. So glad you’re still getting use from them 👍👍
In #MathsToday I've been using the OAT Maths resources to teach Circle Theorems to year 11. Finding them fantastic for scaffolding and supporting student understanding
The maths Conf session back in June from @jemmaths.bsky.social was a great introduction to using the resources
Student: FP1 and D1
Teacher: FP1 and FM1
Christmas colouring picture featuring Santa, reindeer and trees.
A sample of further maths questions.
My extra Further mathematics Christmas Calculated Colouring for 2025 is now available on my website. This has some year 2 content in the questions.. My 2024 and 2019 ones are pretty much just Year 12 depending on SOWs etc. Link: blog.drbennisonmaths.com/blog/2025/12... #ALevelMaths
Add to that a bit of dynamic geometry and dynamic graphing software to demo what hand-drawing never quite can, but that’s about it.
The best bit of Edtech for my subject is a mini-whiteboard (mainly because we don’t need prose in maths). Check every child can do every step all at once? Respond in the moment to their errors? Yes please.
1. Thread.
Ed tech and the best lesson I taught this year.
The best Ed tech in the world for my subject is a book.
It is the ideal delivery method because the effort of concentrating on it helps people learn what's in it.
That’s a work of art :)
Worked hard on a big revision of my risps. Weeding out mistakes, making tasks clearer, writing Geogebra and Excel files, all with better navigation; look out for the free eBook coming out in January!
