Idea Galaxy

Adventures in Junior High and Mathematics

Math Teaching Tips

11 Fun Activities to Practice Two-Way Relative Frequency Tables

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Teaching students about two-way tables in 8th grade is an interesting task. Students obviously have a background in this topic and then they need to take their knowledge to another level. I feel like in situations like this we have to make sure that all students have their background built up. One kid might get the basic idea while others are lost.

We start at a pretty basic level and then work our way up to relative frequencies shown in fractions, decimals, and percents. Most of our bell work during this unit is about converting from fractions to percents. In this post I’ll share 11 activities that range from building students’ background to applying their knowledge by creating and analyzing their own two way tables. [Read more…] about 11 Fun Activities to Practice Two-Way Relative Frequency Tables

11 Triangle Inequality Theorem Activities That Rock

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The triangle inequality theorem is not one of the most glamorous topics in middle school math. It seems to get swept under the rug and no one talks a lot about it. Like most geometry concepts, this topic has a proof that can be learned through discovery. It’s pretty cool when students realize that they can actually figure out if 3 given lines will make a triangle. I love teaching this concept to 7th graders, and I like that it’s not super complicated. Most of my students can get this idea pretty quickly and they enjoy it. I’m excited to share with you 11 activities that will help students get, and remember, the triangle inequality theorem. [Read more…] about 11 Triangle Inequality Theorem Activities That Rock

8 Slope Intercept Word Problems Activities that Rock

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It feels like the biggest emphasis in 8th grade math is slope and y-intercept. This topic is found all over the standards and goes from basic to complicated. In the end, we don’t just want students to know a whole bunch of stuff about linear expressions. We want them to be able to apply what they’ve learned about slope and y-intercept. We want students to interpret situations, make predictions, and solve problems. [Read more…] about 8 Slope Intercept Word Problems Activities that Rock

8 Activities to Make Graphing Lines Awesome

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When you teach pre-algebra or algebra there are some skills that students just need to be good at. Graphing lines falls into this category. Some students really struggle to see the connection between the equation and the line on the graph.

I find that they need to keep seeing this many times and in different ways. Also, it helps a lot if they talk about what’s happening. Sometimes as math teachers we don’t have students explain things enough and we assume that they understand because they get some problems right. So, I’ve put together this collection of activities that will get students lots of fun practice with graphing lines. [Read more…] about 8 Activities to Make Graphing Lines Awesome

10 Activities to Practice Linear Functions Like a Boss

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Slope and y-intercept make up the crux of the 8th grade math standards. We spend 5 full weeks on learning slope and y-intercept and how to apply them, not to mention all the other time throughout the year getting ready to learn about them and then reviewing and applying them. It still surprises me how complex it all becomes. When you come to think of it, students have to identify slope and the y-intercept in various way. They also have to create them in various forms, and they have to be able to interpret them in many forms as well. It can reach a point of overwhelm for both the teacher and the students. Every year I pledge to myself that I will do better to help students reach the understanding they need to have and every year I get closer to that goal. In this post I’ll share ten activity ideas that get students lots of practice with using equations  of linear models to solve problems. [Read more…] about 10 Activities to Practice Linear Functions Like a Boss