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...

Wouldn't it be great to work in a candy factory? Learners get their chance as they first design a carton for a candy that meets certain requirements. They then examine and analyze nets and explanations in sample student responses.

Scholars research arm span to determine who gives the best bear hugs. They use data from a national study to find the standard statistics for arm span. It includes mean, median, quartiles, spread, standard deviation, and more.

Become a bean counter. Pupils use a fun activity to design and execute an experiment to determine whether they can grab more beans with their dominant hand or non-dominant hand. They use the class data to create scatter plots and then...

Class members study the size of classmates' feet and perform a statistical analysis of their data. They solve for central tendencies, quartiles, and spread for the entire group as well as subgroups. They then write a conclusion based on...

Sometimes simple is just better. A set of activities teaches young mathematicians about using plausible estimation to solve problems. They break problems down to simpler problems, use rounding and estimation strategies, and consider...

Compare Beethoven's fifth symphony to latin music and disco. Learners will listen to and discuss the elements found in the first part of Beethoven's composition. They'll then look for the same elements in Tito Puente and Bee Gees songs....

Learners work together to determine if smell is important to being able to recongize food by taste. They try different foods with different textures and hold their nose. They create a graph of their results.

Students pretend they are about to buy their first new car. They must do all the calculations necessary to estimate the cost of purchasing the car. They see that the math they learn in school really does have real-life applications.

Sixth graders determine the number of triangles in the Star of David.

Students discover certain equations produce straight lines. In this graphing lesson, students draw axis and problem solve to find coordinates to graph.

Students explore the three dimensional Cartesian coordinate system and discuss how it is important for structural engineers in order to be able to describe locations in space to fellow engineers. They participate in a hands-on activity...

Students complete fraction word problems using TI-Explorer Calculators.

Young scholars solve various word problems that deal with common denominators, and write the mathematical explanations they used to obtain the solutions.

Students predict what sort of activities can be accomplished during the allotted time. For this time lesson, students record their predictions and perform the activities they predicted that they could accomplish within the 20 minute time...

Young scholars discuss elements of word problems: key words, data, computation clues, and unnecessary information and use the four steps of problem solving to find a solution and check for reasonableness.

Students use estimation and fractions and standard units of measure to measure foot strips.

Sixth graders, in groups, are given different parts of the whole project. They use information from Busch Gardens to explore line graphs, averages, and other math vocabulary.

In this solid waste learning exercise, students classify the different types of solid wastes found in landfills into given categories. Students predict and tally the total number of each type of item found in the landfill using slips of...

In this estimating sums and differences practice worksheet, students sharpen their problem solving skills as they solve 6 story problem.

Sixth graders represent division of fractions using manipulatives, such as freezer pops, candy bars, and models such as drawings squares. They develop an algorithm from these examples and solve problems using fractions.

Learners observe termite trail-following behavior.  In this termite trails lesson, students draw a circle or other shape approximately eight inches across with a ball point pen.  Teacher taps out termites into the circle and...

Students pretend they are time-travellers and travel back to 1954 to a McDonald's Restaurant to see how prices have changed. They need to add and subtract money with regrouping.

Learners discuss the nature of fractions and compare fractions based on a similar whole to determine relative size.