Using the mastery science resources, we are able to provide differentiated choices for our pupils.
They all take a formative quiz and the result shows them what to do next: relearn the idea with the teacher again, move on to applying their knowledge to unfamiliar situations, or extending their knowledge.
I love the freedom of choice and ownership pupils can take over their next steps in mastering the concepts/ideas.
Would highly recommend these resources for any school.
Clear and very helpful for thinking about progression
Clear and very helpful for curriculum design
The method used is good and simple: present a question which is challenging and then show them how to solve it, followed questions which apply the same understanding to problems of increasing difficulty. The year 8 students I used it with got stuck in to the electricity questions I gave them and really enjoyed it - it worked with both top and bottom sets. There aren't too many questions, but the questions are well thought out and the pedagogy is excellent.
There are 9 units covered in this book - 3 from each specialism. The physics topics covered are forces/motion, heat energy and waves. The detailed explanations of each of the example questions are excellent and allow students to read and reread them and then take on similar questions using the methodology and understanding derived from the examples. It's well thought through and contains high levels of challenge.
Was just right for X mas lesson where learning took place but in a festive mood
This was a simple but effective activity and it brought out a creative side in a lot of pupils. They found the information easy to use and the checklist useful in developing their persuasive writing. I had preceded this lesson with one researching insects that are eaten and sample recipes, as well was which countries eat most insects and why. They had to provide graphs to back up their statements and this helped develop their numeracy skills too
Saves a lot of time as all the necessary information is provided.
An excellent resource which challenges pupils to think for themselves. It promotes learning autonomy and deeper thinking. A pleasure to use.
This book is a useful way to get students to think about problems in an orderly way, using a three-step "Detect, Recall and Solve" system. The benefits of the method may not be immediately obvious to students, who are likely to rush to an answer, but persistence in following the steps should help students as soon as the solutions become less obvious (in the Mixed-Up questions section). There could be a case for adding a fourth step that involves identifying the information given, rather than just detecting the nature of the problem, but this refinement doesn't detract from the basic method. The questions themselves are nicely pitched towards GCSE-type problems rather than easier KS3 content although there is some simplification to make topics more accessible. This is a great resource to have available but be aware that there is less chemistry content than physics and biology.
was easy to read - great for ELL students and got the information needed to the students easily
It provides students clear examples of how to solve problems. It then gives the students an opportunity to practice these skills. I've used these resources as homework, cover work for absent staff and work for students in isolation and they have been an effective resource in this capacity.
I’ve used this book for all my classes from year 7 to 11. My students are more than capable in class and their verbal knowledge, however, they are very weak in being able to apply their knowledge to exam questions and struggle with understanding exam questions. This has now all changed since teaching the mastery technique and using this practice book. The scaffolding of text and diagrams along with a step by step guidance has lead to all my pupils from SEN to G&T improve their levels to meet their targets, but more importantly their confidence has grown to such an extent that they look forward to exams and, even more, getting their results. My pupils often say why weren’t we shown this before and why can’t we do this in other subjects.
This book offers lots of structured walk throughs of questions and how to solve them. The meta skills are explicitly rehearsed and demonstrated, and then an opportunity for another try in a different context with differentiated support is offered. It helps to build skills, resilience and confidence and is a suitable companion to the ks3 curriculum whether you use the mastery plan or not.
It is fabulous. I have been through some of the problems with my daughter (very high achieving Y9 student). It certainly took her out of her comfort zone by applying her knowledge but in a very kind way - all very solvable problems - but make you think. I love the fact that it is very readable - so will be good for our low ability children with weak literacy skills. It is very well presented (cracking layout) - good use of spacing and neat diagrams - all really clear and a good size. Fantastic - well done - can’t wait to see the next ones.
Have found this a useful resource to use with students, particularly with regards to developing the capability of applying knowledge and understanding.
The inclusion of worked examples supports a more independent approach for many students, leaving the teacher the opportunity to target those students who need more of an input for that particularly concept.
I would recommend.
Always great to have an issue to discuss. This lesson is perfect as it has affected the whole of the UK in the last few years
I modified this activity to be done as an IPAD activity and got outstanding for my lesson observation. Students followed the powerpoint and did all the calculations independently and each child worked at their own pace. Happy to share my modified version.
I love this resource. Sometimes it is difficult to get across what would happen if a species was introduced to a food chain because pupils seem to think on a one organism to one organism basis. This is an excellent way to show what could happen. It engaged the pupils and they were excited to learn more.
Students were interested in the topic and engaged well with the lesson. They were initially confused by the jigsaw but once they worked it out they found it a valuable tool for comparing the two types of foods.
Works well with mixed ability groupings where some of the weaker students can be supported by the more able to understand the ideas.
I downloaded this activity this morning and used it this afternoon! It worked really well to capture the attention of my rather passive lower set Yr10. The post-it note activity, identifying level of concern, worked very well. I only had one colour available but I found that worked better because there was no obvious difference between the groups. This itself triggered a conversation within the class, as one pair questioned another as to why they weren’t concerned. As the post-it notes went up they split easily in to two separate groups. I was then able to question the students with the most extreme responses in both directions to get them to explain their responses. One student commented that they could have been reading different stories! At this point I explained that they were the same story but in different papers.
As always you need to run a lesson through in order to stop the pitfalls. I printed the ‘newspaper’ articles in colour on thin card thinking I could reuse them, which I will be able to do. However I wish I had done them as consumables because it would have been really helpful for the students to use highlighters on their own copies to identify words or phrases new to them. I was surprised to find that some of them didn’t know the word ‘ancient’. Overall an enjoyable lesson and I will definitely use it again.
Pupils really engaged with the idea of growing organs in a lab, really effective way of developing appreciation of application of science in the real world. I used this in a KS3 lesson and the differentiated core asks worked well with all my students. Thank you!
Thanks for this thrilling activity. My students discovered the medical, ethical, sociological and technical aspects all together and they discuss in a very lively way almost forgetting the break. It was the first time I used this material and I really appreciated it.
asked my year 8s to vote on which “engage” lesson they wanted to learn more about and they voted for this lesson. Despite being a Friday a week before the end of term, they were all really interested in the topic and were looking at the evidence in a critical way. I can really recommend this lesson; it’s easy to adapt, add differentiation and make it your own.
I ran this with Yr 7s – 9, of different ability. Really easy to differentiate by outcome, all students were fully engaged. I needed ear plugs for top set yr 7!!
My class were intrigued by this activity, they enjoyed the opportunity to take on different roles and worked well in different groups throughout the lesson. It fitted in well with our topic, was a nice activity to do at the end of term while introducing important ethical and commercial considerations.
Tried this with lower ability Year 7 – they loved making the vlogs! I didn’t go into the equations part too much, as that was a bit hard for them, but they were engaged and interested in the topic. Thank you
I used this to show students a real-life example in forces and levers. They engaged well and it was good to download an app to measure the angle of their necks.
I especially like the potential of the scenario to work on many different topics (healthy food, social problems, environmental problems…)
Would highly recommend.
I have used these books both with low ability year 10 and also mixed ability year 7.
I have found they work well with both groups. I especially like the worked example which the students read which encourages more independent learning and engagement.
I think the books are attractively laid out and clear and easy for all abilities to follow without being patronising. The students are very happy to use these books.
I like the questions as they really get the students thinking and demonstrate to the students they can answer questions that at first look impossible if they just stop and think.
I like the detect, recall, solve route through questions and often use this when going through past paper questions.
To improve the books slightly I feel question 2 in each section could be made a little easier to boost confidence, maybe even with a little scaffolding to help answer this and then questions 3 and 4 getting progressively harder