Avoid the trap of memorizing steps when completing the square with a resources that provides a conceptual approach to completing the square. Learners that are able to recognize a perfect square trinomial are ready to complete the...

How many pennies does each person get? There are four visual division problems for young mathematicians to solve, and they divide 12 pennies among a set of people for each. They draw the coins above each recipient and then write the...

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...

Make a game out of solving equations. This particular activity works well for pairs of learners. Follow the instructions to have player one pick a number and player two verbally give an equation. Participants need to make sense of a...

Don't let the rules overrule the lesson. Mental math steps in and helps learners understand exponent patterns. The material focuses on the introductory problems of exponents, such as simplifying expressions. Teacher guides are...

Bring out the pegboards for this one! As you introduce multiplication, explain it as sets of objects using these visual practice problems. Learners look at eight pegboards with varying rows filled. For each, they fill in two sentences...

Sidewalk patterns ... it's definitely not foursquare! Learners investigate patterns in sidewalk blocks, write an expression to represent the pattern, and then solve problems using the expressions.

Take some intellectual fun and apply it to the concept of multiplying expressions together. A guide models how to break two numbers into an area model to multiply together in pieces similar to FOILing. The rest of the puzzles consist of...

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...

Math really is just one big puzzle waiting to be solved. Show learners that math can be intriguing and provide them with visually engaging problems and puzzles. The focus is on solving simple equations and looking at expressions. 

Students apply their knowledge of math by rewriting word problems using equations. In this word problem lesson, students build upon previous knowledge as they set up the correct steps to solve word problems. This lesson is full of hints...

Develop an understanding of the properties of exponents through this series of activities. This third lesson of 15 explores the patterns associated with the power property. Scholars expand the powers before applying the property.

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...

Don't just go through the steps to solve an algebraic equation, show learners how to balance an equation with visual models. The packet introduces the idea of mobile balances to reinforce the idea that both sides must match to make the...

Scholars learn how to write number theory proofs by viewing a video reviewing techniques for proofs on divisibility, parity, and consecutive integers. They then write proofs for a handful of conjectures on a activity.

Four 4s represent the counting numbers. Pupils attempt to write equivalent expressions to as many counting numbers as possible using only four 4s. Scholars then determine whether the same feat is possible using only three 3s.

Young mathematicians first graph a series of quadratic equations, and then investigate how various parts of the equation change the graph of the function in a predictable way.

This is a comprehensive lesson on creating and solving equations and systems of equations and inequalities. Problems range from basic linear equations to more complex systems of equations and inequalities based on a real-world examples....

Reinforce the multiplying by nine as a number pattern. After completing sequences of the multiples of nine, pupils decipher a pattern in the entire nine times tables. Finally, they write down any patterns that they see. A great way to...

Do your mathematicians know how to use parentheses in equations? Give them a activity to hone their skills in order of operations. They work out 20 simple problems involving parentheses, then choose which problem out of six adds up to a...

How many total tiles does it take to tile a table top? Learners apply geometric concepts to determine the number of tiles needed for a specific square table top, and then use the result to create expressions for the number of tiles...

There are many ways to correlate coffee to life, but in this case a worksheet looks at the price of two different sizes of coffee. It requires interpreting a graph with two unknown variables, in this case the price, and solving for...

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...

Explore linear programming on a website game. Partners solve a real-world problem by setting up an objective function and a linear inequality. They graph their results on chart paper and also using a calculator before presenting their...