Spotlight on the Principles/Standards: Measurement in the Middle Grades

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 154-156
Author(s):  
Robert Berry ◽  
Joyce Wiggins
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Real World ◽  
Middle Grades ◽  
Angle Measurement ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Real

People use measurement ideas everyday because the ideas arise out of the need to compare attributes of the real world and because humans are naturally inclined to make comparisons. Comparison is the basis for measurement. We make simple comparisons, such as that “the width of the desk is about an arms length,” and complex comparisons expressed in terms of precise numerical measurements. Although measurement encompasses such topics as time, temperature, length, perimeter, and volume, this article specifically focuses on how middle school students learn about angle measurement.

The Arcs of Archaeology

1996 ◽  
Vol 1 (9) ◽  
pp. 688-693
Author(s):  
Bonnie S. Spence
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Real World ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Real ◽  
The Past ◽  
Hands On ◽  
New Ideas

For the past several years, i have sought out opportunities outside mathematics for personal enrichment and enjoyment. These experiences have caused me to become more aware of the connections between mathematics and other areas. As a result, I have begun developing lessons to show my students how mathematics is used in the real world. One summer I joined another teacher and twelve middle school students and decided to brave the eighteen-hour drive from Oklahoma to the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Co1tez, Colorado. The mathematical lesson discussed in this article emerged from one week of learning about the Anasazi culture and experiencing hands-on archaeology. Throughout the years, this lesson has been revised and expanded as both students and experience have given me new ideas.

Connecting Measurement and Architecture: Building an Inflatable

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 144-149
Author(s):  
Elizabeth D. Gray ◽  
Denise Tullier-Holly
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Real World ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
Classroom Experiences ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Real ◽  
Mathematical Connections ◽  
Principles And Standards

Middle school students need to see connections between mathematics and the real world. However, they often learn mathematics as a set of distinct topics or separate strands, because a majority of the available textbooks tends to present it that way, and teachers tend to follow the textbooks. According to Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM 2000), our students should be made aware of mathematical connections explicitly so that the manner in which topics are connected is obvious. McClain (1996) suggests that if teachers offer classroom experiences in which students can see connections, then “the vibrant discipline of mathematics actively engages students in their own learning” (p. 682).

Integrating Mathematics and Social Issues

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 270-276
Author(s):  
Gregory K. Harrell
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Real World ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Real ◽  
Community Issues ◽  
Principles And Standards

The Connections Standard in grades 6–8 in Principles and Standards for School Mathematics recommends that middle school students “recognize and apply mathematics in contexts outside of mathematics” (NCTM 2000, p. 274). This goal can be reached by providing students with rich problem contexts that involve connections to the real world (NCTM 2000). To find such contexts, mathematics teachers can look to the local community, because our culture influences the mathematics we do and influences the issues that are important to us. If teachers present students with interdisciplinary experiences within the context of local community issues, students will understand the usefulness of mathematics and it will help them develop the skills and knowledge necessary to become active participants in their communities (Zaslavsky 1996).

Fermi Questions

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 164-167
Author(s):  
Germaine L. Taggart ◽  
Paul E. Adams ◽  
Ervin Eltze ◽  
John Heinrichs ◽  
James Hohman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Real World ◽  
Real Life ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Real ◽  
Life Problems

How middle school students view mathematics is a function of what they learn and how they learn it. Evidence from actual classrooms shows that a serious disconnection sometimes occurs between what students think mathematics can deliver and the real world (Burrill 1997). Students must have the opportunity to discover multiple ways to solve real-life problems through problem solving, using estimation and conjecture, and developing critical communication skills in the classroom.

scholarly journals Virtual Manipulatives: A Tool to Support Access and Achievement With Middle School Students With Disabilities

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily C. Bouck ◽  
Leslie A. Mathews ◽  
Corey Peltier
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Middle Grades ◽  
Virtual Manipulatives ◽  
School Students ◽  
Content Areas ◽  
Mathematical Content ◽  
Concrete Manipulatives ◽  
Instructional Needs

Manipulatives offer students with disabilities access and support in classrooms. However, it is important for educators to be aware that concrete manipulatives are not the only option. Teachers serving students identified with a disability in the middle grades may consider selecting virtual manipulatives as supplement, complement, or in lieu of concrete manipulatives. In this technology in action, the authors provide information for educators about using virtual manipulatives and how they can be used across different settings, instructional needs, and mathematical content areas for middle school students with disabilities.

The SOAR Strategies for Online Academic Research

2016 ◽  
pp. 68-104
Author(s):  
Carolyn Harper Knox ◽  
Lynne Anderson-Inman ◽  
Fatima E. Terrazas-Arellanes ◽  
Emily Deanne Walden ◽  
Bridget Hildreth
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Real World ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Real ◽  
Instructional Needs ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
The University

Students often struggle when conducting research online, an essential skill for meeting the Common Core State Standards and for success in the real world. To meet this instructional challenge, researchers at the University of Oregon's Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE) developed, tested, and refined nine SOAR Strategies for Online Academic Research. These strategies are aligned with well-established, research-based principles for teaching all students, with particular attention to the instructional needs of students with learning disabilities. To support effective instruction of the SOAR Strategies, researchers at CATE developed a multimedia website of instructional modules called the SOAR Toolkit. This chapter highlights the real world importance of teaching middle school students to conduct effective online research. In addition, it describes the theoretical and historical foundations of the SOAR Strategies, instructional features of the SOAR Toolkit, and research results from classroom implementations at the middle school level.

Using Models to Build an Understanding of Functions

2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 310-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Cramer
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Elementary School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Middle Grades ◽  
Early Elementary ◽  
School Students ◽  
Early Elementary School

From the time that students enter kindergarten and throughout their early elementary school years, they should have multiple experiences exploring patterns. The study of patterns for middle school students should shift to the study of functions (NCTM 1989). The question that this article addresses is how to plan and organize instruction for middle-grades students to help them develop an understanding of function.

Using Mission US

2010 ◽  
pp. 255-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Schrier ◽  
James Diamond ◽  
David Langendoen
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Real World ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
School Students ◽  
Classroom Implementation ◽  
Historical Empathy ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ethical Thinking ◽  
Design Challenges

In this chapter, the authors describe Mission US: For Crown or Colony?, a history game for middle school students that they collaboratively designed, developed and tested. The authors argue that empathy is an important component of ethical thinking, and that history games, if well designed, can support the practice of empathy. The authors analyze how they designed Mission US to encourage the development of historical empathy and ethical thinking skills. Moreover, the authors also relate their design challenges, and the ethics of representing the past in games. They conclude with real world results from classroom implementation of the game, and design recommendations for creating games for historical empathy.

A Modeling Approach for Enhancing Problem Solving in the Middle Grades

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 470-475
Author(s):  
Beverly J. Ferrucci ◽  
Ban-Har Yeap ◽  
Jack A. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Word Problems ◽  
Middle Grades ◽  
School Students ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Modeling Approach ◽  
Standards Documents

Modeling is a flexible, powerful, and engaging tool for middle school students to use to enhance their problem-solving skills. In this article, we describe one teacher's first efforts to develop her students' modeling expertise in a variety of arithmetic word problems. This modeling approach emanates, in part, from our observations of Singapore schools and curricula during the year 2001. We initially describe some of the basis for modeling that is grounded in current research and standards documents.

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