Catriona Agg
@catrionaagg.bsky.social
2.6K followers 470 following 740 posts
Maths teacher. I aim to share lots of snippets of my lessons using #MathsToday and would encourage you to do the same! Also occasional geometry puzzles 🧩
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catrionaagg.bsky.social
The main aim of this session was really to get teachers using this framework to discuss which representations they would use and when. But colouring in is always a bonus.

An interactive version of the representations is here: www.desmos.com/calculator/3...
Thinking carefully about representations

Teachers carefully select representations of mathematics to expose mathematical structure.
The intention is to support pupils in 'seeing' the mathematics, rather than using the representation as a tool to 'do' the mathematics.
These representations become mental images that students can use to think about mathematics, supporting them to achieve a deep understanding of mathematical structures and connections. Thinking carefully about representations

What and why?
What mathematical structure does the representation expose?
Why this representation, and not another?

When?
In what topics?
At what point within those topics?

How?
How will you use it?
How do you want students to use it?
catrionaagg.bsky.social
In #MathsToday I made 40 A Level teachers colour in representations of the binomial distribution.

This is your regular reminder that if you teach #ALevelMaths you should definitely try to join your local Maths Hub’s A Level Pedagogy group. There is some brilliant stuff going on all over England.
A quartet of representations of the binomial distributions. Screenshots from https://www.desmos.com/calculator/3ea50eafbc X ~B (10, 0.4)
Shade the diagrams to represent the probability
P(3 ≤X <6)
and draw a numberline. X~B(10,0.4)
Shade the diagrams to represent the probability P(3 ≤ X < 6) and draw a
numberline.

X ~ B(8, 0.7)
Which is larger:
P(X < 5) or P(X = 6)?

X~B(12,0.36)
P(X ≥ c) < 0.5
What is the smallest possible value of c? X~B(10,0.4)
Calculate the interquartile range of this distribution.
What is the mode?

X~B(8, 0.7)
P(X ≤ a) < 0.1
What is the largest possible value of a?
P(X ≥ b) < 0.1
What is the smallest possible value of b?

X~B(12,0.36)
P(X ≤ a) < 0.2
What is the largest possible value of a?
P(X ≥ b) < 0.2
What is the smallest possible value of b?
Reposted by Catriona Agg
mrs-p-maths.bsky.social
In #MathsToday I used this activity to gauge and challenge my pupils' understanding of parallel lines. Two were convinced b are parallel because they look like train tracks. Really made me think about the language we use when defining these things.
Reposted by Catriona Agg
jedediyah.com
In #MathsToday we worked on set theory.

Some resources came from: @draustinmaths.com
www.draustinmaths.com/set-notation...

And some of the exercises were pulled from @oscarlevin.com's Discrete Math (3rd edition)
discrete.openmathbooks.org/dmoi3/sec_in...
Screenshot of a problem set. 

1. Find the power set of A={x,y,z}. The power set is the set of all possible subsets. 

2. Given the diagram below: ...
Reposted by Catriona Agg
mathforge.org
Further Maths today: used the method of differences to prove the summation of squares formula, thus also foreshadowing MoD as a more general technique.

Unfortunately, only left myself 3 minutes to do the sum of cubes.

Did it in 2.

#MathsToday #UKMathsChat #ALevelMaths
Reposted by Catriona Agg
over-drawn.bsky.social
#mathstoday #alevelmaths Gave a reasonably challenging problem to my A level class today, namely (3^6-1)/(3^5+3^4+...+1) as a "starter", although I'm not so keen on the term. It provoked quite a bit of conversation and, although not my intention, led us down GPs before factorising. Lots of fun.
Reposted by Catriona Agg
mrlevmaths.bsky.social
Made this Circle Theorems and Trigonometry worksheet inspired by interwoven maths @nathanday.bsky.social in #Mathstoday

PPT and answers here: chelekmaths.com/most-recent-...
Worksheet involving circle theorems and trigonometry
Reposted by Catriona Agg
mrgwalton.bsky.social
In #mathstoday me and my Y13 FM students did a fun tarsia puzzle from @susanwhitehouse.bsky.social on De Moivre's theorem 😁
Quality resources as ever from Susan ✅
Reposted by Catriona Agg
peterrowlett.net
The call for peer reviewers is very real - if you teach maths at the upper end of school through to early university and are interested in maths content useful to people like you, please get in touch via [email protected] - thanks!

#MathsToday #UKMathsChat #ALevelMaths #MathToday #MathSky
Reposted by Catriona Agg
mathsmuse.bsky.social
Had an epiphany yesterday: teach angles questions as a series of reasons with numbers as an after thought instead of other way round.
Reposted by Catriona Agg
morrismaths359.bsky.social
#Mathstoday
Both of my year 9 classes did loads of substitution work today. Got the exercise from the foundation sumbooks 2002. They are available online as a pdf. Loads of questions if the students just need loads of practice.
Reposted by Catriona Agg
dr-hazel-maths.bsky.social
In #mathstoday, we started conic sections in FP1 with some model-making!
Reposted by Catriona Agg
morrismaths359.bsky.social
#Mathstoday
Year 11 looked at Magic squares today. Which leads onto factorising quadratics. Next lesson will be just factorising quadratics.
(For some reason rotating won't work)
Reposted by Catriona Agg
draustinmaths.com
✨New A-level resources from this week's Year 12 lessons on graphical inequalities, algebraic fractions and algebraic division. The new A-level section is slowly growing! www.draustinmaths.com/a-level
#MathsToday #ALevelMaths #UKMathsChat
A-level Maths task on finding the remainder when dividing a polynomial by a linear expression using algebraic long division. A-level Maths task on shading regions in two dimensions divided by linear and quadratic inequalities. A-level Maths tasks on (i) solving linear and quadratic inequalities graphically, and (ii) simplifying algebraic fractions either by splitting the fraction or by factorising.
Reposted by Catriona Agg
studymaths.bsky.social
Arbitrary and necessary mathematics.

One of those most important ideas to consider when planning and delivering maths lessons.

Here's my one-slide summary based on Dave Hewitt's article here:
www.lboro.ac.uk/media/media/...
Mathematical conventions must be explicitly taught, but mathematical ideas can be discovered or deduced.​
Dave Hewitt refers to these as arbitrary and necessary.

A couple of tasks to bring about awareness of the properties of odd and even numbers.
Reposted by Catriona Agg
lasalleed.bsky.social
⏳ Just 7 days to go until #MathsConf39 in London!

One week from now, hundreds of maths teachers will come together for a day full of learning, sharing, and inspiration. 🧮✨

🎟️ Don’t miss your chance to join them – secure your place today: completemaths.com/community/ma...
Reposted by Catriona Agg
malmeida.bsky.social
I use the same kind of task in physics sometimes:
Reposted by Catriona Agg
studymaths.bsky.social
I used this task this week to introduce Y10 to simultaneous equations.

Drawing attention to important decisions that need to be made.

#MathsToday
"What's the same and what's different?"
4 pairs of simultaneous equations with very similar coefficients.
catrionaagg.bsky.social
I used this prompt with two Y8 classes today. In the 1st class their initial reactions were pretty evenly split between all the options. The 2nd class are higher-attaining mathematically, and the vast majority confidently went for £100. #MathsToday
Which is worth the most?
£100
$100
€100
Where might we find information to help us decide?
Reposted by Catriona Agg
draustinmaths.com
Friday night update! Some new algebra resources:
✨Expanding Brackets Name the Film
✨Factorising Decode the Joke
✨Factorising with Bracketed Factors Practice Strips
✨Factorising Quadratics Practice Grid
Freely available at www.draustinmaths.com
#mathstoday #ukmathschat
Reposted by Catriona Agg
jbrough13.bsky.social
In #MathsToday I made my students cringe by stating "tans are sexy" and "cots are cosy". That's right, we threw two new trig identities into the mix!
Reposted by Catriona Agg
jedediyah.com
In #MathsToday we are working on a problem that starts with triangular numbers. We have a unit on combinatorics coming up!

#mtbos #ITeachMath
The nth triangle number, T(n), is given by a formula. Let the TriTri number TT(n) be the sum of the first  triangle numbers.

1. Write an expression for TT(n) using Sigma-notation.
2. Find a closed formula for TT(n).
3. Let  be the TriTriTri number given by the sum of the first n TriTri numbers. What's the deal with TTT(n)?
4. Dare I ask, what's up with TTTT(n)?
Reposted by Catriona Agg
dalechapman.bsky.social
Work in progress - identify the angle in the alternate segment
Inspired by my colleague Rushni whose Year 11s were struggling to do such a thing.

comments/questions/thoughts welcome

#MathsToday
catrionaagg.bsky.social
Do you think the second group got further because they didn’t have the extra cards at the start, or is it coincidental?
Reposted by Catriona Agg
karenshancock.bsky.social
In #MathsToday (ish - probably last week actually) some activities with Surds.
Answers and better quality versions on the website links.

kshancock.co.uk/lessonresour...

kshancock.co.uk/lessonresour...
Maths worksheet titled 'Multiplying surds'. Students are instructed to pair surds from a 3x4 grid (including values like √7, 2√3, √48, etc.) to match answers in boxes below (e.g., 14, 6√7, 20√7, 144, 60√2, 21√10). A crossed-out calculator icon indicates calculators are not allowed. Maths worksheet titled 'Fully factorise'. It includes an example: √2y − √50x = √2(y − 5x), followed by four expressions to factorise: √3x + √75, √98 + 4√2x, √48 + √12x, and √32y² + √18xy."