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Padlock Challenges is a motivating, innovative and practical way to enable students (Key stage 3 and 4) to engage with algebra and numbers. It is a comprehensive set of worksheets from which teachers can construct their own pupil booklets or classroom posters containing a selected set of challenges. Each challenge is carefully constructed to enable students to gain confidence and skills. The conclusion of each challenge is a number determined by their answers; collectively these lead to the combination for a padlock and the route to opening a designated treasure box secured with a chain and combination lock. Find the combination - gain the treasure within. Padlock Challenges consists of a spiral bound book (A5) containing an introduction and copies of all of the activities; it is accompanied by a CD-Rom with copies of this both in A5 and A4 format. Photocopying and digital routes are thereby available to teachers to personalise and present the challenge to students.

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"The book is divided into two parts: algebraic challenges and number challenges. The algebra content includes topics such as substitution, solving equations, equations with more than one variable or using brackets and pairs of equations. The number content includes basic number skills, estimation, primes, multiplication grids (working backwards) and factors.
This treasure hunt activity is a favourite of many pupils who often do not view it as more than they would normally with a written exercise.
It is a very simple idea, but one that could be very motivating for all pupils."

Reviewed by N G Macleod