Sometimes geoboards are left on the shelf because we don’t know what to do with them. They can be powerful tools for students to study, length, area and perimeter. (But remember to be careful with the perimeter part because the length of one unit is only measured on the horizontal or vertical, not the diagonal.) […]

Although the NCTM Standards do not have student expectations for learning mathematics history, exposure to this history can help students see real-world connections in mathematics.
Approximating Pi
Mathematics and science owe a great deal to Archimedes, including a way to approximate pi. Here is historical information along with an applet to approximate pi using the perimeter […]

Why take class time to investigate fractals? Granted, they are geometric figures and worthy of study for that reason alone. Moreover, their use in art and other areas connects mathematics to the world outside the textbook, as recommended by the NCTM Connections Standard. But a study of fractals also opens discussion of algorithm, dimension, and […]

Students need active learning experiences to understand measurement concepts and develop important skills. These resources provide opportunities for students to problem solve with hands-on and virtual measurements in real-world and online environments.
Fit by Design or Design to Fit
This applied mathematics lesson features hands-on activities supporting the NCTM Measurement Standard, and can be used to introduce […]

“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 […]

As the social studies, art, and music classes in the middle school widen students’ horizons, some of your students may become fascinated with the art, costumes, and customs of other peoples in this and other times. The NCTM Principles and Standards calls for middle school students to be able to “recognize and apply geometric ideas […]

A topic once reserved for high school geometry, the Pythagorean theorem is now part and parcel of the middle school curriculum. These resources offer visual demonstrations that can make the abstract theorem more concrete for students and lead them in analyzing the mathematical relationships involved, as recommended by the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. […]

We know that days, weeks, or months without using a skill takes a toll on our proficiency. So it can be with teaching topics in the middle school math curriculum. If it’s been a while since you taught algebra or geometry topics, which are now recommended in “significant amounts” by the NCTM Standards, here are […]

A tangram is a set of seven pieces that all fit together to form a square. The fun — and the spatial orientation challenge — is to rearrange the five right triangles, the square, and the parallelogram to form a variety of shapes. An optional challenge is to find the area of each piece and […]