A picture is shown of some 3D shapes. The shapes are to be painted subject to the constraint that adjacent faces must be painted different colours. The challenge is to find the minimum number of colours needed for each shape. This resource is suitable for Key Stage 3 and could be used as an extension when teaching...

This puzzle is ideaL when working on 2D representations of 3D space. The top, side and front view of a stack of blocks is shown. The challenge is to work out how many blocks of each colour are in the stack. This resource is suitable for Key Stage 3.

• ...

This activity from Subtangent is based on the four colour theory, which is used by mapmakers. Resources include examples of colouring maps correctly, together with additional challenges, which cover a range of ability, for students to try themselves. Solutions for the challenges are also provided.

This activity, from the Association of Teachers of Mathematics (ATM) publication ‘It Makes You Think’, consists of a series of clue cards and a series of resource cards. The resource cards consist of different coloured discs. Students are required to arrange the discs in a specific order by following the...

This collection contains resources from the website 1001mathproblems.com by Sian Zelbo. The focus is on number bonds with use of logic in puzzles involving combinations. 

Combinations consists of seven instant maths ideas including a consideration of the number of arrangements of dots used when writing in Braille, an investigation of Pascal’s triangle, investigating the number of routes through New York, exploring the number of ways six letters can incorrectly be placed in six...

This SMILE resource contains two packs of games, investigations, worksheets and practical activities supporting the teaching and learning of combined transformations, from drawing symmetrical patterns to using matrices to perform shears.

In these activities, pupils are introduced to the idea of controlled or uncontrolled re-entry for satellites. They are challenged to devise a way of reducing space debris by designing alterations to satellites so that they bring themselves back to Earth. In the first activity, the students pretend to be satellites...

This challenge looks at how many common factors greater than 1 are shared by numbers, with bars representing how many factors a pair of numbers have in common. There are three grids to complete with numbers from 1 to 20 to show this relationship. This resource is suitable for Key Stage 3.

This report from the Assessment of Performance Unit came about as an increasing interest was being focused on how students communicate mathematical ideas and what factors facilitate or hinder their thinking and performance. This booklet features a selection of...

The ability to communicate ideas clearly is a very important skill for a mathematician to have.

Learning outcomes

• Students could be able to construct and interpret an appropriate graph table, chart or diagram from given data; will have clearly explained what their data...

These materials support teachers, careers and personal advisers who are working together to broaden knowledge of STEM opportunities amongst students and parents. Resources include posters and support materials for practitioners. Teachers may also find the following eLibrary collections useful:

• ...