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Toy Shopping Spree spreadsheet activity

State released TAKS tests (online practice)
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/release/index.html#online

State released TAKS tests (pdf format)
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/release/taks/index.html

www.coolmath4kids.com

INTERACTIVE MATH MANIPULATIVES
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
This is the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives. This site contains a large collection of interactive math manipulatives for all grade levels and types of operations.

FRACTAL TWISTER:
How cool is this? Zoom in and out with this online exhibit of fractals, twisting in and zooming out with an amazing array of designs.

MATH FROG:
Choose your grade, four, five, or six, and your learning strand to find some learning games, reinforcing math concepts and just in time for testing.

VILLAINY, INC.
[Link2] [Link3]
Uh-oh; Dr. Wick has hatched some evil plans. Your middle school students' mission is to unravel them, using their brilliant math skills. Animated stories provide the backdrop, with mathematical challenges in algebra, problem solving, data analysis, and geometry to determine the outcome. Use the 2nd link above for a Teacher's Guide, and the 3rd link for related student worksheets, complete with answer keys.

MAKE A SNOWFLAKE:
Symmetry plays a star role in these interactive snowflake designs, which can be created with or without grid lines.

THE METRIC SYSTEM - WITH APPLES:
Distance, weight, and estimations will all be covered in this unit for middle school students on metric conversion. An apple provides the hands-on learning unit; you could also try pumpkins. Find further instructions here.

FRACTION CONVERSION BINGO:
http://www.col-ed.org/cur/math/math52.txt
Here's a great way to practice converting fractions to decimals and percentages, a skill that many students seem to stumble on. You can construct your own Bingo grids, or get your students to form teams and make up their own playing boards.

ASSORTED MATH GAMES AND ACTIVITIES
http://www.counton.org/

MATH REVIEW GAMES:
http://www.mathguide.com/services/MathBaseball.html
http://www.mathguide.com/services/MathFootball.html
http://www.mathguide.com/services/MathJeopardy.html
Many of you have standardized testing coming up within the next several weeks. To help review in a games-oriented, but still effective manner, try the Math Jeopardy, Math Baseball, or Math Football described here.

INTERACTIVE MATH LESSONS:
http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/Lessons/
Find numerous, excellent lesson plans included here on all aspects of math for grades four through nine, with student exercises included after tutorials.

FLASHY ALGEBRA:
http://www.flashyapps.com/frameset/algebra/algebraframeset.htm
Explore roots, quadratic equations, Cartesian coordinates, and parabolas with these interactive and narrated algebra exhibitions.

LOGIC AND MEMORY GAMES:
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Games/educational/#memory
Improve both critical thinking and student retention skills with these online games.

ELECTRONIC EXAMPLES IN MATH:
http://standards.nctm.org/document/eexamples/#6-8
If you need some extra help explaining difficult mathematic principles to your students, try these online and animated modules. They may be especially helpful to students who just "don't get it", or those needing to catch up or have some extra work on the concepts.

PASCAL'S TRIANGLE & THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS:
http://dimacs.rutgers.edu/~judyann/LP/lessons/12.days.pascal.html
What did philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal have to do with the Twelve Days of Christmas? He might have been quite surprised to find out... Your students will use this lesson plan to discover, using Pascal's triangle, exactly how many gifts were given on each day for the duration of the Twelve Days of Christmas. A template and background in-formation is included for this unique holiday lesson plan.

BATTER'S UP BASEBALL:
http://www.prongo.com/math/
Select easy, medium, or hard (Single, Double, or Home Run) to pitch a math problem in multiplication or addition, but remember that three strikes and you're out.

www.quia.com/dir/math/
 

GRAPHING PRACTICE:
http://www.funbrain.com/co/index.html
How are your students' graphing skills? Do they know how to locate coordinates on a plane? Find interactive practice here to help you teach or review coordinates, with three different levels of difficulty offered.

USING A SPREADSHEET TO SHOP THE SALES:
http://www.buddyproject.org/capers/search.asp?type=info&id=87
The day after Thanksgiving is considered to be the busiest shopping day of the year and a fair indicator of how holiday shopping sales will fare. But just how much will your students save during all the sales? In this exercise they will be creating a spreadsheet by comparing numerous given items (CD, sweater, game, etc.) and creating columns of prices from different ads.

http://investsmart.coe.uga.edu/C001759/
StocksQuest is an educational and interactive Web site offering free global stock games, especially for educators and contest organizers. Integrated into this very realistic global stock market simulation are lesson plans, stock guides, and online investing resources.

 http://illuminations.nctm.org/index_d.aspx?id=279
Grab the drafting tools as well as newspaper real estate sections for this lesson plan, where middle school students will be working with decimals, fractions, and percentages as well as linear equations. Mathematical concepts will be applied to real world concepts, as they are introduced to real estate through simulation. They will design a summer cottage, simulate purchasing a building site with real estate data, and break down their costs as they put their property up for sale. Find detailed instructions here.

BIRTHDAYS AND THE BINARY SYSTEM:
http://illuminations.nctm.org/index_d.aspx?id=245
Factors, multiples, prime factorization, patterns, relationships, and functions are all studied in this magical lesson plan using birthdays to understand binary numbers. Students will be able to analyze and describe numerical patterns and translate that learning to others.

BLACK OUT WORD PROBLEMS:
http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/1409.html
Many students stumble with mathematical word problems because they find it difficult to eliminate unnecessary information. Here is a great method to help them hone down to the essentials, thus focusing on solving the equation with the correct information.

ALGEBRA GAME:
http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/635.html
This algebra and/or pre-algebra game uses simple flash-type cards to reinforce that the algebra process must be understood. The correct answer is already given and students will pair up, one with the equation, one with the answer, to solve their problem. Find further instructions here.

POLYHEDRA ORNAMENTS:
http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/math/geometry/solids/
Combine holiday festivities with math in action, where your class will be studying geometric solids and then learning how to create those solids as Christmas ornaments.

12 DAYS WITH A TWIST:
http://www.buddyproject.org/capers/search.asp?type=info&id=24
Use a spreadsheet to rewrite the Christmas classic, then put together a class book on all your new versions.

WINTER COMPUTER CAPERS:
http://www.buddyproject.org/search.asp?opt=C&search=winter
Whether it's the weather or simply wintry words, find some lesson plans here to incorporate both technology and a wintry theme.

SANTA'S ELF SPREADSHEET:
http://www.ceap.wcu.edu/coulter/portfolio/subject_specific/spreadsheet/ss1.htm
It's time for holiday shopping, and students have $200 to spend. They will shop using advertisements and catalogs, entering actual costs and not going over budget in this spreadsheet lesson plan.

http://www.mathgoodies.com
Math Goodies is a free educational web site featuring interactive math lessons, homework help, worksheets, puzzles, forums, and more!  We have over 400 pages of free math activities and resources for students, teachers, and parents.

http://www.learningwave.com/abmath/ 
Absurd Math is an interactive mathematical problem solving game series. The player proceeds on missions in a strange world where the ultimate power consists of mathematical skill and knowledge. Many of the pages have hidden clues and areas. Anytime a player needs help, they may email our staff for assistance. We try to respond within two days. Teachers and parents, email us for answer keys.

www.enc.org
Eisenhower Clearinghouse for Math and Science – list of all the best math and science web sites.

MATH BASEBALL ONLINE:
http://www.funbrain.com/math/
Choose your operation to start, or mix them up. Next, select your level of difficulty, and then choose whether or not to include algebra style. Ready? Play ball!

THE COORDINATE PLANE:
http://www.mathforum.com/cgraph/cplane/
Students will learn about axis, lines, and coordinate planes in this online graphing lesson. Once they have mastered graphing points on a coordinate plane, they can move on to estimating points, and trying more difficult graphs. A glossary of terms is included.

AWARENESS OF PRE-ALGEBRAIC CONCEPTS:
http://www.col-ed.org/cur/math/math08.txt
http://www.iit.edu/~smile/ma8618.html

SEVENTH GRADE MATH:
http://www.aaamath.com/grade7.html
A whole series of activities and explanations covers all seventh grade math topics, including solving equations with one or two variables, and inequalities.

Manipula Math with Java
http://www.ies.co.jp/math/java/
Collection of 280 Math Applets - It's time to turn math from a passive activity.

COORDINATE GRAPHING:
http://score.kings.k12.ca.us/lessons/graphing.html
Students will practice plotting points on coordinate axis and differentiating between positive and negative numbers. Supplemented by interactive learning games, background teaching text, and a quiz; also find resources for further practice, as well as coordinate grid paper to download and print.

FUNCTIONS MADE EASY:
http://score.kings.k12.ca.us/lessons/functions.html http://score.kings.k12.ca.us/lessons/functions/machine.html
Download worksheets here to help your middle school students understand the operations involved with equations, functions, and coordinate graphing. The 2nd URL above provides a Functions Machine for further interactive, online practice.

PERFORMANCE STATIONS IN MATH:
http://MathCentral.uregina.ca/RR/database/RR.09.97/gauthier26.html http://MathCentral.uregina.ca/RR/database/RR.09.97/gauthiergrade7.html
Use these performance stations in numbers and operations as either assessments or math learning centers. The second URL above offers grade 7 performance resources for all grade-level targets in math, and includes teacher notes as well.

Mathematics Materials for Tomorrow's Teachers (M2T2)
http://www.mste.uiuc.edu
Content: Applets, Fun Facts, Resources,

Project Interactive
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/
Content: Lessons, Elementary, Teacher Resources, Student Resources, What's New, Index, Tools, Discussion, Activities. Here are some great interactive activities to keep your students engaged in learning math, over 100 in all from Number and Operation Concepts, to Geometry and Measurements Concepts, to Function and Algebra Concepts, and to Probability and Data Analysis Concepts. Each activity is accompanied by supplemental What, How and Why pages. Some of the activities also cover viewing and analyzing scientific data. Additionally, there are sample lesson plans and correlations to textbooks and standards.

PROBABILITY GRAPHING AND SPREADSHEETS:
http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow4/may99/ss-coin.html
Combine a math and spreadsheet lesson plan with this simple graphing and probability exercise. Students will conduct experiments in probability and prediction using two coins, and graph their results in MS Excel.

History of Mathematicians
http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/

HARRY POTTER MATH:
http://www.riverdeep.net/current/2001/11/111201t_top10.jhtml
How was J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter book series responsible for restructuring the New York Times booklists?
Read this Current teaching resource with your students on bestsellers and marketing statistics, and then complete the math exercises on pie charts, mean and median, and bar graphs. Further student problems and extension activities are also included.

KALEIDOSCOPE TESSELLATIONS:
http://homepage.mac.com/efithian/Geometry/Activity-11.html
Smoke and mirrors, and... triangles and polygons! Find some fascinating math at work here while working with properties of kaleidoscopes and folded mirrors.

MOON ABC'S FACT SHEET:
http://www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/class_acts/MoonFacts.html
What is the equatorial diameter, the mass, and the surface area of the moon? Find out here, and then s-t-retch your brain with the math problems included under "Brain Busters".

TANTALIZING TESSELLATIONS:
http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/RR/database/RR.09.96/archamb1.html
Find fully ten lesson plans here, with graphics included, on tessellation through math, art, language arts, and science. Most are cooperative learning lesson plans, requiring modeling techniques and problem-solving.

TESSELLATION TUTORIALS:
http://mathforum.org/sum95/suzanne/tess.intro.html
Activity pattern blocks are included with these comprehensive tutorials on tessellations. Many resources are available on-site, including a teacher reference page.

TESSELLATION CONSTRUCTION:
http://www2.spsu.edu/math/tiling/2.html
Try this slide-show style presentation on tessellation construction as a starting point for understanding tiling and trying your own compositions.

MATH HELP FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL:
http://www.mathleague.com/help/help.htm
Here's a handy little web tool to introduce to your students, with definitions and samples of all math topics introduced up to the end of middle school.

GALLERY OF INTERACTIVE GEOMETRY:
http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/apps/gallery.html
There is certainly much to explore here: build a rainbow and determine the angles of light passing through water droplets, explore Pascal's theorem by specifying your own points on a conic, or try an interactive editor for symmetry patterns on a plane, among other applications.

TANGRAMS AND FRACTIONS:
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/mathline/concepts/asia/activity2.shtm
For grades six through eight, students will construct their own tangram puzzles and determine their fractional components. Step-by-step guidance and two student work-sheets are included with this lesson plan.

TOOTHPICK PUZZLES:
http://sln.fi.edu/sln/school/tfi/spring96/puzzles/puzzle1.html
Here are some fun math challenges for your students, great for year end activities when your regular lessons are winding down, but you still want to advance problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

Math in Daily Life
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/dailymath/

Create a Graph
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/
Content: Create Graphs: Area Graph, Bar Graph, Line Graph, Pie Chart, Graphs in Probability. Do your students ever find it hard to illustrate their points with paragraphs alone? Point them to this website-a part of the National Center for Education Statistics-where they can easily create four different kinds of printable graphs that they can include in reports, projects, and homework. They can also learn how graphs can be used in probability problems with an interactive dice activity.

USING ART TO TEACH MATH:
http://www.riverdeep.net/current/2001/04/042501_baltimore.jhtml
The Baltimore Museum of Art has produced an innovative program to challenge young students with math in action.Using mosaics, paintings, and sculpture, students will learn to add, subtract, measure, divide, estimate, figure proportion and symmetry... The scope, it seems, is limitless, and sure to provide a challenging method of presenting real-world mathematics to students. Student activities with measurement and ratios are included in this segment.

MONKEY MATH:
http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/classroom/lesson1.html
Practice your math skills with these exercises, including a Monkey Math map template. Students must use coordinates to answer questions and explain their routes.

HALLOWEEN COORDINATE GRAPHING:
http://www.theteacherscorner.net/seasonal/halloween/graphing.htm
Students must plot coordinates on a graph--all the number pairs are given here--to see what image they end up with.

INVESTIGATING EMPIRE BUILDERS:
http://www.riverdeep.net/current/2001/03/031501_megamergers.jhtml
How much is a billion dollars? "If you stacked one billion dollars in one dollar bills, the stack would be 80 miles (120km) high." Students will figure out the interest on one billion dollars, the number of years it would take to spend one billion if you spent $1000.00 a day, and then work with percentages and averages using data on the AOL/Time/Warner merger to calculate related math questions.

I WANT A CREDIT CARD -- OR DO I?
http://score.kings.k12.ca.us/lessons/crcard.htm
Online resources and a printable student worksheet supplement this lesson plan on the costs involved in using credit cards--a life-skills lesson that high school students could always use.

http://www.aplusmath.com/
Games, activities and flashcards to help students improve their math skills.

http://www.coolmath4kids.com/
An amusement park of math and more - especially designed for FUN, FUN, FUN!

http://www.teachingtreasures.com.au/maths/Maths_more.html
Free fast loading online interactive mathematics with flashcards, quizes, mental math, games and clock reading. Checks answers online, for k-10 students. Ideal for the busy teacher. Required Internet Explorer4+

http://cte.jhu.edu/techacademy/web/2000/heal/mathsites.htm
Math Resources for Math Teachers and Students - Middle and High School Focus

http://www.proteacher.com/100000.shtml
An extensive directory of lesson plans for math teacher

http://www.dositey.com/
Free interactive lessons, exercises and worksheets, educational games, open-ended questions in Math and Language Arts, and more".

http://www.funbrain.com/
Each day, over 25,000 kids enhance their math and grammar skills while playing games at FunBrain.com

http://www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/
An interactive dictionary of math words and concepts that engage and involve students in    understanding math vocabulary. Grades 2-10

SCHOOL SPREADSHEET SAFARI:
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110054/
This Thinkquest site will take you and your students step-by-step through the process of using and creating spreadsheets. Puzzles and quizzes are also included.

MATH FORMULA DATABASE:
http://library.thinkquest.org/20991/gather/formula/
Need to know the formula really quickly for the surface area of a circle? Or how about the quadratic formula? Here is your one stop math formula shop, with a great little database set up by a Think Quest entry.

THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS LESSON PLAN:
http://dimacs.rutgers.edu/~judyann/LP/lessons/12.days.html
Just exactly how much did all those birds, pipers, dancers, drummers, and lords-a-leaping cost the sender? Students will use a graphing worksheet and a data cost sheet to compute the cost of all the items received during the Twelve Days of Christmas. A student worksheet is included.

http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/math_advantage.html
Math Advantage is a site provided by Harcourt School Publishers for students in grades K-8. It contains all kinds of fun web activities to reinforce mathematical concepts learned in the classroom. In the Parent and Teacher View you'll also find lessons to print for the classroom or homeschool. The Glossary section contains appropriate math vocabulary for each grade.

MUSICAL MULTIPLICATION:
http://www.gardenofpraise.com/multi.htm
If you still have students struggling with their multiplication tables, then give this approach a try, setting the tables to music. Exercises are included from basic skip counting to drills for each number, from zero to nine. A Study Page and Test page are also available.

FRACTALS:
http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/frac/
Who says math and art occupy different sides of the brain, and never the 'twain shall meet? Enter the fascinating world of fractals, where not everything fits neatly into the familiar geometric shapes we are used to--consider the fern, for example... In this site for grades four through eight, fractals are explained and explored through a series of lessons and activities, with guides for teachers as well.

WHAT'S IN A SHAPE?
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/Lessons.cfm?DocID=135
http://mathforum.org/trscavo/tangrams/tangram-pieces.html
Tangrams are explored here to understand the relationships of shapes. Use the 2nd URL above to print out your own set of tangrams, and download activity sheets on site to investigate how tangrams work.

EXPLORING FRACTIONS WITH SHAPES:
http://arcytech.org/java/patterns/
Fractions, addition, and subtraction can all be explored with the use of patterning blocks. Find a Java program here to use virtual manipulatives to explore these and other math concepts.

QUILT SQUARE MATH:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/instructor/jan04_quiltmath.htm
Review several quilt pattern blocks, used throughout American history by quilters. Students will review patterns, colors, lines of symmetry, and geometric shapes in this art and math lesson, using geoboards to create their own designs as well. Several further activities guide students in tiling and patterning, and then the class will plan and create their own paper quilt. Student reproducibles are included.

CREATING SIMPLE GRAPHS WITH SPREADSHEETS:
http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow4/may99/ss-procedure.html
Follow these step-by-step instructions to teach your students how to make a simple graph, using Microsoft Excel.

FRACTION CONVERSION BINGO:
http://www.col-ed.org/cur/math/math52.txt
Students will get plenty of practice converting fractions, percentages, and decimals with this incentive game, great for unit review in seventh and eight grades.

SET ONLINE:
http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm
Race against the clock and test your logical and visual thinking skills with this pattern matching game. It's tricky though--you have to identify six sets from 12 cards, based on color, symbol, number, and shading. Either all features must be the same, or each feature must be different. Find a new puzzle to tackle daily.

GRADE SIX WORD PROBLEMS:
http://www.stfx.ca/special/mathproblems/grade6.html
Many students find they need extra practice with word problems. Here is an online resource, with hints if you get stuck, and answers also available

MYSTERY NUMBERS:
http://www.sandlotscience.com/Games/Mind_Reader.htm
Is it a mind-reading game? Or is it a mathematical trick? Let all of your students "pick a number" and try the math tricks with this online game.

ESCHER MATHEMATICS:
http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/midlmath/unitplan.html
Incorporate the fascinating art of Escher with your middle school mathematics, where students will create patterns on worksheets to create their own geometric works of art. Further exercises are included, along with suggestions for integrating software.

http://www.aaamath.com/grade7.html
http://www.aaamath.com/grade8.html
An extensive series of activities and explanations covers all major seventh and eighth grade math topics, including solving equations with one or two variables, ratios, scientific notation, and statistics. This interactive series may work well for students needing extra help with various topics in math. Games are also included for extra, high-interest practice. Use the first URL above for seventh grade, the 2nd URL for grade 8.

INTERACTIVE FLASHCARDS:
http://www.aplusmath.com/Flashcards/index.html
Choose your operation for flashcard questions online; students will submit their answers correctly to advance in both difficulty and operation.

MATH GAMES:
http://www.aplusmath.com/Games/index.html
Find interactive versions here of Matho, Concentration, and Hidden Pictures to practice the various operations.

ARITHMETIC FOUR:
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/agame/index.html
Select your operations and your level of difficulty to start the game in this skills contest online.

FRACTION CONVERTER:
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/conversions/index.html
Enter either a fraction or a decimal to convert one to the other with this online tool.

INTERACTIVE MATH ACTIVITIES:
http://www.cut-the-knot.org/Curriculum/index.shtml
Memory matches, fractions, puzzles, even and odd numbers, logic, probabilities, math magic, games... There are well over two hundred interactive math activities at this site, covering elementary through high school levels.

MATH FOR MORONS LIKE US:
http://library.thinkquest.org/20991/home.html?tqskip1=1
This Thinkquest entry guides students through pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, advanced algebra, pre-calculus, and calculus, with tutorials, sample problems, and inter-active quizzes.

ALGEBRA HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS:
http://www.mathpower.com/mth3hmwk.htm
Here is a large resource of ready-made math assignments to use as algebra homework. Topics cover fractions, unit rates and proportions, rounding decimals, percents, and more.

TEN WAYS TO REDUCE MATH ANXIETY:
http://www.mathpower.com/reduce.htm
Consider printing out these pointers and posting them on a nearby bulletin board, helping students to see that they can indeed overcome perceived math difficulties.

TREE RING TIMELINES AND MATH:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vikings/treering.html
How precise is the science of dendrochronology? There are no "give or take 100 years" here; tree ring dating can pinpoint an event or object to the year. Learn how the process works, and let your students build their own tree ring timeline as a special math and science project.

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