Students identify and use the commutative properties of addition and multiplication, associative properties of addition and multiplication, and the distributive property of multiplication over addition.

Students pretend to borrow $1000.00 on a credit card. They pretend to make the minimum payments for a year. When they're done, they make a pie chart showing how much of their payments reduced their debt, and how much was interest.

Learners explore the volume and surface area of three dimensional figures. Through the use of video, students discover three dimensional shapes, their uses in real-life applications, and methods used to calculate their volume and surface...

Young scholars explore the costs of various cell phone plans, and various types of banking accounts to determine which one would yield the highest returns if the money saved from the cell phones were placed in different accounts.

Learners compare and contrast the various types of rocks on each continent. In groups, the calculate the rock ages and types to determine if the continents, in their opinion, were joined at one time. They develop two imaginary...

Eighth graders examine the usefulness of a line of best fit by collecting and graphing data, using a graphing calculator to determine the line of best fit, and making a variety of predictions. They watch a video, then design a...

Context is the key to understanding slope. A real-world application of slope uses a weight loss scenario with a constant rate of change to introduce the concept of slope of a line, before it makes a connection to the ordered pairs...

Examine food labels to determine percentage of fat and sugar to total calories with middle schoolers. Daily nutritional guidelines are discussed and learners will decide how well their foods fit into a healthy diet. In the provided...

Create a math mascot by identifying irrational and rational numbers. Learners will also solve linear equations.

Have your class practice measuring the perimeter of various objects using this resource. Fifth graders place various-sized polygons in order (from largest to smallest). They use non-standard measuring tools to estimate the distance...

Students compare the speed at which they write with their left hand to the speed at which they write with their right hand. The experiment serves as a vehicle to help students develop a conceptual understanding of the three different...

Students perform investigations on the growth of populations and use exponential functions to represent that growth. They watch a video clip of growth patterns. Students work in groups to determine the "population" of each color of...

Students study basic recursion by exploring patterns in the data they generate from two simple probability-based experiments. In the first, students flip a coin to discover how many times they must flip it before it lands on "heads."...

Third graders relate the process of division to subtracting equal groups. Through guided practice and teacher demonstration, they complete division problems using a subtraction method. Students complete problems independently for...

Students explore concept of functions as relationships, as machines, as equations, and as graphs.

Young scholars explore the concept of multiplication by using pizza. They read an article discussing how math is used everyday. They try to determine how many pizzas they would need to feed the class.

Students are introduced to plotting functions on the Cartesian coordinate plane seen several categories of functions, including lines and parabolas

Students find number patterns in the generation of several different types of fractals.

Students work together to discover the flow rates of faucets and rivers. They relate their results to engineering and applied science concepts. They make predictions on the flow rate of a nearby river in their local community.

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...

Young mathematicians extend their knowledge of rational numbers on a number line to graph inequalities by first using number cards to compare rational numbers. They finish by using similar reasoning to graph inequalities on a number line.

There are many different ways to show a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem.  Here is a nice hands-on paper cutting activity that shows a graphic representation. You can even challenge your young Pythagoreans to come up with their own...

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...

Alegebra amateurs identify the slope and the y-intercept given a linear equation in slope-intercept form by correctly completing some in class problems. They write the linear equation in slope-intercept form that corresponds to the given...