Everything You Need To Run A Whole School Maths Mastery Event

Neil Jarrett

I recently organised an event in my school:  ‘Mastering Maths Day’.  The aim was to encourage further embedding of ‘mastery‘ activities in everyday maths lessons and also to boost enjoyment of the subject.

Mastery, in a nutshell, is developing a thorough and deep understanding of concepts – often this is achieved through well scaffolded activities and problem solving. 

What was the structure of the day?

The week before the event, I explained the day at the staff meeting.  I also gave out a home learning activity in which all of the pupils had to design their own maths game.

During the day itself, exciting puzzles and problems were completed in classes – please see the resource folder below (credit goes to NRICH from which I took/adapted some of the challenges).  In the  afternoon, I ran a ‘Maths Bee’.  This was a competition, similar to a spelling bee, but with mental maths questions.

Where can I find all of the resources?

Please click this link for a Google Drive folder with everything you need.  You must MAKE A COPY or DOWNLOAD the folder to make your own edits.

I also made some useful posters.  This one can be displayed in your classroom as it is a handy reminder of different ways of mastering something.

I Can Master Maths Poster

The one below is a useful prompt for teachers. It features question starters which encourage higher order thinking and mastery.

Maths Mastery Questions Starters

Let me know how you get on.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.

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