Eric Jayne

I made this presentation to introduce my students to percents. I use this as part of my lecture to promote classroom discussion and for students to take notes from. The show walks students through the idea of breaking apart the word percent into per and cent, and it leads students through a look at both of those words/affixes. The goal is to get students to understand that percent means out of 100. The next few slides focus on converting both fractions and decimals into percents. They wal

I use this activity to introduce my students to the concept of square roots. It starts by having students draw as many squares as they can on grid paper. Students are then asked to analyze the squares to see how long their sides are and what their area is (in squares). Once students have that data, they are able to make connections between the length of side and the area (side x side = area). This enables a discussion about square roots and perfect squares, as the students will have essentia

Students have difficulty using protractors to measure angles. This activity is a great starting point for teaching students to use protractors because it takes away the lining up piece (where they struggle) and only requires them to correctly read the angle. Students will also practice drawing an angle using a protractor. This make a great introductory activity before having students actually use a protractor.

This activity has students using base-ten blocks to construct towers. The idea is to build the tallest tower using the least amount of blocks. The blocks are given a dollar value, and students must figure out the cost per height of their towers. This is a timed problem-solving activity. I put students in pairs and record each group's results on the board. It's fun to see the different ways students attempt to build their towers. I will record the tallest and most cost effective tower and l

I made this file to help introduce students to ratios. It's a 6 slide PowerPoint presentation that walks students through what a ratio is, when you use them, and how to write them. This is a great supplement to your ratios teaching. Be sure to view it as a show. By the way, I have another one of these files for proportions.

I made this PowerPoint to introduce students to polygons so that I could focus on quadrilaterals. This is 16-slide show that is intended to be a teaching tool that students can take notes from and a teacher can lead a discussion from. The slides give definitions and examples of polygons, including the different types of quadrilaterals.

Maps are a great way to examine proportions because they are drawn to scale using proportions. In this activity, students use the classroom map and a ruler to figure out the actual size of states and actual distances between locations in the United States. Students use the map scale (i.e., 1 inch = 30 miles) to set up a proportion with the measurements they get. This is a fun way to get students up and moving and practicing proportions in a real-world context.

In this activity, students will be planning a Halloween party for their class. They will need to "purchase" supplies for their party using a budget that you set. I set a budget that forces the students to make budget choices, i.e., I don't give them enough to buy everything they want. Students will work in partners to plan their party, making decisions based on their budget constraints. Students are also asked to perform some data analysis on the party choices. This is a good activity to do

I made this presentation to help teach divisibility rules and prime and composite numbers. The show starts with a warm-up that requires a hundred chart. Students use the chart to identify composite numbers, and in the process uncover prime numbers. The following slides guide students through a review of multiples and factors and the discovery of divisibility rules.

I've bundled together my 3 ratios and proportions activity. Included in this download are 2 slideshows that can be used to introduce students to ratios and proportions. These shows will assist you in a classroom discussion/lecture on the topics, and they are a great resource for students to take notes from. The last file in this download is an activity requiring students to use the classroom map and its scale (i.e., 1 inch = 500 miles) to figure out the actual sizes and distances of objects o

This PowerPoint can be used to introduce students to graphing linear equations. It should be played as a slideshow, where it steps students through linear equations by starting with the basic idea of graphing a function. The presentation ramps up to focusing on real-life situations that might be represented by a function. The show ends by looking at different graphs and asking students to think of a real-world situation that might match the given graph.

I use this PowerPoint presentation to introduce (or in some cases review) our statistics unit. It starts off with a warm-up where students measure each other to capture some class data on height. Then the slides go through key vocabulary words, like mean, median, mode, range, outlier, data set, and cluster. Each of those slides provides a definition that students can take notes from and an example. At the end of the presentation, students are encouraged to apply these statistical measures to

This sheet assesses students basic understanding of decimals. Students are asked to identify the value of digits in decimals, write decimals in standard and word form, plot decimals on a number line, order decimals, and convert decimals to fractions and fractions to decimals.

I made this file to help introduce students to proportions. It's a 4 slide PowerPoint presentation that walks students through what a proportion is, when you use them, and how to solve them. This is a great supplement to your proportions teaching. Be sure to view it as a show.

I made this slideshow to introduce my students to the concept of simplifying fractions. The presentation provides a definition of simplifying fractions, an explanation for greatest common factor (GCF), and shows two methods for simplifying fractions. One method involves using GCF, and the other method involves using any factor. Lastly, there is a slide of practice problems to guide students through.

I made this PowerPoint slideshow to introduce my students to fractions. I use it on day 1 of my fractions unit to review/introduce what a fraction is and some of the key terms associated with fractions. The show covers that fractions can be a part of a group or part of a set. Multiple representation of fractions are given, including number lines, various wholes, and sets. The show ends by asking students to identify the fraction represented on a few slides.

I made this problem-solving assignment based on an actual phone call that a customer had with his cell phone provider. The customer and the company disagree about his bill. The company quoted him .002 cents per kilobyte, but they charged him as if his rate was .002 dollars per kilobyte. The phone company contends there is no difference between .002 dollars and .002 cents, while the customer is trying to get them to understand that they are. The actual phone call can easily be found on the web

One of the areas that students seem to struggle with the most is problem-solving. This download contains my basic plan to approaching problem-solving. It's a plan that has produced solid results for me. Included in the download are the following: a definition of problem-solving from the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics that I use as a poster in my room; an explanation of using a 4-step approach to problem-solving (I send this to parents); a student planner that my students use eve