The Trainers Challenge

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Aims and objectives
This is a set of timed activities devised to place learning into a real-life context. Students will be using their mental arithmetic skills to work with money and time problems.

Previous knowledge
Students should have a basic understanding of problem solving using time and money, including percentages, but for each section there are substantial revision activities which take the user back to basics.

In the classroom
It’s a Saturday, it’s 9.00 am and you've just got up – time to start shopping! You have £50 to spend on some new trainers and you’ve got just 8 hours in which to sort out the bus timetables, get to town, pay for your bus fares, buy your trainers and get back home.

This is a set of linked resources which take the pupil through a variety of problem solving activities placed in a real-life context. The key activities are calculating the difference between times using timetables, subtraction using money and calculating percentages and discounts.

The challenge uses a speeded up virtual clock so that the maximum 'real' time allowable to complete the activity is 15 minutes. At the end of the challenge pupils receive full feedback on their results. The timetables, sums of money used and costs/discounts for the trainers are randomised throughout the activity.

Throughout the challenge there are extremely detailed interactive help sections which the pupil can call up if they feel they need some support. These sections will automatically open if the pupil appears to be struggling. Of course, the pressure is still on because while the pupil works through the help, the clock is still ticking!

The activities themselves contain support materials which help students understand and practice the concepts involved in the challenge.

Curriculum references
Mathematics – KS2
Ma2 1a, b; d, e; f, g, i, j; 2c, i; 3a, d, e; 4a b, c


Ma3 4dMathematics – KS3
Ma2 1a, b, e; 2a, c, d, e; 3g, h, i,

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