Robert Kaplinsky's Problem-based Search Engine
This search engine searches all of the sites below to quickly help you find a problem-based lesson (also called 3-Act Task, mathematical modeling, or application problem). An amazing resource!
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youcubed.org is the brainchild of professor Jo Boaler at Stanford University. Jo and her students in the mathematics education program at Stanford have put together an amazing site with lots of incredible tasks that support growth mindset in mathematics. There is so much here to investigate! Check out the Week of Inspirational Math (week 2 now includes lessons for K-2 students), the online courses for students, teachers, and parents, and lots of rich tasks and research articles.
Visual Patterns
Middle school teacher fawn Nguyen has created a site with number talks and pattern talks. Here are her tips for how to use them. Great for building an understanding of algebraic functions. Andrew Stadel of Estimation180 fame has also compiled a number of clothesline math activities designed to provide math classroom communities with visual, dynamic, and student-centered activities that build number sense, conceptual understanding and procedural fluency.
Graphing Stories is the result of a collaboration between Dan Meyer and Buzz Math. Each "story" is a 15 second video clip that students then practice graphing. Stories are sortable both by subject and type of graph generated. (credit Andrea Watson)
Inside Mathematics features classroom examples of innovative teaching methods and insights into student learning, tools for mathematics instruction, and video tours of the ideas and materials on site. Your Problem of the Month can be found here!
Tiled Area Questions is another amazing tool created by Splat author Steve Wyborney. Tiled Area Questions are designed to provide students with the opportunity to compose and decompose numbers. This is a fantastic tool for developing an understanding of fractions.
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Estimation 180
Math teacher extraordinaire Andrew Stadel has created 180+ days of estimation practice. The format is simple. Students look at an image to determine the answer of an estimation questions. They come up with a "too high", "too low", and "just about right" estimate. They also give a mathematical reason for their estimate. Then there is the big reveal. FUN! The template for students to use to record their estimates can be found here. Three Act Tasks A Three Act Task is a rich, open task with minimal scaffolding. In the first act the problem is introduced visually, with as little introduction as possible. The second act is where students define the problem, determine the information they need to solve it, and work through a solution. The third act is where the students come to an agreement about the solution. Below are links to sites by math educators who have create middle school Three Act Tasks: Dan Meyer Graham Fletcher Andrew Stadel Mr. Orr Dane Ehlert Kyle Pearce More from Kyle Fraction Talks Clothesline is a mashup of two instructional strategies: Fraction Talks and Clothesline Math. Students color in a portion of a fraction picture and then find its place on a clothesline numberline.
MARS Tasks are grade-level formative performance assessment tasks with accompanying scoring rubrics and discussion of student work samples.
Sixth Grade Seventh Grade Eighth Grade Yummy Math mixes videos, images, and real-world challenges that get students thinking about where math fits into their day-to-day lives. The site divides posts by age group, genre, and the type of math on display.
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WODB
Remember the Sesame Street song "One of the these things is not like the others...". That's pretty much the premise of WODBs (Which One Doesn't Belong). The beauty is that in each set of four pictures, there are multiple solutions. The WODBs inspire creative out-of-the-box thinking. Students love them and enjoy making their own. A great quick warm-up and instigator for mathematical discourse (practice # Would You Rather asks student to choose a path and justify it. Would you rather...have a pool that is 40 ft by 9 ft by 4 ft or 7 yds by 4 yds by 2 yds?
Math Mistakes provides a platform for teachers to quickly look at mathematical work and identify the assumptions behind the work, and what actions to take in response to the work. Each post will be a selection of student work. And then in the comments we’ll discuss: what are the assumptions behind this work, and what could the next steps be.
Open Middle provides rich, open tasks for engaging students in number sense. Useful as either a whole class activity or a "station" for early finishers or those who want a greater challenge.
Illustrative Mathematics is a fantastic resource for tasks that explicitly illustrate each grade level mathematics standard. Great for use as warm-ups or exit tickets.
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