Many middle school students approach math with caution, often trepidation, and generally less-than-complete confidence. Several factors contribute to their views of what math actually is (a system of rules to follow and formulas to apply) as well as who might be good at it (people who can see the path to an answer and calculate quickly). A few say…

Graphs from media sources and questions developed from them can be used in the middle school mathematics classroom. Graphs depict storage temperature on a milk carton; air pressure measurements on a package of shock absorbers; sleep-wake patterns of an infant; a dog's breathing patterns; and the angle, velocity, and radius of a leaning bicyclist…

Features articles about physical therapy and its history as related to geometry through measurement of body angles. Includes open-ended worksheets for mathematics activities that introduce students to angle measurement, data analysis, and mathematical tools. Activities include: (1) Making Your Own Goniometer; (2) Range of Motion; (3) Active versus…

Discusses police officers' use of mathematics when reconstructing an accident scene; and the history of algebra, including al-Khwarizmi's works on the theory of equations, the Rhind Papyrus, a Chinese and an Indian manuscript on systems of linear and quadratic equations, and Diophantus'"syncopated algebra." (10 references) (EK)

Describes the experiences of a secondary mathematics education student as a MATHCOUNTS coach for sixth graders. Explains the program, coaching duties, and how the approach evolved in trying to shift student focus from finding the right answer to finding a logical approach to solving problems. Discusses the experience in terms of the National…

Students investigate the concept of motion by making simple paper airplanes and flying them in the classroom. Students are introduced to conversion factors to calculate various speeds. Additional activities include rounding decimal numbers, estimating, finding averages, making bar graphs, and solving problems. Offers ideas for extension such as…

Suggests a multitude of ideas for students to communicate their ideas in writing using the language of mathematics. Includes a sampling of 500+ writing formats, 67 abbreviated writing assignments, and three complete assignments along with a sample student response to each. Sample assignments include advice column, biographical sketch, commercial,…

Describes the results of a classroom trial activity to encourage communication in mathematics. Students were asked to write a short story or a joke or to create a cartoon about an aspect of mathematics, which was in this case isolating the variable or property of negative 1. The activity revealed creativity and allowed the teacher to determine how…

Describes five activities using the World Wide Web that teach students to experience searching, locating, and organizing data. Students learn to summarize statistics, analyze data, make conjectures, and communicate information. They interpret or create bar graphs, line graphs, histograms, and circle graphs. (PVD)