Here you will find everything you need to help you teach Year 7 Maths. I will answer some basic questions first and then link to the plans.
Is it all Free?
Yes! I will never require a purchased resource to complete a unit of work. I will list books, games or documentaries that you can purchase if you want to supplement the unit but they will not be essential. I know what it is like to be home educating on a shoestring so I did not want to charge for putting this curriculum together. However, it does take a lot of time and effort to create units of work so I do ask that if you use the curriculum and you can that you support me by simply clicking the Buy Me a Hot Chocolate button and helping me to contribute financially to my family.
What is the Curriculum?
The curriculum uses the Mathematics Enhancement Programme from the Centre of Innovation in Mathematics Teaching as the spine for the curriculum. This means that all the online activities are based on this curriculum. I frequently pair the printed workbooks from MEP with video lessons from White Rose Maths, Oak Academy and Khans Academy to teach the students the maths concept which they then practice in the workbook. I also include online games and activities from Transum as warm-up activities or as practice opportunities.
Did you Make Everything Yourself?
No! I am a big believer in making your life easier when you home-educate rather than harder! I used freely available resources for the vast majority of the course and where I could not find something I created it. Therefore, students will be using resources external to this webpage and as always adult supervision is advised. I created the units of work for my children to work through and I would suggest that the best learning occurs in dialogue with you, the parent. Students will be able to work through the units on their own but learn so much more when engaged in conversation about their learning. So, if possible sit down with your student and do the work together. If your student still wants to use manipulatives, blocks, number lines, or fraction cards then please allow them to do this. If they become confident using the manipulatives then they will be more likely to try and succeed at maths when they decide to stop using them. Taking them away too soon will only make it harder for them.
Do I Have to do all the Work?
No, you can use as much or as little as you like. If you complete everything your students will have covered everything they need to know for that curriculum year. However, if you are not concerned with staying in line with the National Curriculum then you may want to just play the games or watch the videos or only complete certain units. Each unit is split into tasks which roughly equate to a day of learning. I suggest 45 minutes a day, 4-5 times a week is ample for Key Stage 3 students. I have provided enough work for 5 days a week with a few spare days each term to catch up, revise or to take off. Some children will find some of the tasks easy and complete them quicker others may struggle a bit more and work through slower. Go with the pace of your child's learning. There is no point rushing onto topics before they are comfortable with previous topics. I link to lots of websites where you can go for extra practice, do not be afraid to slow down. If your child is whizzing through and doing well then allow them to skip bits of work, they will only get bored if it is too easy, and move on to more challenging units.
What if a Link Does Not Work or we Can not Work Out How to Complete an Activity?
For most links, I have tried to include enough detail about the activity/website/ creator to allow you to do a basic Google search for it. The odd missing activity will not have much impact on learning so if you find you really do not understand what the activity requires you to do (I frequently get stuck on game commands) then just skip it. You can let me know via private message on the Facebook page if the link is broken and you can not find the activity and I will do my best to help.
Year 7 Half-Term Plans
I print these out and stick them into the front of the student's folder where they keep their work. As we work through the units we tick them off and sometimes log any test or quiz results. I usually do not keep to a school timetable, somedays we do a lot of work some days we do not do anything other than visit the lake to paddle board. However, if you are more structured I have tried to organise the units to give holidays which I have listed below.
Year 7 Learning Objectives
Coming Soon!!