Make it Middle School

Inspired by Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl, this math content bundle encourages your students to think creatively and collectively.  The tasks in this bundle are designed to have your students working together in a vertical learning format.  All 171 problems focus on the standards and expectations in a middle school math class.  These problems, although designed for group work, can also be used for assessment and individual practice.

Vertical learning can transform a math classroom. When students get out of their chairs and work on non-permanent surfaces, they start to communicate and think more effectively. The following set of 67 problems are examples of activities I use to engage student thinking. The problems allow students to approach math from more than one perspective. As my school year progressed, I would randomly use different problems to review concepts taught earlier in the semester. These problems and this approa

If you are a middle school teacher, the following list of comments is a must have. The comments are grouped by subject, strand, and level. The Learning Skills section comes with a variety of paragraphs based on skill level and behaviour. Simply copy and paste these comments into your report cards and change the name. These comments are specifically written for students in grade 7 and grade 8.

Problem Solving is the cornerstone of a successful math program. The following 25 problems can be used individually or with groups. A problem solving rubric is included to help assess a student's ability to communicate their understanding and mathematical processes. I have used these problems successfully in my 20 years as a middle school teacher, and I have grouped them according to strand. Enjoy!

If you are a middle school teacher, the following list of comments is a must have. The comments are grouped by subject, strand, and level. The Learning Skills section comes with a variety of paragraphs based on skill level and behaviour. Simply copy and paste these comments into your report cards and change the name. These comments are specifically written for students in grade 7 and grade 8 but they can be modified for other grades. Some of the learning skills paragraphs are also written with t

As a teacher, your job is no easy feat. From developing lesson plans and evaluating student progress to participating in extra-curricular activities and communicating with parents, you have a full plate of responsibilities. And when report card time comes around, it's yet another task to add to the list. To help lighten the load, this database of report card comments provides a head start on your writing. All 4 levels are written with appropriate qualifiers and next steps, and the comments are f

Vertical learning can transform a math classroom.  When students get out of their chairs and work on non-permanent surfaces, they start to communicate and think more effectively.The following set of 80 problems are examples of activities I use to engage student thinking.  The problems allow students to approach math from more than one perspective.  As my school year progressed, I would randomly use different problems to review concepts taught earlier in the semester.  These problems and this app

At the best of times, the study of fractions is still a difficult thing to do. The following game is meant to make fractions a little more fun. After you have worked through some of the basic operations and problem solving, this Powerpoint game can be used to assess student understanding. Students can also be put into groups and play against each other. You can modify some of the questions without changing the programming of the game too. It’s both fun and diagnostic at the same time!

Once students have reviewed all four operations with integers, have them put their knowledge to work creating a game where other students guess their integers based on clues they provide. Samples are provided which model what students are expected to do.

These algebra riddles are a great way for kids to think creatively and imaginatively about algebra, variables, and equations.  There are 25 different puzzles, labelled as either easy, medium, or difficult. With medium and difficult puzzles, students may need to go through guess and checks, or they might need to rework equations and substitute into other equations. These puzzles serve as models for your students to create their own.  Although it’s algebra, the themes are meant for kids to have f

This package of video content will help students with general number theory. Topics include prime and composite numbers, square roots, prime factorization, scientific notation, common factors and common multiples, and BEDMAS. To help with student attention and interest, GIFs and music are used to make the instruction more dynamic.

The video "Did You Know" has many interesting statistics about the world we live in. Whether it be the number of jobs a person will have in their life, or the number of users on Facebook, the world looks a lot different than it did 30, 20, even 10 years ago! An interesting comment comes up on this video. At one point, there is a suggestion that “we live in exponential times.” The purpose of this data management assignment is to try to understand what it means to live in exponential times. T

The follow group of videos include such lessons as two variable data sets (scatterplots), histograms, calculating averages, and how graphs can misrepresent data. There are a variety of assignments and assessment rubrics included with these instructional videos.

This instructional video takes students through the step by step process of building a histogram. Topics that are covered include calculating the range, creating a frequency table based on student determined intervals, and building the histogram. Similar to other lessons in my distance learning math series, GIFs and music are used to make the material a bit more fun and interesting for students.

This video reviews how to determine the general term of a sequence (the algebraic expression). Students review how to set up a table of values and then solve for the general term by determining the multiplier and constant for each pattern. The final example before the video quiz also goes over the strategy for solving a decreasing linear pattern. As with other videos in my distance learning series, music and GIFs are used to help with student interest and engagement.

Teaching students how to do operational work with integers is an important skill, yet students must also learn to think more deeply about integers. Creating riddles is a good way for your students to work with sets of different number and work beyond operational questions. This product has a couple of examples for students to use as models when they create their own integer riddles.

This video reviews how to graph a linear pattern. Two different patterns are placed on the same graph so that students can see how the slope changes depending on the pattern rule. The lesson concludes with a brief introduction to the run and rise of a line created by graphing a linear pattern. As with other videos in my distance learning series, music and GIFs are incorporated to make the instruction more engaging for students.

The video "Did You Know" has many interesting statistics about the world we live in. Whether it be the number of jobs a person will have in their life, or the number of users on Facebook, the world looks a lot different than it did 30, 20, even 10 years ago! An interesting comment comes up on this video. At one point, there is a suggestion that “we live in exponential times.” The purpose of this data management assignment is to try to understand what it means to live in exponential times. T

This lesson and assignment introduce students to the steps needed to purchase a car. Steps include calculating tax, factoring in a down payment, calculating simple interest on a loan, and determining either monthly or biweekly payments. As with other videos in my distance learning math series, GIFs and music are used to make the lesson more engaging for students.

This video walks students through the definition of scientific notation and how to convert a number in standard form to one in scientific notation. GIFs and fun music are used to help with student interest and engagement. Like other videos in my distance learning series, this lesson is meant to offer a review of the concept. No work is assigned.