Finding Compromises

With bottom sets in years 10 and 11 (leading up to GCSEs), there's a big conflict surrounding what we actually teach them. Thanks to 'No Child Left Behind', we are mandated to teach them the GCSE syllabus, or at least all the content up to C grade level, so that every child has a chance to reach that magic threshold. It's a laudable idea, but in practice, this means that our schemes of work are full to bursting with topics like percentage increase and decrease, area of compound shapes and finding nth terms of sequences - all for students who cannot reliably count to 20.

If I was to try to cover all that content, I would have to go at a pace which means that almost none of it, not even the more basic areas (such as what percentages represent), would be comprehensible to the students. It would also totally prevent me from addressing issues such as: they don't know their 3 times table, they don't have any understanding of decimals, and they cannot subtract any number larger than 5. Don't get me started on division.

As most teachers do, I cobble together the best I can, trying to keep myself accountable but also addressing what I feel there children need to understand to allow them to function well as adults. It's a tricky compromise, and even more so when mock exams and tests are thrown at them ('We haven't done this, Miss!'). Even when I settle the time allocations, it's tricky to find ways of helping them with their basic concepts that are effective, not too boring, and don't feel babyish. Enter the 99 club.

The 99 club is fantastic. It's not my invention at all, and it's used in primary schools across the country, but I can't find any company or organisation claiming credit. This is the way I do it. The students start off trying to do 11 times tables questions in an allotted time (say, 3 minutes). When they can get them all right, they try to do 22. Then 33, 44 and so until they can do 99. To differentiate it further, the '11 club' (where they try to do 11 questions) only involved the 2 and 10 times tables. One times table is added each club.

The students love the routine, and the fact that they're all working at their own level of challenge. Every student in my tiny bottom set can be on a different club. They can mark it themselves, and it ensures that I can start every lesson with 5 minutes of silence, followed by lots and lots of praise. And it motivated them to learn their times tables like nothing else I've found. It could be competitive, but I try to make it about individual progress, giving equal praise for any student who makes progress, whatever club they are on. Students who would argue about doing 5 for a starter will happily do 33 now, because the graded work means they start off being successful. As I collect the sheets in every lesson, looking at the hard work on them, it invariably puts me in a good mood.