Is the path through December, January, and February the only path through winter? Not in a holiday math activity based on Pascal's Triangle! Middle schoolers study a triangle made of the letters from the word winter and decide how...

Mary, Mary, quite continuously, how does your money grow? Uses examples to examine the difference between simple interest and compound interest, and to take a look at different rates of compounding. Learners explore what would...

Learners find out the meaning for prefixes used in math vocabulary. By dissecting words used in everyday math, they figure out what the prefix indicates and what the word means. A variety of well-organized worksheets and activities...

Perfect as a review guide, this worksheet provides a range of questions focusing on functions. Topics include composing functions, transformations, domains, and polynomials. Also included are corresponding worksheets focusing on other...

Teaching linear function relationships using contextual information is beneficial to pupils' understanding. The lesson uses problem solving to build linear functions given different information for each problem. This is the second...

Students work together to build models of prairie plants. Using the model, they estimate the height and then measure them using metric and standard units. They write a fraction to represent their part of the whole set and compare and...

Find the pattern is the name of the game! Learners examine different patterns represented by numbers, shapes, and words. They must describe the pattern, predict the result in a given position, and find an equation that...

Create ratios using the boys and girls in the class. The first lesson in a 29-part series introduces ratios. Pupils learn to create ratios, write them, and model them with tape diagrams. Class members realize that there are different...

Small groups devise a plan to find the bag that contains the larger percentage of blue chips. they then institute their plans and compare results to the actual quantities in the bags. 

Looking for higher-level thinking questions? This assessment provides questions that challenge young mathematicians to think and analyze rather than simply memorize. Topics include piecewise functions, linear modeling, exponential...

Young mathematicians explore the maximun area for patio with the added complexity of finding the mimimum cost for construction. First, they maximize the area of a yard given a limited amount of fence and  plot width v. area on a...

Groups explore illumination with NASA's Lighting Environment Test Facility (LETF) as a context. Using the TI-Nspire app, groups determine the lux equation that models their simulation. They then use the lux equation to...

Matching number sentences to their visual equivalents may seem easy, but there is a trick here to keep your learners thinking about math properties. As they examine the numerical forms of six addition problems, they must...

Make the most of your prom—with math! Pupils write and use a quadratic model to determine the optimal price of prom tickets. After determining the costs associated with the event, learners use a graph to analyze the break even point(s).

Here is a comprehensive task for your middle school mathematicians regarding the multiplication and division of integers. Word problems and practical problems abound, while occasional graphics make the page more visually appealing. A...

Don't just go through the steps to solve an algebraic equation, show learners how to balance an equation with visual models. The packet introduces the idea of mobile balances to reinforce the idea that both sides must match to make the...

Discover an inverse variation pattern. A simple lesson plan design allows learners to explore a nonlinear pattern. Scholars analyze a distance, speed, and time relationship through tables and graphs. Eventually, they write an equation to...

Performance task questions are the most difficult to write. Use this assessment so you don't have to! These questions assess factoring quadratics, modeling with quadratics, and key features of quadratic graphs. All questions require...

The process of elimination really works! Use elimination when substitution isn't doing the job. The 29th segment in a series of 33 introduces the elimination method to solving linear systems. Pupils work several exercises to grasp the...

It's the stairway to learning! Scholars research all aspects of building a staircase. Using information from building codes, they write and graph a system of inequalities to analyze the constraints. The completed project is a scale model...

If members of your class wonder where they can use the math they learn in middle school, let them discover the answer. Learners apply geometry concepts of scale and measure to calculate the costs of framing a house addition.

Don't use use a fraction of the resource — use it all! Scholars attempt a set of five problem-of-the-month challenges on fractions. Levels A and B focus on creating fractions and equivalent fractions, while Levels C, D, and E touch on...

Now you'll never have trouble cutting a cake evenly again. Here is a set of five problems all about partitioning shapes into a given number of pieces and identifying the fractional amount of each piece. As learners progress through the...

Students explore the various uses of the logistic function. Students use the internet to collect world population data and find a logistic model for their data and use their chosen model to predict future populations.