Think, question, brainstorm, and make your way through a newsletter full of puzzles and word problems. The resource includes 10 different newsletters, all with interesting problems, to give class members an out-of-the box...

If you think Dr. Seuss has no place in a math classroom, then take a look at this resource. Based on the classic children's book Green Eggs and Ham, this sequence of activities engages children learning to model real-world contexts...

Learners demonstrate their knowledge pictorially, concretely, and abstractly in this unit meant to last three hours over three days. Using hands-on activities, manipulatives,  real-world applications, and problem...

Help young mathematicians crack the code of word problems with this three-lesson series on problem solving. Walking students step-by-step through the process of identifying key information, creating algebraic equations, and finally...

Give your class a concrete example of exponential growth and decay using this hands-on activity. These Algebra II lessons allow for the exploration of exponential growth and decay models, as well as the discovery of the patterns of...

An interesting way to look at the kitchen floor is to count the number of tiles in the border. Fred starts with four white floor tiles and writes an expression for the number of tiles needed for the colored border. Algebra learners are...

Here is a multiple choice question that would make a good assessment question. Algebra students are to look at the structure of the formula for a given radius of a cylinder and find the resulting radius when the height of the...

The balance in an account continuously compounding interest is the context of this engaging task. Your young accountants will investigate the ending balance in an account as they compound the interest more and more. Learners write the...

Upper elementary and middle school learners explore currencies from a variety of countries. They use the Internet, video, and engage in hands-on activities. They practice converting U.S. currency to foreign currency and vice versa. This...

Can your mathematicians come up with an easy way to convert miles to kilometers? Start by asking learners to write an algebraic expression for each of the descriptions given. Once they determine that they are both the same, ask...

Many organizations put on barbecues in order to make money. In a real-world math problem, the money allotted to purchase steak and chicken at this barbecue is only one hundred dollars. It is up to your potential chefs to figure out how...

Your young physicists analyze the forms of four equivalent exponential expressions representing an amount of a radioactive material in a substance. They show how each expression is equivalent to the others and what aspects of the decay...

Sometimes people who seem to lead what would be considered an ordinary life do extraordinary things. Such was the case with Oseola McCarty, who donated a large sum of money for a university scholarship fund in her name. Oseala lived her...

Challenge algebra learners to use the difference of cubes to solve this problem. Once your charges have taken out the factor (a - b), combined the like terms and set them equal to zero, the problem becomes a factorable quadratic...

Algebra learners can always relate to ice cream. In this case, a carton of ice cream has been at room temperature for t minutes. Given an expression for the temperature of the ice cream, it is up to your number crunchers to...

Your learners will enjoy thoroughly understanding fractions, and you will appreciate the abundant, quality resources in this comprehensive unit that builds toward a complete understanding of the concept of fractions as numbers. Many...

Designed as a follow-up to the lesson plan titled Watch Out for Parenthesis 1, this activity asks young learners to write an equation for the calculation described with words rather than numbers and symbols. The treasure that 5th...

With algebra tiles in hand 7th graders will uncover the wonders of the distributive property of multiplication. They will take a pre-test, define the distributive property, then model and practice using their tiles to solve basic...

Your young landscapers do concentration calculations in this problem dealing with mixing fertilizer. Learners use and analyze rational expressions within this context.

While this activity is centered around expressions that represent the perimeter of a rectangle, it also hits at the fundamental concept of equivalent expressions, simplifing expressions, and like-terms. Classmates express their...

We use debt often to describe negative numbers and your learners will be able to see how it translates into math. They will be asked to go through a series of transactions and make simple equations for each one, following it with a...

Taxi! Have your travelers figure out how far they can go in a taxi for $10.00. They must account for the mileage rate and tip in their calculation. They can set up a table or make an equation to solve for the exact mileage they can...

Playing with values in this fruit salad problem allows learners to find out how many cherries were mixed in. Your middle schoolers can organize their thoughts in a chart before going into the equation. Eigth graders can skip the chart...

Inquiry-based learning and investigations form the basis of a deep understanding of quadratic functions in a very thorough unit plan.  Learners develop recursive and closed methods for representing real-life situations,...