Combining like terms is such an important topic in 7th and 8th grade math. As teachers it often seems so intuitive to us that terms have to be alike in order to be combined. For some reason, though, many students need a lot of repetitions to really get this concept down pat. Even though we may teach combining like terms in isolation for a day or 2, it shows up again and again, incorporated into so many other middle school math concepts we study. So, I want to make sure that my students get the practice they need, dispersed throughout the year. Here’s 12 activities I use throughout the year to get students lots of practice combining like terms. [Read more…] about 12 Combining Like Terms Activities That Rock
Math Teaching Tips
11 Activities That Make Identifying Slope Easy
Teaching slope is one of the most foundational topics that we teach in middle grades. If we don’t do it right the first time, we have to play catch-up for a long time. My earliest experiences teaching slope were frustrating because I didn’t understand what made it complicated for students. Students have to be able to find slope on a table, a graph, two coordinate points, a verbal description, and in an equation. When you lay those all out and count them up, that’s a lot of things to understand. I used to go too far, too fast. I mean, think about it. When kids learned how to count, they had years to get the numbers down. I could be patient and take the time necessary to give them a solid foundation with slope. [Read more…] about 11 Activities That Make Identifying Slope Easy
7 Off the Chart Activities for Teaching Analyzing Function Graphs
Some of the students that I work with really struggle to do a lot of calculations. They have a hard time remembering a lot of steps when we do complicated algorithms. The topic of analyzing function graphs is one that they can get by just focusing on a few things. The graphs don’t have numbers on them. Instead, they’re based on the change in something over time (and sometimes it’s something besides time). [Read more…] about 7 Off the Chart Activities for Teaching Analyzing Function Graphs
Teaching Linear versus Nonlinear Functions through Discovery
A few years ago when I was co-teaching with one of my colleagues I wanted to try out the concept of discovery learning. I saw something about it in the resources we were using. So, I thought we could give it a try.
We were going to be teaching the difference between linear and nonlinear functions. It seems like a really simple concept. You just look at the graph and if it’s a straight line, then it’s a linear function. And if it’s not a straight line, then it’s a nonlinear function. But, as all teachers know, nothing is that simple. You don’t just tell kids stuff and they remember it. You can’t just talk about something for 10 minutes and then kids remember forever. If it were that simple, then we really wouldn’t need teachers. [Read more…] about Teaching Linear versus Nonlinear Functions through Discovery
5 Activities to Make NOT Dividing by Zero Memorable
Usually, we teach kids how to do something. Then, every once in a while, we have to teach kids how to NOT do something. In 7th grade math, for example, one of the objectives is for students to know that you can’t divide by zero. That seems simple enough, but there isn’t a lot of meat there. How do you practice not dividing by zero? How do you make it memorable enough that students will remember? Well, I’ve searched out some ideas to make this concept truly memorable. Remember, kids don’t just remember something because we tell them. They have to have meaningful experiences with the concept. [Read more…] about 5 Activities to Make NOT Dividing by Zero Memorable
