Getting Started: Number Skills That Earn Marks
GCSE MATHS RESIT · EDEXCEL FOUNDATION · 1 OF 7
Getting started
How the three papers work, and four number skills that earn marks on every one of them.
Paper 1 · Paper 2 · Paper 3
Lesduur is: 60 minIntroductie
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GCSE MATHS RESIT · EDEXCEL FOUNDATION · 1 OF 7
Getting started
How the three papers work, and four number skills that earn marks on every one of them.
Paper 1 · Paper 2 · Paper 3
Lesson 1 of 7, about 60 minutes. Timings: intro and papers 12 min, method marks 8 min, four number skills 30 min, exam question and exit 10 min.
Tone matters with this group: they have sat this exam before. Frame today as "how to collect marks", never as "fixing what went wrong".
Device-free fallback for the whole lesson: every activity works on mini whiteboards or paper; the notes on each slide say how.
Cover image: Pablo Heimplatz / Unsplash
BY THE END OF THIS HOUR
Three things you will be able to do
01
Explain how the three papers are set up and where the marks come from.
02
Show working that earns method marks, even when the final answer slips.
03
Use place value, negative numbers, order of operations and written multiplication without a calculator.
Read these out and move on quickly (1 minute). Come back to them in the exit ticket.
Device-free: write the three outcomes on the board.
Be honest: how do you feel going into a maths exam?
Fine, I just need practice
Nervous, but I get through it
My mind goes blank
I'd rather not say
Anonymous, so it is safe to be honest. Expect a lot of "nervous" and "goes blank".
Use the result: "Blanking is normal. The rest of this course is about having a routine to fall back on, so there is always something you can write down for marks."
Device-free: hands up with eyes closed, or a show of fingers 1 to 4.
THE EXAMS
Three papers, same topics, one grade
PAPER 1
No calculator
1 hour 30 minutes
80 marks
PAPER 2
Calculator
1 hour 30 minutes
80 marks
PAPER 3
Calculator
1 hour 30 minutes
80 marks
Total 240 marks. Any topic can turn up on any paper, so every skill you learn here pays out three times. A grade 4 on Foundation usually needs roughly half of the marks.
Facts from the Pearson Edexcel 1MA1 specification: three papers, 1 hour 30 minutes each, 80 marks each; Paper 1 is non-calculator, Papers 2 and 3 allow a calculator. Foundation tier covers grades 1 to 5.
"Roughly half": grade boundaries move every series, so check the latest Foundation boundaries on Pearson's website before quoting a figure. The message to land is that a 4 does not need you to answer everything.
Ask: "If you only need about half the marks, what does that change about how you use your 90 minutes?" (Answer: bank the questions you can do; don't sink 10 minutes into one you can't.)
WHERE THE MARKS COME FROM
Half the marks are number and ratio
Number
25%
Ratio and proportion
25%
Algebra
20%
Geometry and measures
15%
Statistics and probability
15%
Approximate share of Foundation marks. That's why lessons 1 to 3 are number and ratio.
The bars are drawn to scale (25%, 25%, 20%, 15%, 15%). These are the middles of Pearson's published Foundation ranges: Number 22 to 28%, Ratio, proportion and rates of change 22 to 28%, Algebra 17 to 23%, Geometry and measures 12 to 18%, Statistics and probability 12 to 18%.
Point out that number skills also sit inside the other topics: you can't do an area or a probability question without them.
Device-free: sketch the bars on the board.
METHOD MARKS
Wrong answer, still marks
A phone contract costs £18 a month for 24 months.
How much does it cost in total? (2 marks)
Alex wrote
18 × 24 = 432
2 marks
Sam wrote
18 × 24 = 422
1 mark
Jo wrote
£422
0 marks
Mark scheme style: M1 for 18 × 24 (the method), A1 for 432 (the accurate answer).
Sam and Jo made the same slip (422 instead of 432). Sam showed the method, so Sam keeps the M1. Jo wrote only an answer, so there is nothing to give marks for.
Ask: "What is the cheapest habit in the exam?" (Write down what you are working out.)
Device-free: write the three answers on the board and ask the class to mark them before revealing. Image credit: Alexey Demidov / Unsplash
You get a 3-mark question wrong, but your method is right. What usually happens?
Zero, because a wrong answer is wrong
You can still pick up method marks
Full marks, if the answer is close
Marks only on calculator papers
Answer: B. Method marks are on all three papers. "Close" earns nothing on its own: the marks are for the method you can see, not for nearly-right numbers.
Device-free: hold up A, B, C or D on fingers.
SKILL 1 · PLACE VALUE
Which is bigger, 3.7 or 3.075?
Thousands
Hundreds
Tens
Ones
Tenths
Hundredths
Thousandths
3
7
3
0
7
3
0
7
5
Line up the decimal points, then compare column by column from the left. The ones match, so look at the tenths. 7 tenths beats 0 tenths, so 3.7 is the biggest. More digits does not mean bigger.
The amber line is the decimal point; every number is lined up on it. Rows are 3.7, 3.07 and 3.075.
The misconception to name: "3.075 has more digits so it must be bigger." Fix: fill gaps with zeros. 3.700, 3.070, 3.075, now compare as whole numbers (3700, 3070, 3075).
Correct order, smallest first: 3.07, 3.075, 3.7.
Device-free: draw the chart on the board and have students place a number each.
Sprint times in seconds. Put them in order, fastest first.
Fastest = smallest time. Correct order: 9.58, 9.6, 9.63, 9.69, 9.8. (9.58 seconds is Usain Bolt's 100 m world record.)
The trap: putting 9.6 after 9.58 AND after 9.63 because "60 is less than 63" but "6 is less than 58". Write 9.6 as 9.60 and it becomes obvious.
Device-free: write the five times on cards and have five students line up.
SKILL 2 · NEGATIVE NUMBERS
Think of a thermometer on its side
It's −3 °C at 6 am and 5 °C at noon. How much warmer is it?
−4
−3
−2
−1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
up 3
up 5
Count to zero first, then on: 3 + 5 = 8 degrees warmer. Same trick for 5 − 9: start at 5, go left 9, land on −4.
Three clicks: the amber arrow (−3 up to 0, 3 degrees), the teal arrow (0 up to 5, 5 degrees), then the answer: 8 degrees warmer.
The number line runs from −4 to 8 with even spacing; it is drawn to scale.
Common wrong answer: 2 (doing 5 − 3). Ask: "Does going from freezing to 5 degrees feel like only 2 degrees?"
Device-free: draw the line on the board and use a pen as the "temperature". Image credit: Waqar / Unsplash
Place each temperature. One doesn't fit.
−10
−5
0
5
10
2 °C
−12 °C
7 °C
−8 °C
−3 °C
Only the multiples of 5 are labelled. Count the small marks to find each spot.
The line runs from −10 to 10, one mark per degree, drawn to scale (40 units per degree). Only −10, −5, 0, 5 and 10 are labelled on purpose: reading an unlabelled scale is an exam skill in its own right.
Answers: −8 °C two marks right of −10; −3 °C two marks right of −5; 2 °C two marks right of 0; 7 °C two marks right of 5. −12 °C is off the scale and belongs nowhere.
Device-free: draw the line on the board with only every fifth mark labelled.
SKILL 3 · ORDER OF OPERATIONS
Same numbers, different answers
Multiply first
Brackets change the order
B
Brackets
I
Indices (powers)
D M
Divide and multiply, left to right
A S
Add and subtract, left to right
Divide and multiply are a tie, so go left to right. Same for add and subtract. A calculator follows these rules too, so type the brackets in.
BIDMAS. The common mistake is "M before D" or "A before S" from reading the word literally. They are pairs: work left to right within each pair. Example: 12 ÷ 4 × 3 = 3 × 3 = 9, not 12 ÷ 12 = 1.
Device-free: write 3 + 4 × 2 on the board, ask for answers on fingers, then reveal 11.
Work out 20 − 12 ÷ 4
2
17
8
5
Answer: 17. Divide first: 12 ÷ 4 = 3, then 20 − 3 = 17.
Wrong answers tell you the slip: 2 = worked left to right ((20 − 12) ÷ 4). 8 = only did 20 − 12. 5 = 20 ÷ 4.
Device-free: mini whiteboards, show on a count of three.
SKILL 4 · WRITTEN MULTIPLICATION
23 × 46 with no calculator
×
40
6
20
3
800
120
120
18
Split each number into tens and ones.
Multiply every pair: 20 × 40, 20 × 6, 3 × 40, 3 × 6.
Add the four answers.
The grid method. Five clicks: 20 × 40 = 800, 20 × 6 = 120, 3 × 40 = 120, 3 × 6 = 18, then the total 1058.
Check by estimating: 23 × 46 is about 20 × 50 = 1000, so 1058 is sensible.
If a student already uses column (long) multiplication confidently, let them. The grid is the safety net, not the only way. Either method earns the M1 when written out.
Device-free: draw the grid on the board and fill it in together.
Fill in the missing numbers and words
1. For 36 × 25, the grid gives 600, 150, 120 and 30, so 36 × 25 = 900.
2. Start at 5 and go left 9 on the number line. 5 − 9 = −4.
3. 2 + 3 × 4 = 14, because you multiply first.
4. 4.09 is smaller than 4.1, because 0 tenths is less than 1 tenth.
Answers: 150 (30 × 5), 900, −4, 14, smaller.
Distractors match the common slips: 180 (30 × 6), 950 (a near-miss total), 4 (sign dropped), 20 (adding first), bigger (more digits = bigger).
Device-free: copy the four sentences onto the board and fill in together.
EXAM-STYLE · PAPER 1 · NO CALCULATOR
Jay works in a café. He is paid £11.44 an hour.
Last week he worked 15 hours.
How much was Jay paid last week?
(3 marks)
4
minute
00
second
4 minutes on the timer. Students write full working on paper before answering on the next slide.
Mark scheme style: M1 for a correct method, e.g. 11.44 × 15, or 114.40 + 57.20 (10 hours + 5 hours) M1 for a full method with at most one arithmetic slip A1 £171.60
The hint uses a split many students like: 10 hours = £114.40, half of that = £57.20 for 5 hours, total £171.60. The grid works too: 11.44 × 15.
Common slips: forgetting the second zero (£171.6 is fine as a value but write money with 2 decimal places), or adding instead of multiplying.
Device-free: same question on paper; the teacher keeps time. Image credit: Oguz Tombul / Unsplash
How much was Jay paid? Type your answer in pounds.
Answer: £171.60. Accepted forms: 171.60, £171.60, 171.6, £171.6.
Before revealing, ask two or three students to read out their working, not just the answer: that is what earns the method marks.
Device-free: hold up whiteboards.
Which skill do you want more practice on?
Place value and decimals
Negative numbers
Order of operations (BIDMAS)
Written multiplication
Exit ticket. Use the result to pick next lesson's starter questions: the most-voted skill goes into the "Do now" of lesson 2.
Device-free: students write the skill on a sticky note as they leave.
KEEP GOING · FREE, NO LOGIN NEEDED
Ten minutes a day beats two hours the night before
Corbettmaths 5-a-day (Foundation) — five questions a day, made for students aiming at grades 3 and 4. corbettmaths.com/5-a-day/gcse
Maths Genie — free videos and exam questions by topic. An account is optional. mathsgenie.co.uk
Pearson past papers — real Edexcel 1MA1 papers with mark schemes. Free, though the newest papers are for teachers only. qualifications.pearson.com
All three were checked on 8 October 2026: free to use without paying. Maths Genie offers an optional free account and a paid premium tier; Pearson's most recent papers (sat in the last 12 months) are teacher-only.
Next lesson: fractions, decimals and percentages. Image credit: Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash
