Hands-On Math Projects with Real-Life Applications: Grades 6-12

Brilliant. Great book, there are so many hands on activities one can do with your students. I have a number earmarked for this term already. Very well written and easy to understand. The project sheets for the students are brilliant also. Thanks so much. I look forward to using the book until it falls apart as they say.

This is an EXCELLENT resource for making math relevant! Even though the book is officially for grades 6-12, the projects are easy to adapt for elementary grades. I really like how the information is organized: each of the six sections tells how to incorporate math into another subject. We have used activities from "Math and Social Studies" in our history class, and projects from "Math and Science" in our science class. It's well worth the price because it's not just another workbook--the activities are really engaging and fun for kids. They might not even notice that they're learning a lot about math!

This is a must-have resource for all home school families! The book includes 60 lesson plans that reinforce math concepts and make learning math interesting and fun. Most important, it gives students a reason for learning math! The lessons easily integrate into other class work including science, social studies, language arts, music, art, sports, recreation, and life skills. It's perfect for those who enjoy doing unit studies! It was written for students in grades 6-12; however, it can be adapted to younger grades depending on interests and abilities. How I would use it in a home school setting: Home school parents can skim through most of the introductory materials that addresses classroom strategies. However, be sure to read over pages 24-42, which includes directions for writing in the math class, an outline of the basic writing process, ideas for using the Internet in math class, and assessment guidelines and forms. Although each lesson discusses group activities and oral presentations, it's very easy to adapt these lessons to a home school setting. The projects can easily be done individually and written reports are sufficient. If you choose to have your child do an oral presentation, he or she can perform for family members and friends or in a support group or co-op setting. I would recommend using the lessons in this book, as needed, as part of a unit study; on a once-a-month or once-a-week basis instead of a regular math and composition class; or as needed to work on a particular math concept. Some of the lesson plans included are: 1. Math and Science: What is the Weather?, Designing a Flower Bed 2. Math and Social Studies: A Great Mathematician, Creating a Scale Map 3. Math and Language: Fictional Numbers-Writing a Story, Rating Math Web Sites 4. Math and Art: I Wanna Be Like Escher, Designing a Quilt Pattern 5. Math and Music: Numbers and Songs, The Math in Music 6. Math and Sports: Choosing a Membership Plan at a Health Club, Comparing Sports Superstar 7. Math and Recreation: Going on Vacation 8. Math and Life Skills: Making a Budget, Buying a Car, The Costs of Pets Sample lesson: The Geometry and Art of Architecture Students are directed to do research at the library and online to find examples of interesting architecture. A suggested list of buildings is included or you might select a structure that is related to a topic you are studying, such as a castle for medieval history or the Eiffel Tower for the country of France. Students are to examine their structures for examples of geometry such as angles, polygons, three-dimensional shapes, symmetry, and parallel or perpendicular lines. They are to draw the structure on poster paper and then label the geometric forms. Finally, they are instructed to write a report about the selected structure, which includes background information on the building as well as a summary of the geometry it represents. Sample lesson: The Benefits of Recycling In this lesson, students ar

As a high school special ed teacher, I continually hear students ask, "Why do I need to learn this?" Hands-On Math Projects has great, practical, and FUN ideas that show real-life applications to ways math can be used in both regular and special needs classrooms. Book includes lots of great project ideas and printables to go along with them.

The Projects in this book help stretch the math skills of children and make them practical at the same time. The children have fun learning and seeing math skilss applied in everyday situations.