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Number and Operations

Birthdays and the Binary System

6-8
This lesson is a collection of three activities, all of which revolve around patterns and place value in the binary system. Grades 5‑8 students are drawn into the mathematics by the "magical" ability to guess an unknown number and by the use of birthdays, something they find very relevant. This lesson plan is adapted from the September 1997 edition of Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School.
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Algebra

Bouncing Tennis Balls

6-8
Students develop their skills in collecting and recording data using the real-world situation of a bouncing tennis ball. They use the data collected to formulate the relationship between the dependent and independent variable in their experiment.
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Algebra

Building Bridges

6-8
In this lesson, students transition from arithmetic to algebraic thinking by exploring problems that are not limited to single-solution responses. Values organized into tables and graphs are used to move toward symbolic representations. Problem situations involving linear, quadratic, and exponential models are employed. This lesson is based upon the article "Building Bridges to Algebraic Thinking" by Roger Day, which appeared in the February 1997 edition of Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School.
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Number and Operations

Grid and Percent It

6-8
In this lesson, students use a 10 × 10 grid as a model for solving various types of percent problems. This model offers a means of representing the given information as well as suggesting different approaches for finding a solution. This lesson is adapted from "A Conceptual Model for Solving Percent Problems," which originally appeared in Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, Vol. 1, No. 1 (April 1994), pp. 20-25.
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Number and Operations

The Factor Game

6-8
The Factor Game engages students in a friendly contest in which winning strategies involve distinguishing between numbers with many factors and numbers with few factors. Students are then guided through an analysis of game strategies and introduced to the definitions of prime and composite numbers.
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Measurement

Finding Our Top Speed

6-8
This lesson sets the stage for a discussion of travel in the solar system. By considering a real-world, hands-on activity, students develop their understanding of time and distance. Finally, students plot the data they have collected.
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Number and Operations

Fun with Baseball Stats

6-8
The following grades 6-8 activities allow students to explore statistics surrounding baseball. They are exposed to connections between various mathematical concepts and see where this mathematics is used in areas with which they are familiar. This lesson plan is adapted from the May 1996 edition of Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. 
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Geometry

Blue Squares and Beyond

6-8
This Internet Mathematics Excursion is a pre-activity for E-example 6.3 from the NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. This is the first in a sequence of four lessons designed for students to understand ratio, proportion, scale factor, and similarity. This lesson invites students to manipulate two rectangles to create examples of similarity and to study the effects on area ratios. Students sketch similar figures, verify proportionality, and apply these concepts to structures in their world.
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Geometry

Go With Green Rectangles

6-8
This Internet Mathematics Excursion is based on E-example 6.3 from the NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. This is the second in a sequence of four lessons designed for students to understand ratio, proportion, scale factor, and similarity using perimeter and area of various rectangular shapes. Students manipulate 2-dimensional rectangles to focus on the relationship between the scale factor and ratio of perimeters of similar rectangles, and the relationship between scale factor and ratio of areas of similar rectangles.
Geometry

Purple Prisms

6-8
This Internet Mathematics Excursion is based on E-example 6.3.2 from the NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. This is the last activity in a sequence of four lessons designed for students to understand scale factor and surface area of various rectangular prisms. Students manipulate the scale factor that links two three-dimensional rectangular prisms to learn about edge lengths and surface area relationships.