Timed GCSE revision questions

Below is a notebook file containing some GCSE questions from old (but still relevant!) linear papers. I wanted to see if my students were able to answer exam questions that they had not seen before. The timer helps students who are easily distracted get started straight away instead of spending a few minutes chatting to peers! I tried this with my year 11's who are mainly grade D/C students, with some aiming for grade B. I used this for an after-school revision session but it could also be used during lesson time. We worked together as a class, tried the question in the time given, then went through the question together. My class were extremely motivated (thanks to the timer) and also managed well under timed pressure with some showing a competitive side.

You might want to try it as a different revision exercise, the idea can also be adapted and used for any topic. It also saves printing!


Timed GCSE revision questions

Year 7 Origami lesson

On Friday before half term I thought I'd do something more creative and fun with my yr 7 class as they'd just finished their assessment and it didn't feel right to start a new topic just before the holidays! Students love origami and the art of paper folding has so many mathematical links. With my year 7's we discussed what shapes we were folding, estimated angles and even mentioned midpoints! There are lots of origami lessons on YouTube- I looked up some beginner lessons and decided to go with the leap frogs and stars. We watched each section, paused it to try ourselves (and have a mathematical discussion) before moving on to the next section. Students learnt a lot of important skills from trying something new and not giving up when it gets a little complicated to helping out each other if they managed a step easily and the person next to them struggled. One of my students even stayed behind to ask me about where he could buy some origami paper as he wanted to do more at home and show his family. I gave him some pieces to take away, it's rewarding to know that a simple lesson like this could create a new hobby for someone! 

Jackon's Fractals

During my visit to MOMA in New York, I also got to view some of Jackson Pollock's pieces. Pollock is another one of my favourite artists and I love the controversy behind his work. Some people will see his paintings as splashes of paint, something which does not deserve much recognition. Taking a closer look, Pollock's work actually contains complex mathematical patterns known as fractals. When a fractal pattern is magnified, the resulting image should have a similar structure to the original image. These patterns are everywhere in nature. Think about the branches of a tree, when magnified the structure is very similar to the tree itself. This could be one of the reasons why we are drawn to Pollock's work. In this clip, mathematician Marcus du Sautoy explains the fractal nature of Pollock's work. If you're in London, go visit the Tate Modern and see if you notice the patterns yourself!

Experimenting with paint and shapes

60x60cm acrylic on canvas. I completed this piece after going to The Adventures of the Black Square exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery. The exhibition starts with 'Black Square' (1915) by Russian painter  Kazmir Malevich and contains lots of geometric abstract pieces created over the last century.   The exhibition includes work by Carl Andre and Piet Mondrian and after I was inspired to add some geometry to my own work. 

And if one green bottle...

Acrylic on 60x60cm canvas board. Inspired by the shattered effect of broken glass. This piece really needs to be viewed up close to see the influence of different layers. I used a palette knife to create this effect and eventually forced myself to put it down. It can be difficult to decide when a painting is finished, luckily I have advice from other art class students and an exhibition deadline to help me! 

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

I recently went to visit the amazing collection at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. I was fascinated by the brush strokes used by Van Gogh in Starry Night as they seemed to create motion within the painting. He completed this painting from memory whilst seeking treatment in a mental asylum. I've always loved Van Gogh's work. I remember studying Sunflowers and Chair at school (I did my own version of my Dads chair replacing the pipe with a newspaper and remote control!) which may be why I'm so interested in using different brush strokes myself. After doing a little research on Starry Night, I came across this TED talk which explains the mathematics behind the painting. Could be another reason why I'm drawn to it so much!