Six getting to know you activities to learn about your middle school math students at the beginning of the school year or marking period.
Looking for some fun middle school activities to incorporate in your math lessons? Trying to come up with fun ideas that fit your curriculum? Here are 20 great activities and project ideas! There are three main themes to the activities listed below: real life, food (perfect for those hungry pre-teens!), and creativity. The instructions for all activities can be easily modified for students in Grade 6, Grade 7, and Grade 8. If your child is home-schooled, or you are just looking for additional home learning tasks, then these activities are perfect for you! All of the materials can easily be found in your home.
Middle school math coloring worksheets offer a unique and engaging way for students to practice and reinforce essential math skills. These worksheets combine the academic rigor of math concepts with the creativity of coloring, making learning enjoyable for middle school students. Designed to cater to the needs of students in grades 6 to 8, these worksheets cover a wide variety of topics, including fractions, decimals, algebra, geometry, and more. By incorporating coloring into math practice, these worksheets provide an effective means of keeping young minds focused and motivated.
I started putting together these math joke of the week posters at the end of last school year. I'm super excited about how it turned out. I put the finishing
Use this fantastic pentomino exploration as a first day of math class activity in middle school. You'll learn so much about your students!
Free printable PDF math templates for algebra, algebra 2 and even geometry, some of which will work great in middle school math. I LOVE math templates. It makes life so much easier to know my warm up is all set to go. When I first wrote this post, I had only made 4 Algebra and Algebra 2 templates. Since then, I've added a whole bunch more.
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There are so many ways to use math task cards in upper elementary and middle school. This game uses math task cards with a bit of a twist!
When I first started teaching there was only one word to describe the start of class – chaos.I remember standing in front of my class as the bell rang wondering how on earth I was going to get their attention.With half the class talking, 5 kids walking around the room, and 2 more coming in late, it
Ready to make math centers work in shorter middle school class periods? Get the details - structure, scheduling, activities, and more!
Comprehensive Middle School Math Intervention Plan for Pre-Algebra & Algebra Readiness Boost Middle School Math Skills with Our Tailored Intervention Program! Designed specifically for middle school students needing extra support in math, this effective math intervention plan targets foundational skills essential for success in Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1. With 13 structured lessons, this plan is a crucial tool for educators looking to bridge skill gaps and strengthen students' mathematical foundations. What’s Included ? ✅ Multiple Lesson Components: Each lesson includes a warm-up, exit ticket, a minimum of two dynamic activities, comprehensive notes, guided and independent practice, interactive games, and answer keys. ✅ Tracking Tools: Data tracking sheets and intervention plan sheets to monitor student progress effectively. ✅ Digital Convenience: A Google Slides version is included for easy digital access and interactive learning. ✅ Diverse Topic Coverage: Understanding and Operations with Integers Order of Operations Decimal Operations Expanded Form and Exponents The Distributive Property Conversion and Calculations with Fractions, Decimals, and Percents Percent of a Number, Proportions, and Unit Rates Analyzing Proportions and Scale Writing Equations ❤️ Note: These lessons are tailored for small group interventions, offering a more focused and personalized learning experience. ❤️ Perfect for: Educators seeking targeted math support tools, Intervention Specialists, Middle School Math Teachers ⭐️ Interested in additional intervention resources including PD and grade level specific full year programs? CLICK HERE! Licensing Terms : By purchasing this product, you own a license for one teacher only for personal use in their own classroom. Licenses are non-transferable and therefore can not be passed from one teacher to another. If the teacher who purchased this license leaves the classroom or changes schools, the license and materials leave with that teacher. No part of this resource is to be shared with colleagues or used by an entire team, grade level, school or district without purchasing the correct number of licenses. If you are a coach, principal or district interested in transferable licenses that would accommodate yearly staff changes, please contact me for a transferable license quote at [email protected]. Copyright Information : © Beyond the Worksheet. Please note - all material included in this resource belongs to Beyond the Worksheet Inc. By purchasing, you have a license to use the material but you do not own the material. You may not upload any portion of this resource to the internet in any format, including school/personal websites or network drives unless the site is password protected and can only be accessed by students, not other teachers or anyone else on the internet. ✮✮If you are interested in gaining access to an exclusive set of free resources, CLICK HERE.
These 5 geometry projects for middle or high school are a great alternative assessment for your student. Project-based learning is so important to...
Use this ratios and proportions activity to help middle school math students see the application of ratio and proportion concepts.
With so many of my BIG KIDS struggling with fluency, I worked to make it a part of my daily work with students, a Tier 1 intervention that the majority of the class could benefit from. Reading fluency incorporates three main components: speed, accuracy, and prosody, which directly impact comprehension. While I have shared a great deal about incorporating 6-Minute Solutions, here are a few other ways I worked to make fluency fun for my 6th graders.
Planning the first day of school can be stressful! Learn my 3 favorite activities that will allow you to have the perfect first day of middle school math!
My rule #1 in a series about bringing out the best behavior in middle school students, Helpful tips for managing adolescents effectively.
With the right system, student data tracking can be easy to do! Tracking data helps drive my teaching decisions.
This is the fifth installment in the Everything You Ever Wanted To Know about Using Exit Tickets in your Math Classroom blogging series. If you haven’t already, check out the first four posts and t…
What does a successful writing workshop look like? Here are strategies that will ensure successful writing workshops all year.
If you are looking to add some fun math review to your middle school classroom, math games are the perfect fit. These versatile activities can be used in small math groups, math centers, math workshop, as review math games, or as a teacher vs. class game. Since I have spent so much time creating gam
I’ll admit, when I first began using stations the main reason was so I didn’t have to make copies for 200 students. The copy machines at my school were frequently broken, out of toner, and often inaccessible due to high need from other teachers and the lack of regular and predictable planning periods. If I wanted to make copies, I either had to get to school around seven or stay well after the final bell rang. Even then I might not be able to print what I needed for my students because the paper might be locked away to save the district some money. Stations were a perfect solution to my copy machine dilemmas. However, once I began using stations I found many more reasons to keep using them in my seventh grade science classes. Perhaps most importantly, students love stations and are motivated simply because they can be out of their seats and be more in charge of their learning (more on that later). Stations are super easy to differentiate and can be used to meet the needs of all of your students. Also, they are easy to use and quick to set up. If you’ve never heard of stations, ever considered using stations, or if you currently use stations and they aren’t quite as effective as you’d like, keep reading. Students practice identifying variables and writing hypotheses with these Scientific Method Stations. What are stations? Stations are a way for students to practice lesson content while moving around the classroom instead of being seated at desks. (That might sound scary when considering certain classes—believe me, I’ve been there. However, I’ve used stations with even my most rambunctious, out of control classes of 35+ seventh grade students. It can be done successfully.) Stations can be questions or short tasks posted on the perimeter of the room. In my science classes I typically used questions that could be answered with students’ notes, textbooks, knowledge, or skills. I included a variety of question levels—some easy and straightforward and others rigorous and challenging. I have also set up measurement stations with tasks to complete such as finding the volume of an object using the water displacement method or predicting the mass of an object and then using a balance to see how close their predictions were. When I noticed students had a hard time finding information in textbooks, I had stations where students had to find a specific piece of information using glossaries, tables of contents, or indexes. I’ve even cut up a worksheet and posted it around the room as stations. Answering the questions on a worksheet can be tedious, but when that same worksheet is in station form it becomes more engaging and meaningful. When students are up and around the room doing stations they’ll need to record their answers. This can be done on notebook paper that they hand in when they’re finished or in their interactive notebooks. How do I set up stations in my classroom? Start off by writing the questions or tasks you want your students to answer. Use fairly large font so they are easy to read from a distance of several feet. Then print them out and cut them up. If you want, you can laminate them so they are in good condition by the time the last class of students goes through them. I personally did not laminate them, so I always had some rips or pencil marks on the papers by the end of the day. Instead of laminating I just used extra tape to prevent the majority of damage. Once you have your stations printed, cut out, and maybe laminated you can tape them around the room on walls, windows, or tables. Finding space in my classroom was always easy because my room was ginormous. I also had countertops bordering the walls of three-quarters of my classroom. The space you leave between stations obviously depends on how many stations you have, but whenever possible try to leave at least a yard between them. This helps the students stay focused on their task instead of socializing with nearby groups. It also helps the teacher spot misbehavior earlier and sprout fewer gray hairs. When should I use stations? There were two purposes for using stations in my classroom: practice or review. If I was using the stations as a way to reinforce the material we learned, I scheduled them after taking notes and doing a whole class practice. Basically, I wanted my students to have the fundamentals down and the ability to be decently independent before beginning stations. If students needed to review material, I typically used stations as a review activity the day or two before a test. I’ve also had luck using stations before big breaks like Thanksgiving break, winter break, spring break, or summer vacation. Whenever students are especially squirrelly, stations are usually a good choice because students can move around the room and still engage in the material they need to learn and understand instead of wasting learning time. (Stations have kept me sane on more than one occasion before a break.) What behavioral expectations should be established before beginning stations? Before beginning stations, you MUST go over your behavior expectations. Otherwise, the students have a 95% chance of turning feral within three minutes. Here are the station expectations I went over every time we did stations. Students will have no more than three students to a station at any time. If there is already a group at that station, then they must go to another station. Students do not have to go in order. They may skip around to any station as long as they write their answers in the correct location on their own papers. As long as students are on task and working, students may pick the student(s) they want to work with. Students may also work individually. Students will receive only one warning for off task behavior. If they are off task a second time, they will have to complete the assignment individually in their seat using a worksheet form of the stations. Students may only visit the answer sheet twice during the stations. When students finish the stations they need to check all of their answers and return to their seats. How do I monitor behavior during stations, and what do I do about misbehavior? If you aren’t directly supporting a group of students, walk around the room and monitor behavior. Keep an eye and ear out for horseplay. Whenever students misbehave or don’t follow a station expectation give them a warning. If students have a second problem, direct the offending students back to their seats and give them a worksheet form of the stations to complete individually. Remind students they cannot get out of their seats for the remaining station time, otherwise you might find them messing with their friends and wandering around the room “working on the stations.” Depending on whether your stations consist of questions or tasks, your students might not be able to do every station on their worksheet. In that case instruct them to skip the station or complete it individually later on. Biggest advice here: don’t let small misbehaviors get out of hand. Immediately give the warning/consequence and briefly explain to the student what they did wrong and why it’s a problem. Here is an example of how that might sound: “Billybobjoe, you were visiting another group again. When you do this it is distracting to other students and you can’t learn. Because you didn’t follow the station expectations, now you will finish the stations at your desk by yourself on this worksheet.” How can I use stations to meet the needs of all of my students? Stations are excellent for differentiation purposes. Students can choose what works for them. For example, I let my students determine if they wanted to work independently, with a partner, or in a group of three. They also determined the order in which they completed the stations. They could skip around or go in numerical order while working at their own pace. Posting an answer sheet gave my students support by allowing them to check their work or get help with a problem they were struggling with. While my students were working, I was free to meet with a small group of students who needed extra support. Sometimes I determined ahead of time who should be in that day's support group and other times I left it up to the students to come to me for assistance. Consider posting answer sheets (like I did with the Changes in States of Matter Stations) so students can check their work and get assistance if needed. Another way to differentiate is by arranging the stations from easiest to hardest. For the most part, students are pretty good at determining their levels of understanding. Whenever I arranged the stations this way, I explained it to my students and let them choose where they needed to be. Providing the right context and reasoning is important for this. Don’t just say: left is easy, center is medium, and right is hard. Then you’d have a flock of students on the left with no one really benefiting. Explain that the stations on the left side are for students who feel they are having difficulty with the content and need to build up their knowledge and skills first. The stations in the center are a medium level of difficulty for students who feel they have a fairly good understanding of the content and are ready for reinforcement practice. The stations on the right side of the room are for students who feel they understand the material very well and need a challenge. When I explained it this way, my students didn’t feel bad if they were on the left side. As for the right side, many were eager for a challenge and would start by looking at the questions to see if they were ready or needed to go more towards the center. When arranging by level of difficulty, give your students a number of stations to complete. If there are 30 stations, maybe have them choose any 10. Having students complete all of the stations can defeat the purpose of arranging them this way. What do I do when students finish the stations at different times? There are several solutions to this. You can set a timer and have students complete as many stations as they can in 20 minutes. If there are a small number of stations or if the questions/tasks are relatively quick to get through, you can start a five-minute timer after the first five students finish; then announce that everyone needs to be done in less than five minutes. You can have students begin their homework or an individual class assignment at their seats. They can read a book. I’ve tried all of these methods in my class and switched it up depending on the student or lesson needs. What stations do you use in your own classroom? I'm so glad you asked. :) In my Teachers Pay Teachers store you can find many of the stations I have used in my seventh grade science classroom. Currently, these are the stations in my store: Scientific Method Stations: These can be used in a variety of ways. Most often my students used these stations to identify independent and dependent variables and write hypotheses. Changes in States of Matter Stations: These stations give students practice with the key points of melting, freezing, vaporization, condensation, and sublimation. Genetics and Heredity Stations: These stations give students practice with a variety of genetics topics. They are great to see what students know or to review key concepts. Human Body Organ System Stations: Students practice the important characteristics of the skeletal system, circulatory system, respiratory system, muscular system, digestive system, and nervous system. Properties of Matter/Physical Science Review Stations: I use these stations to review physical science concepts before the unit test. They go over atoms, states of matter, changes in states, physical and chemical changes, law of conservation of mass/matter, homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures, elements, and compounds. Measurement in Science Stations: These stations are all about the tools and units used to measure metric length, volume, mass, and density. Density Stations: My students always need extra practice with density before things really sink in. These stations help them understand. Volume Stations: These stations focus on finding the volume of solids and liquids and measuring correctly. Mass and Weight Stations: Students get practice with the difference between mass and weight with these stations. If you haven’t already, try using stations in your classroom. With the correct implementation, they can really benefit your students. Plus, you don’t have to make a bazillion copies ;) Are you a middle school science teacher? You might be interested in my newsletter. Sign up for my newsletter here. Just for signing up you'll receive an exclusive freebie that you can't get anywhere else.
Looking for strategies to help make math class more efficient and therefore have a more effective math class for your middle schoolers?
I love finding first day of school math activities! These back to school activities are perfect for middle school or high school math.
Ladies and Gentleman... we officially have the first week down in the books!! And what an AMAZING week it was!! #BestFirstWeekEver!! My kiddos are just awesome. We learned a lot and laughed a lot! My own children also had a great week (aside from a quick bout of a stomach bug that kept one home for a day!). My oldest, Drew, started 1st grade. My middle, Quinn, started Kindergarten. And my toddler twins, Addy and Chase, began two-mornings-a-week preschool. Additionally, Mr. Musings from the Middle School (my husband Dennis), started a new school year, too! Phew!! My head is spinning! Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great weekend and recovering from this busy time of year. This post is mainly a pictorial of some of the goings on in my classroom this week. As we settle into our routine, I'll be back with more "meaty" posts (and hopefully some new videos, too!). One of my favorite activities from the week was this Growth Mindset lesson that I adapted from here. Basically, the kids had to create the image on top using just a piece of paper and scissors. It was NOT easy... but that's exactly the point! As the kids worked, I wrote down some of the comments I heard. Things like, "this is impossible," and "I give up!" After I let them struggle for a while, I brought them back together and discussed the activity with them. It was eye-opening to see their words. They all agreed that their attitude was too negative so of course they would never have been successful. Then we read the Growth Mindset posters hanging in our room and discussed what each one meant. I closed with this video from Khan Academy. It was a fun and powerful lesson. One of the BEST purchases I made from TpT for this school year is the Icebreakers that Rock bundle from Cult of Pedagogy. This product contains three PowerPoint activities that allow students to talk to each other in an easy, comfortable way. What is great about these is that you can use them as one, big activity, or you can break them up, showing just a few slides here and there, as "brain breaks" through out the day. That is how I used them. So, on the first day, I did a big "Find Someone Who" activity with them. This allowed all the kids to learn each other's names. Next, I assigned them all their lockers and we practiced opening the combination locks (super-stressful for these first time locker users)! After that, we did a few slides from Icebreakers that Rock. Then, we went over the syllabus. Next, a few more Icebreakers that Rock slides. After that, I handed out and went over all the paperwork that had to go home and be signed (oh, the paperwork!!!). Then, a few more slides right before lunch. And then a few more right after lunch. Next up, a tour of the building. Then a few more slides before trying our lockers again. Finally, another slide right before dismissal. It was the perfect break/filler/attention-getter/distraction to use throughout the day... actually, I used the slides throughout the whole week! Run to TpT and pick this product up today! Totally worth every penny. (Some of the slides can be done silently. I LOVED these slides!!) Of course, we had to number our notebooks to get ready for ELA next week. I always tell kids that this is the easiest, most difficult task that we do all year :) I really the love smell of a Mr. Sketch anchor poster in the morning! This year, I'm starting with Reading Nonfiction: Notice and Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies. My thinking is that it will really help with getting started with Article of the Week. Here is one of several of the posters I'll be using to teach these strategies. I'm jumping on the #ObserveMe bandwagon! Read more about it here. I'll keep you updated on how this goes throughout the year! Okay... that is enough for now! The beach is calling my name... nothing beats September here at the Jersey Shore! Hope the back-to-school season is treating you well! I'd love to hear how your school year is going so far. Happy Teaching!!
Real life math lessons are key to helping students see the connections between in class lessons and real life.
Learn why one-pagers are one of my go-to activities for breaking down complex topics and texts. Understand what they are, why you and your students will love them, and how to implement them in your ELA classroom. I even have the advice to help you tackle the biggest obstacle you’ll encounter with this activity.
Are your students lacking number sense? 5 strategies for building number sense in middle school math!
Engage your middle school math students with this hands-on surface area and volume project! Great for back-to-school or end-of-unit review!
Show your middle school math students the relevance of what they are learning with this fun bulletin board kit that answers the age-old question "When are we ever going to use this?" This bulletin board includes the letters to spell out "When are we ever going to use this?" and includes 15 cards that each feature a middle school math topic and 4 unique jobs that use that math skill. The topics included in this set are: decimals, fractions, integers, percents, ratios & proportions, angles, area & volume, transformations, equations, exponents, slope & linear functions, data analysis, probability, measurement, and problem solving. (Please see the preview for a look at all of the included cards!) Included in the zip folder that you download are both a printable pdf and an svg file. The pdf is for traditional printing and cutting by hand on 8.5 x 11 paper, while the svg can be used with your cutting machine to save you time and energy!! This is a great bulletin board for the secondary math classroom to remind your students of the importance of math! Check out more middle school math classroom decor here!
Check out over 14 resources that should add to your 8th-grade homeschool curriculum. Includes resources for math, English, history, and even Spanish.
Using Math Stations in Middle School can be daunting but when you have tried and tested materials you know that they can and will work in your classroom.
The pencils are sharpened, your classroom is clean and the bell rings…gulp…here they come! My feelings on the first week of school are conflicted. On one hand, it’s one of the most important weeks. Explaining and practicing the class procedures and expectations sets the tone for the rest of the school year. Success is vital. On the other hand, I’m so excited to start teaching my historical content that waiting until all the expectations are explained requires a lot of patience! Every teacher has their own plan of action for that pivotal time. Here are 5 things I can’t live without during the first week of school: One: An Icebreaker. I aim to try and make kids feel comfortable in my classroom on day one. One of my favorite little activities is Fact or Fiction. Each student receives a small slip of paper and they’re instructed to write one fact and two fictions. Then each person (including myself!) introduces themselves and we all try to guess which statement is the fact! It’s a great way to quickly learn about each other. Two: Classroom Information and Expectations. This is every teacher’s staple, I know, but it had to go on the list because it’s a must-have! When you’re making your own, spell everything out – from the obvious grading procedures and late work policy to how to pass back papers and when to sharpen pencils and go to the bathroom. Trust me, leave no stone unturned. Your classroom will function much better if you set the tone from day one. (Oh, and don’t forget a seating chart!) Three: Fun and Games. On the second day of school, I love to start class with a little game. It’s a great way for the kids to start practicing our classroom procedures and expectations while getting familiar with their teacher and classmates. Here are some of my favorite games that I use during the first week of school: (P.S. Some of these activities can be found in my Back to School Activities resources! Click the grade level you’re teaching to check them out: Sixth, Seventh, Eighth) InstaFriend: This activity gets students moving around the room and interviewing fellow classmates! Their InstaFriend paper has a series of descriptions and characteristics. When they find a student who matches the description, they write their name in the box. Each name can only be used once! Right or Wrong: I love skits. LOVE THEM. I like to introduce students to the idea of skits during the first week by allowing them to create their own based on our class expectations. I first divide students into small groups of 2-3. Each group then randomly receives one of our class procedures or expectations. As a group, they have to work together to create two mini skits – one showing the RIGHT way to follow the expectation, the other showing the WRONG way. They get to be silly and I get to reinforce my class expectations. After each skit I happily point out all the positive behaviors as well as each time a class policy was violated. It’s a light-hearted way to grab their attention and create a positive atmosphere all while practicing the laws of the land. Classmate Bingo: I love to play this game at the end of the first week. I give each student a blank bingo board with a large selection of personal characteristics, hobbies, etc. at the bottom. The students choose 16 off the list and create their customized board. Then, I randomly select characteristics from the list. If a student has that characteristic on their board, they have to write down a student’s name that matches the characteristic – but no cheating! They have to use what they’ve learned about others during their first week of school to try and win the game. Four: A Pre Test. After a few days of class information and fun, it’s time to start getting down to business. Each year, I make a short pre-test on the information they’ll learn about that year. It gives me a chance to see what the kids already know and gives them a feel for what subject matter they’ll be learning about in the coming weeks. FYI: Your pre-test probably won’t take the whole class period. Make sure to have plans for other activities, too, on the day you give your pre-test! Five: A Writing Activity. True fact: when I tell kids they’re going to do a writing activity, they groan every time. It’s a signal that the “real work” is about to begin. Luckily, they’re always relieved when I assure them that this activity will require very little research because it’s about a subject they’re experts in – themselves! I have a few different activities to choose from each year. Here are some suggestions: Student Survey: What are your strengths? Weaknesses? What do you hope to learn in this class? These are just some of the questions I ask students in the survey. The more I know about my students, the better I can help them achieve success in my class. Write Away: A staple of many: write a letter to a future you! I ask students to write goals for the year, dreams they wish to see realized, and questions they want to ask their “End of the Year” self. I tuck these letters away and revisit them during the last week of school. I’m Ready: Like every middle school history class, we do a lot of writing and students always have to back up their reasons, statements, etc. with evidence to support their claim. In this writing activity, students have to identify which class rule or expectation they believe is most important and provide evidence to support their claim. This activity both reinforces my classroom policies and secretly gives me a preview of their writing proficiency. Have I left anything out? If you have any fun plans for the first week of school, share them in the comments. I’m always looking for new ideas for my classroom!
Your class syllabus does not have to be boring! It can be interesting & informative. Grab a free, editable printable AND DIGITAL syllabus.
A year long journal about implementing Building Thinking Classrooms in Middle School I teach two classes of Accelerate 7th Grade Math and two classes of Inclusion 8th Grade Math. This is a journal …
