There will be some students who master the Core level work some time during the year. The following information unpacks how each component of the Mathsquad Program can be modified to provide greater challenge for students who have mastered the Core level material.

Homework

Students complete every second question for core skills 1 to 28 (even questions on even sheets, odd questions on odd sheets). Every box is ticked for the core plus questions on each upcoming homework sheet (they do not get a new booklet, there is no core plus homework book). Note that the Skill Development Program has “Core Plus” components which will be used to upskill students to be able to answer the types of questions that will appear in the Core Plus section of the homework.

Warm up

Students can work independently on Past AMC questions during the warm up, aiming to complete 10 marks in 5 minutes. Past Australian Maths Competition Papers can be purchased from here.

Classwork

During a Whole Class Skill Lesson or Skill of Choice Lesson students do one of the following:

  • Work through the extension questions within the Foundation and Core Skill Development book
  • Work through the Core Plus Book 1 skills to ensure they can confidently carry out Questions 1 to 3 from the Core Plus section of the homework. Core Plus Book 1 is structured like the Foundation and Core skill development books.
  • Work through the worded questions (Skills 29-31) within the Foundation and Core Skill Development Books.
  • Work through past NAPLAN papers (See link for access to questions.)
  • Work through Core Plus Book 2. Core Plus Book 2 covers a range of extension topics. The extension topics are introduced through a mix of questions and information. The extension topics are; Patterns & algebra, Sums of interior angles in polygons, Prime factorisation to LCM, Prime factorisation to HCF, Prime factorisation to square root, Prime factorisation and number of factors, Multiplication rule for combinatorics / tree diagrams, Pascal’s triangle and its connection to combinatorics, Using and proving divisibility tests. Please note that Core Plus Book 2 Solutions are in the password protected Skill Development Bundle.  
  • Work through Past AMC papers.

Problem Solving

Each problem solving lesson/activity/question has many inbuilt options for extension so no alternate program needs to be implemented.

Assessments

There are ready made Core Plus Assessments. A Core Plus Practice Progress Test is found Core Plus and is indicative of the structure of each Core Plus Assessment. Below is a written description of each question for further clarity. Information regarding accessing these files is found here. 

Q1 Adding integers (See Core Plus Book 1)

Q2 Subtracting integers (See Core Plus Book 1)

Q3 Approximate a square root of a non-perfect square to one decimal place (See Core Plus Book 1)

Q4 Multiply fractions requiring cancelling (See Core Plus Book 1)

Q5 Finding the whole in percentage problems (See Core Plus Book 1)

Q6 Substituting a fraction into a two-step expression (See Core Plus Book 1)

Q7 Substituting a decimal into a two-step expression (See Core Plus Book 1)

Q8 Solving a two-step equation involving fractions (See Core Plus Book 1)

Q9 Solving a two step equation involving decimals (See Core Plus Book 1)

Q10 Solving an equation where the unknown is on the denominator (See Core Plus Book 1)

Q11 Technology free, mostly multiple choice questions requiring simple application of the skills covered within the Foundation homework sheet. The structure of these questions are comparable to simple NAPLAN questions. (See Foundation Skill Development Book Skill F30 and past NAPLAN papers)

Q12 Technology free, more challenging worded questions involving one or more of the skills within the Foundation homework sheet. These questions have been inspired by more challenging past NAPLAN questions. (See Foundation Skill Development Book Skill F31 and past NAPLAN papers)

Q13 Technology free, mostly multiple choice questions requiring simple application of the skills covered within the Core homework sheet. The structure of these questions are comparable to simple NAPLAN questions. (See Core Skill Development Book Skill F30 and past NAPLAN papers)

Q14-15 Technology free, more challenging worded questions involving one or more of the skills within the Core homework sheet. These questions have been inspired by more challenging past NAPLAN questions. (See Core Skill Development Book Skill F31 and past NAPLAN papers)

Q16 Technology active, mostly multiple choice questions requiring simple application of the skills covered within the Foundation homework sheet. The structure of these questions are comparable to simple NAPLAN questions. (See Foundation Skill Development Book Skill F30 and past NAPLAN papers)

Q17 Technology active, more challenging worded questions involving one or more of the skills within the Foundation homework sheet. These questions have been inspired by more challenging past NAPLAN questions. (See Foundation Skill Development Book Skill F31 and past NAPLAN papers)

Q18 Technology active, mostly multiple choice questions requiring simple application of the skills covered within the Core homework sheet. The structure of these questions are comparable to simple NAPLAN questions. (See Core Skill Development Book Skill F30 and past NAPLAN papers)

Q19-20 Technology active, more challenging worded questions involving one or more of the skills within the Core homework sheet. These questions have been inspired by more challenging past NAPLAN questions. (See Core Skill Development Book Skill F31 and past NAPLAN papers)

Q21-26 Past AMC Questions – varying difficulty (See link to purchase past papers)

Q27-30 Questions assessing extension topics (See Core Plus Book 2. Topics covered are: Patterns & algebra, Sums of interior angles in polygons, Prime factorisation to LCM, Prime factorisation to HCF, Prime factorisation to square root, Prime factorisation and number of factors, Multiplication rule for combinatorics / tree diagrams, Pascal’s triangle and its connection to combinatorics, Using and proving divisibility tests and Unit fraction investigation)

Q31 “Extremely Hard Core” a question requiring some form of proof.