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Some of the questions and comments on this chart are specifically about sports coaching, but it's easy to jiggle them for any kind of learn...

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While many succumb to the trauma of failure and lose confidence and performance, Resilient individual rise again, learn from their failure and improve their per

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NFER and Nesta (2015) Report - Flipped Learning

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7 Myths about young children and technology 

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ICT

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Seven Myths about Young Children and Technology  (Plowman and McPake).pdf

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Review on the Impact of Digital Technology on Learning and Teaching

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ICT

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ICT

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Selecting ICT Tools (Harlen & Qualter - 2014)

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ICT

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ICT

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ICT

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ICT

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Computing in the National Curriculum - A Guide for Teachers

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ICT

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Use BBC Bitesize to help with your homework, revision and learning. Find free videos, step-by-step guides, activities and quizzes by level and subject.

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Science and Technology

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Want to know why giant ships can float, how your earbuds make music, what graphene is, or how windows can clean themselves? You've come to the right place! Here you'll find simple explanations you can really understand-hurrah!

Hard stuff... made simple!

Explain that Stuff is an online book written by science writer Chris Woodford (author of many popular science books for adults and children). It includes over 400 easy-to-understand articles, richly illustrated with clear artworks and animations, covering how things work, cutting-edge science, cool gadgets, and computers. We take the "pain" from explain and the "tough" out of stuff! There's more information on this website than in your average expensive science book, it's continually updated, and it's completely free to use! Explain that Stuff also helps to support curriculum learning (conventional STEM education and home-schooling).

What's hot in April 2021?

In the news now...

NASA's about to start flying a tiny helicopter on Mars. What's so good about rotating wings-and how do they really work?

A British company claims it's found a way to build quantum computers from existing (silicon) computer chips. What exactly is a quantum computer... and why is everyone talking about them?

Poorer nations want to keep burning fossil fuels to power their economic development, but richer nations are concerned about the impacts on the planet. What are the risks of a warming world?

A landmark inquiry in the UK has made history by ruling that air pollution killed a young girl living near a busy road. Why, indoors and out, does dirty air cause an estimated 7-10 million early deaths each year?

The new Perseverance Rover has made a spectacular start to its mission exploring Mars, but it still takes a traditional rocket to put things like this into space. How exactly do rockets work?

Most popular

These are some more of our classic, ever-popular articles:

1. Water pollution: Rivers and seas take a long time to recover from the effects of careless human treatment. What causes pollution and what can we do to stop it?

2. Electricity: The most versatile and useful form of energy in our world, electricity is going to become a whole lot more important in future.

3. Nanotechnology: Can we build a brave new world just by shuffling atoms and molecules under a microscope?

4. Magnetism: One of the first bits of science people studied, magnetism is still just as relevant today in everything from electric cars to body scans at the hospital.

5. Gears: Wheels with teeth carved around them can make you go faster or bump up your power-and here's how.

6. Batteries: We all need electricity, wherever we happen to be, so thank goodness for batteries-miniature power plants you can carry in your pocket.

7. Electric motors: These amazing machines turn electricity and magnetism into movement, powering everything from handheld toothbrushes to bikes, cars, and trains.

8. Cloud computing: Why buy yourself an expensive computer or programs to go with it when you can get access to something just as good over the Internet?

9. Global warming: Is the planet really heating up? What can we do about it?

What else is on our site?

The articles on our site are divided up into broad topical areas, listed below. We've also given you a rough idea of the kind of questions you're going to find answers to in each section:

Communications: Why do we bounce telephone calls off satellites? How do cellphones work? What's the difference between digital radio and ordinary radio?

Computers: How can you make a computer think like a human brain or cause climate change inside your PC? Who invented the computer-and why on Earth did it take them so long?

Electricity and electronics: How can you make coffee with a stream of electrons? How can magnets detect burglars in your home?

Energy: How does wind energy come from the Sun? Is nuclear power safe or not?

Engineering: What stops a bridge falling over? How come a person can lift more stuff with a crane than with their bare hands?

Environment: Can we still stop dangerous climate change? What causes air and water pollution and how can the world clean up its act?

Gadgets: How does a flash memory card store your holiday snaps? Why can a synthesizer mimic any musical instrument that's ever been invented (and even ones that haven't been)?

Home life: How can you make windows turn dark at the flick of a switch? How does an artificial leg work? If an energy-saving lamp saves energy, how come it still makes exactly the same amount of light?

Materials: If you had a piece of platinum as big as a man, how much would it be worth? Why doesn't a dry-stone wall fall over? Is it true that glass is a kind of liquid?

Science: Which part of a candle flame is the hottest? Why does chocolate actually taste good? Where's the best place to sit on a rollercoaster if you want to scare yourself to death?

Tools, instruments, and measurement: How does an iris scanner recognize your eyes? Why don't fireproof clothes catch fire? Can a robot really learn to play drums?

Transportation: If a man can't fly, how can a plane fly if it weighs as much as 5000 men? How come we say a wheel reduces friction if it's got a tire that grips the road?

If you like this website...

... you might like my books. My latest one is Breathess: Why Air Pollution Matters and How it Affects You.

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Now you've found us, don't lose us. Why not join our friendly Facebook page, where we post cool science and technology news? You'll find our photos on Flickr and we're also on Pinterest.

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Our website serves advertisements to pay its running costs. The advertisers we work with use a technical mechanism called cookies (small files stored on your computer) to help them serve relevant and useful advertisements that they think are likely to appeal to you, but you can opt in or out of these cookies at any time. The web domain explainthatstuff.com does not collect, store, sell, or share any personal information and has no plans ever to do so in the future. However, in line with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), you may still send us a"Do Not Sell My Personal Information" request if you'd like to. For more details, please see our privacy policy.

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We are working flat out to provide more resources and support for parents and learning at home. Read more...

Would you like to be in the top 2% of primary schools?

Recently, two Big Maths schools received letters from Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP, Minster for School Standards. Globe Primary School and Rowlatts Mead Primary Academy have been congratulated for results which place them in the top 2% of primary schools! We are delighted and proud to work with both schools!

Want to improve your school's maths performance this year?

If you are one of the many schools in England focusing on SATs, Big Maths can help you to improve your performance!

Big Maths gives you a clear approach to bringing the majority of your class to the same point in the numeracy learning journey, so they can progress through the primary maths curriculum together. The Big Maths Planning document shows clearly defined endpoints that all pupils can master each term.

Our 'Making it Stick' journey gives you resources for each step, from repeated practice questions, on to worded 'real-life' questions, finishing with deeper problem solving. This allows you to continually challenge the more able children, hence allowing others to maintain pace, focusing on the core skill being taught. To read more about Big Maths and Mastery click below:

We are committed to saving as much time for teachers as possible, so that they can focus on what they love... teaching! Big Maths provides teachers with thousands of tailored resources.

Whether you need a Lesson PowerPoint for direct input, or problem solving resources for deeper learning activities, we have everything you need! So stop searching generic websites, or creating from scratch, and start accessing focused, tailored resources at the click of a button. Read more...

Big Maths is a systematic and structured approach to ensuring all children become numerate and then become fully rounded mathematicians. At the heart of this structure are the detailed sequences of learning. Our detailed teacher guidance for every step of learning in the Big Maths framework shows the background knowledge the child should already have in order to succeed, as well as a clear view of where that learning will head to next. This helps the teaching team to constantly improve their subject knowledge, confidence and school cohesion.

There are serious consequences for pupils when a curriculum is not sequenced or designed effectively. Gaps in pupils' knowledge accumulate as they become layered on top of one another in a curriculum sequence.

School Inspection Update 2019

You get:

Planning which is structured to cover all of the curriculum, from entry to leaving school.

Our amazing Learning Gaps feature informs teachers of each child's needs, powered by our Beat That! challenges.

Detailed weekly lesson plans (including lesson PowerPoints and other resources differentiated for groups or individual pupils if necessary) can be produced easily in minutes, with a few clicks of your mouse.

With Big Maths, each child progresses through school feeling like they have had one teacher. The result is consistency, confidence and a love of maths!

Please take some time to read the Big Maths Case Studies provided by some amazing schools across the UK. The latest Case Study has been provided by:

As a school we can't recommend Big Maths highly enough!

At Globe Primary School, Big Maths:

* manages pupils' cognitive load and teacher workload

* delivers a sequential curriculum covering National Curriculum expectations, embedding old learning and making new learning doable

* provides a consistent but exciting pedagogical approach to Mathematics, enabling confident learners

* gives a robust assessment system, which easily tracks the progress, attainment and next learning steps of cohort and individuals

* offers transparency about the mathematical methods used in school

We provide inspirational Professional Development, delivered by a team of fantastic consultants who travel the length and breadth of Britain and internationally to support schools just like yours!

Each day of training has been refined to ensure that you receive concise, powerful input that enables you to have an immediate impact on return to your classroom.

Most important, we want every colleague to enjoy their professional development! Each consultant will share a little of themselves, to help establish a rapport that makes it easier for colleagues to engage.

Our 'Big Maths Beat That!' Challenges are made up of questions linked to a specific step of learning from the Big Maths framework. This allows you to immediately identify any gaps in learning. If a pupil can't understand something, you can instantly find the point from the preceding skills where they can work forward from.

These challenges are the assessment spine of Big Maths and it is broken down into three sections. One section is solely focused on acquiring multiplication tables and number bonds. We call this section 'Learn Its' because that's what children need to do; just learn it!

Each week we check Twitter for schools posting photos of children celebrating their Beat That! successes. We send a reply with a certificate for every tweet! Check it out #BigMaths

'Cognitive Load Theory' has become increasingly recognised in the teaching community. Big Maths embraced this research over 10 years ago and consequently has a well developed curriculum design that always ensures children enter new learning with the background knowledge essential for success. Read more here...

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We are working flat out to provide more resources and support for parents and learning at home. Read more... Would you like to be in the top 2% of primary schools? Recently, two Big Maths schools received letters from Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP, Minster for School Standards.

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Maths

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Enriching mathematics for all learners

A free-to-use collection of mathematics activities, lessons and problems designed to nurture curious, resourceful and confident learners of mathematics. Produced by The University of Cambridge.

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The Nrich Maths Project Cambridge,England. Mathematics resources for children,parents and teachers to enrich learning. Problems,children's solutions,interactivities,games,articles.

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Science