Factors and their multiples are so important to students’ work with fractions and number theory. These concepts come under the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Number and Operations Standard for the middle grades. The resources here are all hands-on, if only virtually. Important to their success is the classroom talk that the resources […]

Really understanding what fractions are, how they fit on the number line, and how to operate with them - add, subtract, multiply, divide - is central to learning decimals and percentages. According to the NCTM Principles and Standards, students in the middle grades should be expected to acquire a deeper understanding of fractions, decimals, and […]

Middle school students often need to practice basic facts. The web sites listed below get the students thinking about the operations in a problem-solving way. In the first resource, the problem can have more than one solution, challenging students to practice their skills in reasoning and proof. A possible follow-up would be to have the […]

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 […]

Math games open an arena for strategic planning and reasoning, one of the NCTM Process Standards. Many games also provide practice in basic operations or problem solving, and all motivate the active participation we hope for in the classroom.
The Maths File Game Show
A collection of 12 interactive games that deal with basic concepts of […]

In the springtime, some middle school students enjoy outdoor sports much more than they enjoy their math classes. Why not use two of these popular sports to our advantage in the classroom? The following problems with baseball and track themes challenge students to exercise some of the skills they learn in the middle school curriculum. […]

Scale is a unifying concept in science. Whether one is considering the size and scope of the universe, an atom, or anything in-between, conceptual understanding of scale is a prerequisite to understanding. Other phenomena requiring knowledge of scale include geologic time, pH, and maps. Cognitively, most middle school students hold a concrete, incomplete conception of […]

Measurement is one of the core NCTM Principals and Standards for School Mathematics content standards, and rate is central to its practical application. While most middle school students know the distance-rate-time formula, they may still benefit from a closer study of the relationship.
Understanding Distance, Speed, and Time Relationships
Students see two runners move along a track. […]

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 […]