Mathematics — Grade 7

Zoo integrated unit

The unit uses the North Carolina Zoological Park as a teaching tool rather than as a nice place to visit. It can be used by a single teacher or multiple teachers of different subjects, and it is aimed at 7th and 8th graders.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies)

By Craig Smith.

Statistics project

Students collect numeric and non-numeric data. They are then expected to use the data collected to construct different types of graphs as well as finding central tendencies.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5–8 Mathematics)

By Audrea Saunders.

See how they run!: The 100 meter dash

Middle level students will collect times as they run the 100 meter dash. These times will be depicted through various graphic representations (bar, circle, histogram). Times will be compared to current world records for the 100 meters. Students will decide which Math class ran fastest and support that choice in short essay form. They will also try to determine the faster gender based on the data collected.

This lesson plan is a unit filled with related lesson plans. One or two parts of this project could be completed as a stand-alone lesson, or the entire set of activities and extensions could be completed for an involved, integrated unit.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Mathematics)

By Holly Smith.

Savor the rainbow

Use skittles to help the students practice the concepts of sorting data, recording data, writing the data collected in fraction form (part/whole), changing the fractions into decimals and percents, and taking the data collected and making a spreadsheet, bar graph, and circle graph of the data.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Mathematics)

By Beverly Revis.

Post-EOG activities: Student products

In this project, students will become entrepreneurs. They will have a business that makes items with 3-dimensional shapes. They will receive various tasks that will require that they make decisions as any other business owner would have to do.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Mathematics)

By Geneva Williams.

Interdisciplinary Integrated Unit on DNA/Genetics Part B: Math

The second lesson of an interdisciplinary integrated unit on DNA and genetics, focusing on math. The other lessons in the unit focus on science and language arts.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 Computer/Technology Skills and Mathematics)

By Jane Lentz, Jimmy White, Marlene Smith, and Tori Goldrick.

Human box and whisker plot

Students will learn how to construct box and whisker plots as they actively participate in being a part of one based upon their heights. As an extension of the lesson, students will learn how to interpret a graph of this type.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Mathematics)

By Nikki Honeycutt.

Frequency tables

In CareerStart lessons: Grade seven, page 2.1

In this lesson for grade seven, students discuss how frequency tables are used in various careers. Students use survey data collected in class to make their own frequency tables and present them to the class.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 Mathematics)

By Peggy Dickey, Carol Taylor, and Monika Vasili.Adapted by Sharon Abell and Barbara Turner.

Birds of a feather: Collecting and analyzing bird feeder data

In this lesson, students prepare frequency tables and construct a circle graph of the species of birds observed at bird feeders.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 Mathematics)

By Vicky Smathers.

ACC basketball

The students will use ACC basketball statistics to practice the process of converting fractions to decimals then to percents and will learn how to create and edit a spreadsheet. They will then use this spreadsheet to analyze their data. This unit is done during the basketball season.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Information Skills and Mathematics)

By Susan Dougherty.

Resources on the web

Wrapping it up

In the first four lessons of this unit, students investigated the Paper Pool game, collected data, identified patterns, and made predictions about the number of hits, the pocket in which the ball lands, and the path of travel. In this lesson, students finalize... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Mathematics)

Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Which pocket?

In this lesson, students continue their investigation by discovering a rule to predict the pocket in which the ball will land. As an extension, students can also consider the number of squares that a ball crosses while traversing its path. Illuminations... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Mathematics)

Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Taking its toll

Students compare the price of a toll to the distance traveled, investigate data numerically and graphically to determine the per-mile charge, and predict the cost if a new tollbooth were added along the route. Illuminations provides an activity sheet, an... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Mathematics)

Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Sticks and stones

While playing “Sticks and Stones,” a game based on an Apache game, students collect data, investigate the probability of various moves, and determine the average number of turns necessary to win the game. Working in small groups, students develop... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–8 Mathematics)

Provided by: Illuminations

State names

Using multiple representations, students analyze the frequency of letters that occur in the names of all 50 states. After students predict which letters will appear most often in the names of the 50 states, they use the activity sheet to identify the frequency... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 and 7–8 Mathematics)

Provided by: Illuminations

Shops at the Mall

In this lesson, one of a two-part unit from Illuminations titled “Mathematics at the Mall,” students develop number sense in and around the shopping mall. They explore the allotment of space within a mall by generating a class list of stores... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Mathematics)

Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Patterns and functions

Students investigate properties of perimeter, area, and volume related to various geometric two- and three-dimensions shapes. They conjecture, test, discuss, verbalize, and generalize patterns. Through this process they discover the salient features of... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Mathematics)

Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Paper pool game

This lesson is the first part of a four-part Illuminations unit titled “Analyzing Numeric and Geometric Patterns of Paper Pool.” The interactive paper pool game in this unit provides an opportunity for students to further develop their understanding... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Mathematics)

Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Mathematics as communication

This lesson focuses on interpreting and creating graphs that are functions of time. Illuminations provides four activity sheets for completing the lesson. Students will: Answer questions about graphical representations of information... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Mathematics)

Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Look for patterns

This lesson is the third part of a four-part Illuminations unit titled “Analyzing Numeric and Geometric Patterns of Paper Pool.” The interactive paper pool game in this unit provides an opportunity for students to further develop their understanding... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Mathematics)

Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics