Illustrative Mathematics
Sugar in Six Cans of Soda
Understanding how to multiply a whole number by a fraction is the key concept. Young mathematicians create a visual model of this real-world example and find the solution. Extensions are possible for making this an even richer activity....
Yummy Math
Starbucks Drinks
The casual language and popular topic will make this assignment all the more engaging for your middle school math class. They use Starbucks beverage sales and nutrition values to practice ratios, proportions, statistics, and...
Yummy Math
Hot Summer. . . Cold Winter
A table of each state's record temperature reports data that middle schoolers can place on a number line for analysis. A written explanation of how to use this tool and the concept of absolute value are also included. Nine questions are...
Illustrative Mathematics
Jumping Flea
Mathematics minors consider the magnitude of a jumping flea as he hops from place to place. Through this exercise, they will investigate absolute values, as well as positive and negative rational numbers on a number line. The first page...
Curated OER
Fish Tale
Here is a cute problem that requires visualizing two-dimensional shapes within a three-dimensional object, and using properties of triangles and the Pythagorean theorem to solve a real-world problem. There is a small mistake in this...
Curated OER
Explaining the equation for a circle
By first starting with an explicit example of a radius and center point, this challenging lesson tries to help high schoolers gain an understanding of the Pythagorean theorem and the equation of a circle. Once they have accomplished the...
Agile Mind
Cake Weighing
An online set of four yummy questions addresses number sense for sixth graders. They place points on a number line, determine relative values, interpret absolute value, and apply their understanding to the weighing of cakes for a bakery....
Curated OER
Unit Squares and Triangles
This is an interesting geometry problem. Given the figure, find the area of a triangle that is created by the intersecting lines. The solution requires one to use what he/she knows about coordinate geometry, as well as triangle and angle...
Curated OER
Inscribing a Hexagon in a Circle
This activity is a follow-on activity to inscribing a square in a circle. The overall problem is more complex. It deals with geometric constructions, properties of triangles, and regular hexagons. The final part of the activity finds the...
Illustrative Mathematics
6.EE.4 Equivalent Expressions
Straight to the point, learners are asked to compare a set of five expressions, determine which are equivalent, and then write equivalent equations for those that do not have any. A benefit is that they will review using properties of...
Illustrative Mathematics
Triangular Tables
Somewhat of a puzzle, this problem gets pre-algebra preteens to write an expression representing a seating chart using triangle-shaped tables. This single task is an applicable lesson for meeting sixth grade Common Core math standards....
Illustrative Mathematics
Distance to School
A single problem requires learners to write two expressions representing the total distance between a student's home and school over a time span of four weeks. A thorough commentary follows that will help you explore the solutions with...
Yummy Math
Movies ~ Oscars 2013
Using a popular topic, the movies, your class can meet a Common Core criterion. They compare box office movie returns, adjust older movies' incomes for inflation, and in this way use the four operations to solve real-world problems. This...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Using Positive and Negative Numbers in Context
Measure the temperature of your math class with a temperature-based lesson on adding and subtracting rational numbers. The thermometer serves as a vertical number line for learners as they work together to solve a temperature change...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Taxi Cabs
A simple real-world problem involving taxi cab fares is used to practice the multplicaiton and division of integers. How many of two different-sized taxis are needed to transport 75 people to the airport? What is the least expensive...
Illustrative Mathematics
The Marble Jar
A jar is filled with 1,500 marbles and customers of a bank can enter a contest to guess the correct percentage of blue marbles. How can an employee at the bank estimate the actual percentage without physically counting all 1,500 marbles?...
Illustrative Mathematics
Average Cost
Here is an activity that presents a good example of a function modeling a relationship between two quantities. John is making DVDs of his friend's favorite shows and needs to know how much to charge his friend to cover the cost of making...
Illustrative Mathematics
Influenza epidemic
This activity presents a real-world problem about an epidemic of influenza spreading through a city. Learners refer to a graph that shows the number of individuals infected in relation to the number of weeks that have elapsed since the...
Illustrative Mathematics
Graphs of Quadratic Functions
The equations look different, but their graphs are the same. How can that be? This activity leads your mathematicians in an exploration of three different forms of the same quadratic function. After comparing the equations, their graphs,...
Shodor Education Foundation
Algorithm Discovery with Venn Diagrams
Here is a lesson that takes an interesting approach to analyzing data using box and whisker plots. By using an applet that dynamically generates Venn diagrams, the class forms a strategy/algorithm for guessing the rule that fits the...
Illustrative Mathematics
Kimi and Jordan
A single activity gets your math class to solve a word problem using two linear equations and two variables. They compare the summer earnings of Kimi and Jordan and then graph the solutions to determine who will save the most money in a...
Illustrative Mathematics
Solving Equations
If you have two bags with an unknown number of tiles, represented by x, and you add three tiles to get seven total, you can set up a linear equation to represent the problem. Use this example and a few others to demonstrate how to solve...
Curated OER
Modeling: Having Kittens
Cats can't add, but they do multiply! Determine the number of descendants of a single cat given specific facts about cats and kittens. The lesson focuses on developing strategies for problem solving using both individual and group work....
Illustrative Mathematics
Congruent Triangles
Geometers prove that triangle PQR is congruent to triangle ABC by describing any combination of rotations, reflections, and translations that would prove it so. There is only this single task on the handout, but a detailed explanation of...