Make it Middle School

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

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!

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

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.

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.

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 is a culminating task giving students the opportunity to budget for a year while traveling abroad. Students must budget for a 4 month stay in 3 different countries: Australia, Japan, and Thailand. Different job opportunities are provided for each country, and students need to source out and budget for expenses such as accommodation, food, entertainment, etc. The jobs students must select are meant to be unique, generating strong interest. The video is fun and engaging, and there is a wo

This instructional video reviews how a scatterplot is used to determine a relationship between two variables. The video reviews how a two variable data set can also be displayed using circle graphs and double bar graphs. Three different scatterplots show the three kinds of relationships that potentially exist with two variables: positive, negative, and no relationship. The possibility of outliers is also addressed. Like my other instructional math videos, music and gifs help to make the mate

This instructional video goes over four different ways that people can manipulate the way you think about an issue by misrepresenting data on a graph. Whether it be manipulating the y-axis or cherry picking data, the manipulation of information on a graph can be difficult to detect, and students need the critical skills and practise to discern when information might not be as it appears. An assignment where students are asked to practise creating altered graphs is included. A rubric is also i

This video reviews the mean, median, and mode and how to calculate these averages. Further, this video goes over why each of these types of averages are used based on the question that is given. Reference is made to how an outlier can skew a data set, making the mean not the most reliable way to calculate an overall average. As with other videos in my distance learning series, GIFs and music are used to make the content more engaging for students.