Middle School Mathematics

Number and Number Sense

6.1 The student will identify representations of a given percent and describe orally and in writing the equivalence relationship between fractions, decimals, and percents.

6.4 The student will compare and order whole numbers, fractions, and decimals, using concrete materials, drawings or pictures, and mathematical symbols.

7.1 The student will compare, order, and determine equivalent relationships between fractions, decimals, and percents, including scientific notation.

C/T SOL 8.1 Communicate with spreadsheets by entering data and setting up formulas, analyzing data, and creating graph or charts to visually represent data.

Strategies:

Students can use a spreadsheet to organize and group equivalent fraction, decimal and percent representations of given numbers. Students can enter formulas to generate the different forms. Comparing graphs of the various representations will allow students to visually note their equivalence or relative size.

Resource

ClarisWorks or other spreadsheet program with graphing capabilities.

Web sites:
Lesson Plans

7.3 The student will simplify expressions by using the order of operations, mental mathematics, and appropriate tools. Exponents will be included.

7.4 The student will explain orally and in writing the following properties of operations with real numbers: commutative, associative, distributive, identity, inverse and multiplicative property of zero.

8.2 The student will simplify numerical expressions involving exponents, using the order of operations.

8.3 The student will describe orally and in writing the relationship between the subsets of the real number system.

C/T SOL 8.1: Integrate databases, graphics, and spreadsheets into word-processed documents.

Computation and Estimation

6.8 The student will solve multi-step consumer application problems involving fractions and decimals and present data and conclusions in paragraphs, tables, or graphs.

7.5 The student will solve consumer application problems involving tips, discounts, sales tax, and simple interest, using whole numbers, fractions, decimals and percents.

7.6 The student will explain the need for integers, using examples from real-life situations.

8.4 The student will solve practical problems involving whole numbers, integers, and rational numbers, including percents. Problems will be of varying complexities, involving real-life data.

T/C SOL 8.1 Integrate databases, graphics, and spreadsheets into word-processed documents.

T/C SOL 8.4 Use search strategies to retrieve electronic information. Use databases to perform research

Strategies

Students may research to find real data for creating their own problems. The final product could include imported tables or charts as well as the word processed problem explanation.

Resources

ClarisWorks or other integrated software program.

Web sites

Kent

Explorer

Disney

Measurement and Geometry

6.12 The student will create and solve problems finding the circumference and/or area of a circle when given the diameter or radius. Using concrete materials or computer models, the student will derive the approximations for pi from measurements for circumference and diameter.

6.14 The student will identify, classify, and describe the characteristics of plane figures including similarities and differences.

6.15 The student will determine congruence of segments angles, and polygons by direct comparison, given their attributes. Examples of congruent and non-congruent figures will be included.

7.8 The student, given appropriate dimensions, will estimate and find the area of polygons by subdividing them into rectangles and right triangles.

7.10 The student will compare and contrast the following quadrilaterals: parallelogram, rectangle, square, rhombus, and trapezoid. Deductive reasoning and inference will be used to classify quadrilaterals.

7.12 The student will determine if geometric figures (quadrilaterals and triangles) are similar and write proportions to express the relationships between corresponding parts of similar figures.

8.10 The student will describe, classify, and construct plane figures and solid figures, including prisms, pyramids, cylinders, and cones.

8.11 The student will verify the Pythagorean Theorem by measuring and then applying the Pythagorean Theorem to find the missing length of a side of a right triangle when the lengths of the other two sides are given.

C/T SOL 8.1 The student will communicate through application software.

Strategies

Students can use Geometer's Sketchpad to draw, transform, measure, and explore
relationships among shapes.

Resources

Geometer's Sketchpad

Geometry

Geometer's Sketchpad web sites: On-line demonstration lessons available at: Sketchpad

Sketchpad Activities

Probability and Statistics

6.18 The student, given a problem situation, will collect, analyze, display, and interpret data in a variety of graphical methods, including line, bar, and circle graphs and stem-and-leaf and box-and-whisker plots.

6.19 The student will describe the mean, median, and mode as measures of a central tendency and determine their meaning for a set of data.

7.19 The student will create and solve problems involving the mean, median, mode, and range of a set of data.

7.20 The student will display data, using frequency distributions, line plots, stem-and-leaf plots, box-and-whisker plots, and scattergrams.

7.21 The student will make inferences and predictions bases on the analysis of a set of data that the students collect.

8.13 The student will use information displayed in line, bar, circle, and picture graphs and histograms to make comparisons, prediction, and inferences.

C/T SOL's 8.1 Communicate with spreadsheets by entering data, setting up formulas, analyzing data and creating graphs or charts to visually represent data. Integrate databases, graphics, and spreadsheets into word-processed documents.

8.4 Use search strategies to retrieve electronic information. Use electronic encyclopedias, almanacs, indexes, and catalogs to retrieve and select relevant information. Use databases to perform research. Strategies

MM exercise. This may be expanded and modified to fit any sort of data gathering activity. Students may progress from gathering data through direct physical experiments to gathering data from on-line sources (i.e. population figures, minimum wage throughout history, immigration numbers, consumer prices, etc.) to computer simulations for data gathering. The TI graphing calculators can easily be programmed to run simulations of coin flips, dice rolls, etc.)

Resources

ClarisWorks and graphing calculators

Web sites

Swarthmore

General Mathematics Web Sites

Math Lesson Plans

More Lesson plans

Toronto math

Math Resources

Explorer math

Middle School Math

UMICH math resources

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Send all additional ideas, resouces, or notices of dead links to C. Shields