"When am I ever going to use this?" This question is heard or thought in every middle-level math class across the land. Teachers struggle to apply math lessons to everyday life and make math meaningful and useful for their students. This author, too, struggled with this problem, until she read the book "Math Curse" by Jon Scieszka (Viking Books,…

Describes how the student community can provide the context for integrating subjects and assessing student knowledge about data collection and analysis. Discusses the change of a teacher's practice through her reflections upon student learning and reform documents. (YDS)

Presents a student-posed project in which students devise mathematics investigations around their school cafeteria. Discusses learning-related outcomes of the project. (ASK)

Describes an engaging project in which students have to design and construct a three-dimensional candy box that would appeal to children. Requires students to make the box out of prisms, pyramids, or cylinders, determine the surface area and volume of the solids, and write a persuasive business letter. (YDS)