Mastering the concept of percentage and learning to solve practical problems involving percents are goals of the NCTM Principals and Standards for School Mathematics Number and Operations Standard for middle grades students. Here are several approaches to reaching those goals.

Figure This! Math Challenges for Families
Created for students in grades 6 to 8, the site offers some intriguing percentage problems. You might try these with your class: Popcorn,
Majority Vote, and Perplexing Percentages.

Percentages
This virtual manipulative helps students see the relationships among the three quantities involved in calculating a percent: the part, the whole, and the percent. It shows the relationship graphically but also displays the calculations involved.

Grid and Percent It
This lesson focuses on the basic concept of percent: parts per hundred. Students use a 10 × 10 grid, which is a common model for visualizing percents, extended to solve various kinds of percent problems. A worksheet of grids and all steps in a complete lesson plan are given.

Saloon Snap
Students try their hand at matching fractions with decimals and percentages. When they see a Snap, they ring the bell quickly before Fast Fingers Malcolm does!

Percent Shopping
Toys on sale! Students choose which toys to buy, figure the total price, then find the discounted price. At a higher level, they find the percent discount when the original price and the sale price are known. Feedback is immediate and help available.

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