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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Math History Can Help Students Overcome Learning Difficulties

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Negative numbers and mathematical notation are better understood by examining how they have been handled throughout history.
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Website
Wolfram Research

Wolfram Math World: World's Most Extensive Mathematics Resource

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
MathWorld provides a huge mathematics encyclopedia detailing the concepts of geometry, algebra, calculus, discrete math, number theory, and other math topics--complete with formulas, diagrams, examples, and references for thorough...
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Website
University of St. Andrews (UK)

University of St. Andrews: Female Mathematicians

For Students 9th - 10th
This University of St. Andrews presents this list of female mathematicians with a description of their contributions to the field.
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Activity
Wolfram Research

Wolfram Math World: History and Terminology Topics

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Biographies of famous mathematicians, the history of math, math notation, and mathematical terminology are several of the topics explored by MathWorld. Each link takes the user to a site with extensive information, detailed sketches, and...
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Timeline of Mathematics

For Students 9th - 10th
Wikipedia gives a timeline of all of the important mathematical accomplishments from 2400 BC to 2002. Most names and concepts are linked to further information specific to that person or idea.
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Activity
Ministry of Education and Universities of the Region of Murcia (Spain)

Ministerio De Educacion Y Ciencia: Historia De Las Matematicas

For Students 9th - 10th
In Spanish. These interactive pages will familiarize you with famous mathematicians. Every era has small reference to the most relevant historical events and their contribution to Mathematics.
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Website
Other

Mathpages.com: History of Mathematics

For Students 9th - 10th
Find the information you need about math history, from Archimedes to Fermat. A great resource for studying the foundations of today's world of mathematics.
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Website
University of St. Andrews (UK)

University of St. Andrews: Mac Tutor History of Mathematics Archive

For Students 9th - 10th
The University of St. Andrews, Scotland, presents hundreds of biographies of famous mathematicians, histories of math in various cultures, and interesting facts on the development of important math concepts. This is a huge reference....
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Unit Plan
University of St. Andrews (UK)

University of St. Andrews: History of Matrices

For Students 9th - 10th
The University of St. Andrews allows you to look through the history of matrices.
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Handout
University of St. Andrews (UK)

University of St. Andrews: Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet

For Students 9th - 10th
A biography of Dirichlet's personal life and on his mathematical findings, mainly in calculus and number theory.
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Website
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

The Math Forum: Famous Problems in the History of Mathematics

For Students 9th - 10th
On this site, there are several math problems to explore and solve. Look through some solutions by famous mathematicians and expand your thinking about some interesting math concepts. Teachers of elementary grades may want to use this...
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Activity
University of St. Andrews (UK)

University of St. Andrews: Trigonometric Functions

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This site from the University of Saint Andrews provides an historical look at the origins of trig functions. This site ties together mathematics and history from Hipparchus to Ptolemy to Lambert.
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Handout
University of St. Andrews (UK)

University of St. Andrews: Prime Numbers

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn the history and mathematicians behind the study of prime numbers.
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Handout
University of St. Andrews (UK)

University of St. Andrews: Nicomachus of Gerasa

For Students 9th - 10th
Many people have used a multiplication table, but most are oblivious that Nicomachus made the first multiplication table in Greek text.
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Handout
University of St. Andrews (UK)

University of St. Andrews: Johann Muller Regiomontanus

For Students 9th - 10th
His work in geometry and trigonometry gave definition to many common terms that we know today.
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Handout
Help Algebra

Help algebra.com: Highlights in Algebra History

For Students 9th - 10th
The progression of algebra history is covered in areas including Egyptian algebra, Babylonian algebra, Arabic algebra, to name a few.
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Article
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

The Math Forum: Pascal and Fermat Beginnings of Probability

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This site describes early applications of probability, the roles of Pascal and Fermat, and the problem of points.
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Handout
Other

Jeff Miller: Earliest Uses of Symbols for Variables

For Students 9th - 10th
This personal site explains how variables began and who were the first to use them.
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Handout
Other

Jeff Miller: Earliest Uses of Various Mathematical Symbols

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Gulf High School explores the earliest uses of various mathematical symbols, words, and terms. A very interesting site.
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Website
Other

Living Math!

For Teachers 1st - 9th
A homeschooling website with a focus on Mathematics. Provides articles, wide-ranging lists of recommended books, Math activity ideas, book reviews, and some sample lessons. (Note: Some links may no longer work.)
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Lesson Plan
University of Houston

University of Houston: Lesson Plan: Famous Mathematicians

For Teachers 6th - 8th
This lesson plan is aimed at 7th and 8th grade students and involves researching famous mathematicians and the import of their contributions.