How could we organize a math fair? And what kinds of projects would our students present? I’m not thinking here of projects that would be judged, as in a science fair, but rather investigations and activities that would engage middle school students and be presented for the whole school as well as parents. One idea comes from […]

Bob Panoff, executive director of Shodor and CSERD: Computational Science Education Reference Desk is passionate about using computational science teaching methods to stimulate student engagement in learning math and science from grades K to gray!
In a recent article for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) entitled “Simulations Deepen Scientific Learning,” he explains the […]

You probably already incorporate games in your teaching. We even highlighted math games in an earlier post - Let’s Talk Teaching: Math Games. Games are a great way to focus students’ attention as few other teaching strategies can. The ones selected here deal directly with the math content covered in the middle grades. Each has […]

Your own textbook has numerous pages on equations and their solutions. What I’ve pulled together here are scenarios that involve students in solving equations in unusual contexts.  A change of pace, a different approach. If you have found lesson ideas on working with equations that you’d like to share with colleagues, please share the wealth!
Algebra—Fun […]

In my years of teaching grades 6 through 8, I generally used games only for reviewing before a test. What I didn’t realize was how effective games can be for teaching the content. Each of the games below has a learning objective; each could be embedded in a lesson plan for middle school math. And, […]

The abstract concepts of mathematics, usually expressed through symbols and un-common vocabulary, can frustrate the visual learners in your middle school classroom. Here is where the computer can become a powerful teaching tool. Such commonplace but abstract concepts as fractional equivalence and the “size” of large numbers can be made visual through technology. Students can interact […]

Middle schoolers may not easily see the connection between data analysis problems invented for the classroom and math problems encountered in their daily lives. You will spark their interest in data analysis by showing them its value in finding solutions to real problems in many settings — from buying a soda to taking after-school jobs […]

Algebra can be hard to visualize. Learning to show relationships between symbolic expressions and their graphs opens an avenue to really seeing algebraic patterns. According to the NCTM Standards, at the middle school students move from plotting points to exploring the graphs of lines, including slope and intercept.
An Introduction to the Coordinate Plane
This is a […]

The order of operations rules are important now in evaluating numerical expressions and later in the study of algebra. The featured resources offer explanations, examples of what goes wrong when the rules are misapplied, and problems to solve.
Amby’s Math Resources: Order of Operations
Check out this online tutorial offering a pre-test, practice exercises, and a post-test. […]

“Words! Words! Words!” sang Eliza Doolittle in the musical My Fair Lady. “I’m so sick of words!” But students have to master the vocabulary of mathematics. This is especially difficult for those learning a new language even as they struggle with new mathematics vocabulary. The first two resources deal with mathematical terms themselves, while the […]