# Live starter generator — version 1.2

Open **starter.html** in Chrome or Edge. It works offline, without a server or installation.
It is also linked from all three worksheet-generator entry points.

1. Choose the **Year group**, then its scheme of work: Year 7 uses **Year 7**; Year 8 uses **Year 8** or **Year 8 Plus**; Years 9–11 use **KS4** or **KS4 Exam**.
2. Search for a topic, then select its exact scheme-of-work title. Searching filters the list without changing your current starter; the selected topic stays available even when the search has no matches.
3. Choose **Starter 1**, **Starter 2** or **Starter 3** for three lessons on the same topic. Their recent-retrieval pairs rotate through six different task types.
4. Choose **Bottom set · Foundation**, **Middle set** or **Top set**. The lesson date is today (UK time) unless you choose another date. A chosen date stays through regeneration and swaps until you press **Today**; clear the date to print a blank date line. Edit the short objective if needed.
5. Untick **Show L.O. on the starter** to leave the objective off the slide, PDFs and Word files. Untick **Show methods booklet pages** to hide the page references.
6. Choose **Generate new starter** for a fresh set. Changing the main topic, starter number or class difficulty also generates a complete set.
7. To change just one question, choose its topic under the preview and press **Swap question 1–4**. These dropdowns include every mathematical topic in the selected scheme, so you can choose a later topic deliberately. Choosing a dropdown value waits until you press Swap. Choose **Automatic retrieval** to let the scheme choose that replacement.
8. Switch between **Questions** and **With answers**. This keeps the same questions and any pending replacement-topic choices.
9. Download either PDF directly. Both are one-page landscape 16:9 PDFs, with the same four questions. Filenames include the topic, starter number and class difficulty.
10. Choose **Screenshot view** for just the slide. Press Escape to return.

The title exactly matches the selected main topic, including its capitalisation. Its short objective describes that topic. Replacing an individual question preserves the other three questions, the main title, the objective and the starter number; the source list identifies the manually chosen topic. The replacement keeps its slot's difficulty, so question 4 remains the extension.

The current starter and settings are remembered in this browser separately from the main app. They do not alter saved worksheet papers. A starter saved on the same UK date, or with a date you chose, reopens unchanged. Otherwise, reopening on a later day generates a fresh starter for the same topic, starter number and class difficulty. Earlier calendar-based starters migrate to the matching topic and retain their class difficulty.

Every generation or swap uses that day's UK date unless you have chosen a lesson date. The two PDF downloads retain the same generation date and questions. Mathematical expressions, including inline coordinates, inequalities, function notation and numerical quantities, are authored as LaTeX and typeset through KaTeX. The same vector layout supplies the preview and both PDFs.

## Methods booklet pages

Each question card shows **Booklet p. …** for the page of `reference/KS4 Methods Booklet 2023.pdf` that teaches its method, for example ratio p. 18–21, probability p. 60–62 and simultaneous equations p. 27. The page follows the question's own topic, including manually swapped questions. Topics the booklet does not cover, such as arithmetic, decimals, fractions, perimeter, charts and constructions, show no page. The map is `bookletPages` in `engine.js`; printed page numbers match the PDF page positions.

## Question variety for ratio, probability and proportion

These three are the most frequently scheduled skills. Their retrieval tasks and extensions come from `variations.js`, which changes the ratios, contexts, names and question shape on every draw. For example, sharing uses two- or three-part ratios with different wording, simplifying ratios with units covers six unit pairs, and extensions include transfers between people, added counters, ages and combined ratios. Ratio has nine retrieval task types, probability eight and proportion seven; Starters 1–3 still use six different types.

## Automatic retrieval and manual choices

You choose the current topic directly; teaching-week and lesson selectors are not required. The scheme's teaching order supplies the automatic retrieval history:

- Questions 1–2 revisit the last mathematical topic in the preceding teaching week. They use different task types, such as a direct and inverse calculation or two different representations.
- Questions 3–4 select earlier topics from before that preceding teaching week. Where possible they use different skills and differ from the recent topic.
- Question 3 connects and applies earlier learning. Question 4 is the strongest extension, with connected deductions or a reasoning condition.
- A topic that appears repeatedly is anchored to its first scheduled occurrence when the automatic history is inferred. Starter 1–3 provide three retrieval pairs for that topic.
- Holidays, training, inductions, assessments and exams introduce no mathematical topics. Automatic retrieval skips those gaps and uses earlier teaching.
- If no earlier teaching exists, arithmetic prerequisite questions fill the four slots. If only one earlier teaching week exists, all four revisit that week. The interface explains these exceptions.
- A manual replacement overrides the automatic history for that question only. Any topic in the selected scheme can be chosen, including later topics. The other questions keep their existing content.

These are freshly generated, original short questions. They use separate skill templates; the existing 23,000-question worksheet bank is unchanged. Every skill has at least six retrieval task types. The recent pair contains two different types, and the three starter variations cover six types. The browser remembers recent types to reduce repetition when regenerating or swapping. The replacement controls stay outside the printable page.

Bottom set uses more accessible retrieval, a single-method earlier question and a supported extension. Middle set keeps connected practice and a multi-step extension. Top set adds more demanding retrieval, uses a middle-set extension for question 3 and a separate harder extension for question 4. Automatic topic-selection rules are the same at every level; manual replacements retain the selected level.

The four-card presentation uses embedded KaTeX fonts, consistent spacing and separate teacher answer panels. Student and teacher versions keep identical question positions. Both remain one 16:9 landscape page.

## Scheme of work sources

All five supplied workbooks are retained unmodified in `reference/schemes/`. The runtime scheme data in `app/starter/schemes.js` retain the source file, sheet, row, lesson cell, topic and date. Original objective text is retained as provenance; concise objectives are defined in `engine.js`.

Year 7, Year 8, Year 8 Plus and KS4 use **Overview**. KS4 Exam uses **23-24**, because that sheet contains the supplied 2026–27 timetable; its Overview and Starters tabs contain historical calendars. Only the four scheduled lesson columns C–F are used. The unheaded side list in Year 8 Plus is not treated as taught lessons.

Source calendar labels and dates are preserved, including unnumbered teaching rows and dates that fall on Tuesdays. These support teaching-order calculations internally; the interface presents mathematical topics instead of requiring calendar selections.

## Maintenance and checks

- `app/starter/engine.js`: skill templates, concise objectives, distinct-topic lists, automatic teaching-history selection, three starter variations, and individual question replacements. Topic selections use schema 5; the legacy calendar API remains available for compatibility.
- `app/starter/extensions.js`: challenging question 4 templates for all supported skills.
- `app/starter/variations.js`: varied retrieval and extension structures for ratio, probability and proportion (proportion extensions remain in `extensions.js`).
- `app/starter/retrieval-pairs.js` and `retrieval-geometry.js`: six different retrieval task types per skill and class-level adaptations.
- `app/starter/renderer.js`: shared vector layout for screenshot previews and PDF output, including fractions, powers, roots and column vectors.
- `app/starter/font-data.js` and `font-support.js`: existing KaTeX fonts and metrics packaged for matching offline SVG/PDF typography. Regenerate with `app/tools/package_starter_fonts.py`; no fonts are modified.
- `app/starter/app.js`: topic search and selection, three variations, per-question topic choices, independent browser storage, preview toggle and PDF downloads.
- `app/tools/import_starter_schemes.py`: read-only workbook import, topic mapping and source copies. Requires Python/openpyxl for development only.
- `app/tools/starter_checks.cjs`: deterministic coverage, retrieval, uniqueness, layout, PDF and source-preservation checks. Uses Node.js and the bundled pdf-lib library. No runtime installs are needed.
- `app/tools/starter_levels_checks.cjs`: checks retrieval types at all three levels, rotation across three lessons, independent swaps and top-set extension layouts.
- `app/tools/starter_topic_checks.cjs`: checks every scheme topic at all three levels and variations, manual topic overrides, teaching-order defaults and paired one-page PDF output.
- `app/tools/starter_variations_checks.cjs`: recomputes every ratio, probability and proportion answer from the printed wording alone (67,200 checks) and requires at least ten different questions per task type and class level.
- `app/tools/starter_controls_checks.cjs`: local DOM simulation for topic search without regeneration, pinned selection, six-type rotation, all five schemes, class levels, manual swaps including later topics, pending choices, exact topic titles, objective edits, editable/blank/Today dates, chosen-date restore, L.O. and booklet-page toggles, date rollover, PDF contents/filenames, restore/migration and screenshot mode. This is not a real-browser visual check.

The vendored PDF library and its licence are in `app/vendor/pdf-lib/`. The existing local KaTeX library is reused. No external services, remote fonts or question APIs are used.