Exploring maths – helping you to teach Functional skills

Exploring maths helps you prepare for the assessment of Functional skills which, from 2011, all pupils must

pass at Level 2 before they can be awarded a GCSE A* to C in mathematics.

1. The Functional skills standards are covered throughout the course.

• Entry level 3 is embedded in Tier 1

• Tier 2 covers the Level 1 skills

• Tier 3 covers early Level 2

• Tiers 4 and above address Level 2.

2. A detailed matching chart will show how Functional skills are delivered across Tiers 1-7.

3. Functional Skills pages in Class books devoted to the key process skills in the context of real life

and work. There will be three double-page spreads in each Class book. See Appendix 1 for examples

from Tier 3.

4. A full unit of lessons on functional mathematics in the workplace and real life in Tier 6.

5. Objectives charts at the beginning of every unit in the Teacher’s Book show the Functional skills that the

unit helps to develop.

N3.1 Properties of numbers

Previous learning Objectives based on NC levels 4 and 5

Before they start, pupils should be able to:

• calculate a

temperature rise

and fall across

0°C;

• recognise

multiples up to

10 × 10, and

larger multiples

of 2, 5 and 10;

• identify factors of

2-digit numbers.

In this unit, pupils learn to:

• identify the situation or problem and the methods needed to tackle it

• select and apply mathematics to find solutions

• represent situations or problems mathematically, using symbols, words

and diagrams and accurate notation

• carry out calculations, using mental methods or a calculator as

appropriate, including in practical contexts

• identify, classify and visualise properties and patterns

• make and test conjectures and begin to generalise, suggesting

extensions to problems by asking ‘What if…?’

• discuss, explain and record methods and results in a clear way, orally

and in writing

• draw conclusions and provide mathematical justifications

• understand and use positive and negative numbers of any size in

practical contexts

• know and use the order of operations, including brackets.

• recognise square numbers to at least 12 × 12, and corresponding roots

• recognise and use multiples, factors and primes less than 100, including

the highest common factor and lowest common multiple in simple cases

• use simple tests of divisibility.

Objectives in blue relate to Functional Skills.

Functional skills 1

School meals

FS3.1

This group activity will help you to:

work out how to tackle an unfamiliar problem;

choose and use the mathematics needed to solve it;

communicate your fi ndings;

explain and justify your solution.

Background

School meals are a hot topic. There have even been TV programmes that investigated how they could be made healthier.

Here are some of the factors that have to be considered when menus for school meals are planned.

What would pupils like to eat?

What makes a healthy meal?

How much will a meal cost?

Why are these factors important?

FS3.1 Functional skills 1 | 81

Background information

This is the average cost of the food for a typical school meal consisting of meat, potato and a vegetable, followed by a pudding.

meat 40p a portion

potato £4 for 25 kg providing 100 portions

vegetable £10 for 25 kg providing 100 portions

pudding 24p per portion

Maybury school canteen employs 12 staff.

The cook in charge earns £120 a week.

The rest earn £85 a week.

An average of 450 pupils have a school meal each day.

1 Fair price What is a fair price for a school meal at

Maybury school?

2 Pay rise If all the staff at Maybury school get a 5% pay

rise, by how much should the price of a meal increase?

3 Unpopular meals If the number of pupils having a school meal

falls to an average of 350 a day, how will this affect the price of a meal?

4 Your school What are the labour costs and average

number of meals served in your school?

Problems

Be prepared to justify your conclusions to other groups.

82 | FS3.1 Functional skills 1

Functional skills 3

As little waste as possible

FS3.3

This group activity will help you to:

identify how to tackle an unfamiliar problem;

choose and use the mathematics needed to solve it;

explain and justify your solution.

Background

A common problem faced by some industries is how to cut up lengths or areas of manufactured items.

For example, plastic tube is manufactured in fi xed lengths.

When an order comes in, the fi xed lengths of tube have to be cut up.

The aim is to have as little waste as possible.

Drain pipesPlastic tubes for rainwater pipes are manufactured in lengths of 10 metres.

A customer orders these lengths for drain pipes.

60 lengths of 3 metres

49 lengths of 4 metres

12 lengths of 7 metres

The manufacturer wants as little waste as possible.

What is the smallest number of 10 m tubes needed for the order?

Problem 1

FS3.3 Functional skills 3 | 277

The next problem is a related problem. Can you see the connections?

Be prepared to discuss your solutions with other groups.

Parking on the ferry

A Channel ferry has six lanes for vehicles to park in.

Each lane is 60 metres long.

Cars and caravans can park in any lane.

Trucks and coaches can park in lanes 2, 3, 4 and 5 only.

Lorries can park in the middle lanes 3 and 4 only.

These vehicles are waiting for the ferry.

30 cars each needing 4 m of space

10 cars with caravans each needing 9 m of space

3 coaches each needing 20 m of space

3 lorries each needing 30 m of space

Will they all fi t on the ferry?

Problem 2

278 | FS3.3 Functional skills 3