Providing students with opportunities to build, and test and revise ideas, can help them develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In this article, the authors describe how core measurement and geometry concepts were embedded within a "Model It!" task. They replicate an industry-based, interdisciplinary problem, but only…

Geometry students often wonder about the importance of construction techniques. Are they the only way to create geometric figures? What purpose do they serve? How do these techniques relate to other parts of geometry? This article introduces a project used at the high school level that gets all students in a class engaged with construction, gets…

The author shares some examples from her Bulgarian project, "Mathematics Through Experience", which approaches mathematics from a practical, real-life perspective in order to develop creative thinking: just like science! What was most important to her was to motivate her students to study maths and science by giving them a taste of how…

Scissors are a unique interactive tool when successfully used, allowing teachers and students to recognize and explore each other's creative ability while nurturing mutual communication. Freehand cutting gives children freedom to create as they cut. Scissors have the power to improve fine motor skills, stimulate creative imagination, reinforce…

This article describes an activity in measurement and geometry in which sixth-grade students explore the volume and surface area of a donut. Through calculation, creative thinking, and discovery, the students enhanced their geometric vocabulary and reasoning. (Contains 9 figures.)

"Principles and Standards for School Mathematics" states that in the middle grades "measurement concepts and skills can be developed and used throughout the school year rather than treated exclusively as a separate unit of study" (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 200, p. 241). This article describes a collaborative activity that…