Welcome to www.mathematicalbeginnings.com!

This website contains a free collection of starting points for mathematical activity. They could be used with learners aged around 11 upwards as a part of normal mathematics lessons or as something ‘a little different’.

Each beginning is intended to be provocative and to inspire some productive mathematical work. If being used with a whole class, the beginning could be displayed on a data projector; alternatively, it could be viewed on a computer screen or printed out.

A beginning turns into a task when learners start asking mathematical questions about it. On a separate page, some prompts are provided to help learners find mathematics to work on, but the ultimate aim is for the beginning to be sufficient by itself. One way to start is to invite learners to ‘Say what you see’ or to ask ‘What mathematical questions can you ask?’.

Some brief teacher’s notes are also offered, indicating possible mathematics that could emerge.

Please let me know if you have suggestions of any kind.

Colin Foster

www.foster77.co.uk

1	Beach	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
2	Braille	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
3	Cakes on a Plate	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
4	Calculation Clock	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
5	Calculation Question	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
6	Chocolate Cake	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
7	Circles	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
8	Clock in Reverse	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
9	Coffee Cards	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
10	Container	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
11	Crazy Clocks	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
12	Dots	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
13	Driveway	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
14	Escalator	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
15	House	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
16	Just Add	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
17	Keyboard	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
18	Library	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
19	Mosaic	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
20	Mugs	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
21	Number Cube	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
22	One Bus = 20 Cars ?	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
23	One Hundred	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
24	Pens in a Cup	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
25	Plug Hole	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
26	Polygon Road	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
27	Roof	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
28	Round Table	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
29	Scales	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
30	Shoe Sizes	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
31	Shoes	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
32	Soft Drinks	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
33	Special Offers	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
34	Speed Limit	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
35	Stacking	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
36	Sweet Boxes	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
37	Sweets	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
38	Tablets	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
39	Tiles	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
40	Tissues	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
41	Toilet Roll	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
42	Tree	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
43	Turkish Delight	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
44	Viewpoint	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
45	Wall	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes
46	Was ... Now ...	beginning	prompts	teacher’s notes

www.mathematicalbeginnings.com

© Colin Foster 2012, www.foster77.co.uk