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 […]

Your textbook has many, many problems on finding the measurements of a circle, so I looked for problems that are off the beaten track. The result is an unusual set of applications to the circle, therefore challenging but intriguing, I think, for middle school classes. Let your colleagues know of your own ideas  and comments […]

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 […]

Many students never really understand volume or surface area, although they can memorize the formulas and even apply them on tests. These resources have been selected with an eye to helping students enter into the concepts of volume and surface area through practical problems, hands-on experiences, and applets they can manipulate to actually see how […]

Possibly for students the most surprising connection to math is art. The resources below are proof of that connection through fractals, architecture, tessellations and 3-D geometric figures. Some sites are like art galleries—just for visiting, but others involve students in creating their own artistic designs. All involve significant mathematics!
Cynthia Lanius’ Fractal Unit
A former mathematics […]

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 […]

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 […]