Need help with mental math in your classroom? This guide is full of tips, tricks, and examples to help the teacher encourage learners to use their brain instead of a calculator. Practice problems are included with reasons how...

Solving word problems requires reading comprehension and math computation. Through an interactive slideshow presentation, fourth graders observe and follow each step toward solve multiplication and division word problems. 

Sometimes close enough is appropriate. A curriculum document for AP® Calculus examines the importance of providing approximation questions throughout the course. It looks at approximating derivative values, approximating definite...

Estimating is an essential skill used in everyday life. This presentation explains how to apply prior knowledge about rounding numbers to estimating sums and differences. Example problems and assessment include large numbers, making this...

Normalizing a binomial distribution — determine when it is all right. Given the rule of thumb of when it is appropriate to use the normal distribution to approximate a binomial distribution, pupils look at different scenarios....

Continuing from the previous instructional activity, scholars work on mastering the skill of multiplying decimal fractions by a whole number. The method employed in the instructional activity is to convert the decimal fraction to its...

Provide a meaningful context for learning about the division of fractions with this upper-elementary math activity. Presented with a simple, real-world problem, young mathematicians work in small groups to develop visual models that help...

Boiling down any division problem to a one-digit divisor problem sure makes estimation easy. The lesson shows how to estimate division problems by using place value understanding and basic arithmetic facts to simplify the division. Some...

The more rectangles, the better the estimate. Using the interactive, pupils explore estimating the area under a curve using left-hand sums. Learners respond to challenge questions on how to get better estimates using the same technique.

Watch animated slides as RJ explains how to round numbers to the nearest ten and thousand. Viewers then get a chance to try it themselves.

Young mathematicians construct their own understanding of integers with an inquiry-based math lesson. Using colored chips to represent positive and negative numbers, children model a series of addition and subtraction problems as...

Celebrate fall with four pumpkin themed hands-on activities! After learning about pumpkins, scholars complete two activity sheets that reinforce estimation and word problems. They then plant pumpkin seeds and bake a pie in...

Clarify the Common Core standards for your eighth grade mathematicians with this series of classroom displays. By rewriting each standard as an achievable "I can" statement, these posters give students clear goals to work toward...

When are trapezoids better than rectangles? Using trapezoids pupils approximate the area of fabric defined by a function. Just like with rectangles, learners realize the more trapezoids the more accurate the approximation. Scholars use...

Determine medians within a group. Given data represented as a frequency table of grouped data, the video demonstrates finding an estimation for the median. After finding the group where the median resides, the presenter uses a formula to...

The square root of five and five do not have the same value! How many times have you addressed this with math classes? A lesson gives an explanation of a square root and gives examples for simplifying square root...

How tall is the Empire State Building? Lead your class through a collaborative estimation activity to determine the number of quarters it would take to reach the top and teach the following concepts: human capital, human resources,...

How long would it take to break into a safe by testing every possible combination of codes? Pupils view a video clip of this happening and must determine the total amount of time before success. They measure how long each step takes, add...

Sometimes dealing with decimals is so much easier than dealing with fractions. The ninth lesson in a 21-part module has the class consider situations when it might be easier to add or subtract fractions by first converting to...

This Groundhog's Day, challenge scholars to predict, estimate, tally, and graph in a weather-themed lesson in which class members play the role of the groundhog to forecast the weather come February second. 

Many math concepts are covered through this resource: percentages, decimals, ratios, exponential functions, graphing, rounding, order of operations, estimation, and solving equations. Colorful worksheets and a link to a Google search for...

The learner puts reasoning and estimation to work. The directions are to place a decimal in the answer to make the equation true. Pupils are to look at the two problems, one multiplication and one division, and estimate an answer. No...

Young mathematicians put one foot in front of the other as they learn how to measure length in an elementary math lesson. Using paper cutouts of their own feet, children measure classroom objects as they discover the importance of...

Knowing the standard algorithm opens up a whole new world of division. Scholars learn how to convert division involving decimals to division involving whole numbers to use the standard algorithm. Knowing how to multiply with powers of...