Linear AQA GCSE Maths: no sweat!

The ‘news’ that all GCSE maths courses taught from September 2012 are to be linear, won’t be a problem for your AQA resourcing with Longman!

Longman’s AQA GCSE Maths series has, from the start, come with Linear Schemes of Work alongside the Modular SoWs – all free on our website!

Our very popular textbooks are structured around the Modular Units, but when you transfer to AQA’s Linear spec, you’ll find it really easy to adjust your teaching order for Linear.

If you’re already well into using our resources with AQA Linear, do please leave us a comment below!

AQA GCSE Maths Unit 1 Practice Paper FREE!

Longman’s new  AQA GCSE Maths series includes a really useful Assessment Pack. Covering AQA’s Linear and Modular specifications, the content includes:

• Course entry tests
• Chapters tests for the Longman Foundation Sets, Middle Sets and Higher Sets Student Books
• Linear and Modular Practice Papers
• Resit Papers for Linear and Modular

Ahead of the Unit 1 Higher exam next term (on 13 June), here’s a free Practice Paper for your students:

Click to download the paper as a PDF

And here is the Mark Scheme .  Let us know what you think – comment is also free!

How can we help?

We’ve just sussed from the recent survey of our subscribers (more on that in a later post) and from our own data, that fully 30% of the AQA schools that subscribe to this blog have adopted our new Maths resources.  Either our AQA GCSE course or our Functional Maths course.

So firstly, thank you.  It’s a great vote of confidence, and we hope the resources are fulfilling your expectations. 

Secondly, and more importantly, how can we help?   We always intended this blog should support our customers, as well as inform potential customers.  Tell us if you have any questions or requests?

Are your students adapting to the new GCSE maths question styles?

With two more AQA GCSE Maths 2010 Unit papers taken this week, are your students feeling more confident with AO2 and AO3 questions?

If you’re looking for a bit more practice on sequences and proof for Unit 2 Higher, here’s a FREE Topic Test from our AQA GCSE Maths Assessment Pack.

And here are the answers…

Free AQA GCSE Algebra Practice Paper

Squeezing in before or after your half-term, we thought you might like to have some extra practice material for AQA GCSE Maths 4360 Unit 2.

The Unit 2 exam is on 9 March. Don’t forget this is a non-calculator paper.

Our Longman AQA GCSE Maths series is full of support for the whole specification, with particular focus on the new question types AO2 and AO3.

Click on the image for free Unit 2 Higher Practice Paper pdf

And here are the Unit 2 Practice Paper answers – enjoy!

GCSE Maths 1-year Schemes of Work – FREE!

With first certification of the new AQA GCSE Maths in June 2012, one-year courses will be starting this September.

Whether you’re following the AQA Linear spec 4365 or the Modular 4360, we have already prepared Schemes of Work for you! Our Longman AQA GCSE Maths resources are ideal for:

• All abilities: Higher D to A*, Middle E to B, Foundation G to C
• Linear and Modular: a single textbook for the course

Click on the image below to get the Higher Sets Linear Scheme of Work.

Speedy route to GCSE

All the others are also FREE on our website. Let us know how you get on!

Mixed Results from November GCSE Exams?

Anecdotally, we’re hearing that students had a mixed experience with the new AQA GCSE Maths Unit exams last November.

Some of the AO3 questions tripped up a significant number of students and it was tough for Higher and Foundation candidates to achieve full marks on some AO2 questions.

But practice makes closer-to-perfect, and Longman AQA GCSE Maths is full of support for polishing AO2 and AO3 skills. Take a look at this ‘AOk’ page from Unit 1 in our Middle Sets Student Book:

 

 

 

Middle Sets (E to B) Unit 1 AO practice. Click here to download a PDF of this page

 

The next opportunity for exam entry is 7 March for Unit 1 and 9 March for Unit 2.

Don’t forget that students can now only resit a Unit once!

January AQA Functional Maths exam approaching – download FREE practice paper!

First of all, welcome back to all our subscribers and readers!  The school year is well and truly underway – we hope you all had a refreshing break, before mayhem was unleashed again?

Here’s something early on the agenda this year: the January sitting of the AQA Functional Maths exam. Don’t let your students be caught out on 26th January: the new Functional Maths exams have proved tricky for the unprepared.

Download a free Level 2 Practice paper:

FREE AQA Functional Maths Practice Exam Paper Level 2. Click to download.

This paper includes all the data sheets at the back in a handily compiled “Data Book”, as will happen in the exam:

 

Since we at Longman always strive to be helpful, click here for one page of guidance on pre-release of data sheets.  And click here for the mark scheme.

Additional practical papers and  practice questions and guidance and lesson plans – in fact all the tools a teacher needs to teach AQA Functional Maths – can be found at this link.

Sherlock Holmes Christmas Maths Challenge: Episode 6 Solution

Congratulations to the winners of the 6th and Final Episode of our Sherlock Holmes Maths Competition: 

Year 10 Set 1 from Canon Palmer School in Essex (Teacher: Ms R Gorschia)

They correctly worked out where Holmes and Watson must rush to defuse Moriarty’s devilish doomsday device…

"Hurry Watson - the weapon's about to fire!" Click to download PDF.

…THE ANGEL OF THE NORTH!

Here’s the full solution to all the clues in Episode 6:

Clue 1: David Boreanz (the actor on the top left of the newspaper clipping) plays the character “Angel” in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and spin-off series Angel.

Clue 2: The exhibition advertised is at the Laing Gallery, which is in Newcastle.  The artist mentioned, Anthony Gormley, is the artist who designed the Angel of the North.

Clue 3: The main news story refers to Carville Power Station being reopened.  Carville Power Station is in Wallsend, near Newcastle.  The article mentions the power station could provide 25 MW of power: more than the 18 MW required by Moriarty’s EMP in episode 5.

Clue 4: The special offers at the bottom of the newspaper advertised Dan Brown books.  Dan Brown wrote a book called “Angels and Demons”.  Also advertised was a signed Alan Shearer shirt.  Alan Shearer played most of his career at Newcastle United, and a large Alan Shearer shirt was famously draped across the Angel of the North soon after its construction.

Clue 5: Click here to find the full crossword solution.  The full solution provides the number 1201533365.  If you visit the http://tinyurl.com/1201533365 you will find a picture of the Angel of the North.

Clue 6: The first entry in the lonely hearts column refers to looking in maths books for clues.  In Holmes’s case notes he mentions using the Longman AQA GCSE Mathematics Middle Sets book as a clue.  Each pair of numbers in the lonely hearts column refers to a word in this book.  The first number is a page number and the second number is a word number.  So for example the first word is the 13th word on page 242.  The six words spell out WEAPON IN HEAVENLY IMAGE IN GATESHEAD.  A reference to the location of the Angel of the North.

Clue 7: The third lonely hearts advert is from Moriarty!  He asks Holmes to include the code 26435 in his text message when responding.  If you enter these digits in to a text message with predictive text messaging on it will spell out the word ANGEL.

Clue 8: The fourth lonely hearts advert is for an “Outdoorsy Type”.  This advert refers to the Angel of the North, which is constructed from steel and is 12 years old.

Click here for the full solution to Episode 6 in Word format. 

We hope you’ve enjoyed this competition – many thanks for taking part, and have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

“Fork Handles” for a Functional Christmas! Free maths resources!

In the spirit of the season, this Level 2 Functional Maths resource is free to download!

This is part of Longman’s new AQA Functional Mathematics resource for Level 1 and Level 2. If you’re not teaching Functional Maths as a separate qualification, the activities will work equally well to support AQA GCSE Maths 2010.

What’s involved?

• Geometric shapes – recognise and use 2D representations of 3D objects
• Starting up a new business
• 4 candles…

Christmas candles - click to download the PDF (2MB, so may be slow!)

And here are the Lesson Plan and Model Answers.

H A P P Y  C H R I S T M A S !