Browse best practices

CareerStart lessons: Grade eight

This collection of lessons aligns the eighth grade curriculum in math, science, English language arts, and social studies with potential career opportunities.

Format: (multiple pages)

CareerStart lessons: Grade seven

This collection of lessons aligns the seventh grade curriculum in math, science, English language arts, and social studies with potential career opportunities.

Format: (multiple pages)

CareerStart lessons: Grade six

This collection of lessons aligns the sixth grade curriculum in math, science, English language arts, and social studies with potential career opportunities.

Format: (multiple pages)

Food for thought: Elementary lessons on nutrition and healthy living

Teaching children about the importance of a healthy diet and plenty of exercise creates a basis for a healthy lifestyle. These lesson plans for grades K-5 provide fun activities to get them started on this path.

Format: lesson plan (multiple pages)

Map skills and higher-order thinking

This series of articles looks at map skills as a kind of visual literacy, considering what maps are, how they're made, and the higher-order thinking skills students need to move from simply decoding maps to fully comprehending them.

Format: series (multiple pages)

Problem centered math

Why students must build their own understanding of mathematics if they are to be able to use it in the real world, and how teachers can guide them in doing so.

Format: series (multiple pages)

Projections

In Map skills and higher-order thinking, page 7

Now let's take a closer look at the process of drawing a map. If you're drawing a map of a classroom, you can assume the floor is flat like a piece of paper. (If not, the district is going to need to up its facilities budget.) That makes mapping it straightforward;...

Format: article/best practice

By David Walbert.

Projections and propaganda

In Map skills and higher-order thinking, page 9

Interestingly, until the mid-twentieth century, publishers of maps and textbooks resisted using new projections (many of which were, by then, quite old). Why? Maybe because they wanted to stick with what was familiar to people -- or maybe because Mercator...

Format: article/best practice

By David Walbert.

Quick Draw

In Problem centered math, page 2.3

An engaging math activity that helps students develop and talk about spatial reasoning.

Format: activity

By Grayson Wheatley.

Resources on the web

NCDigIns

Aligned North Carolina 2003 Mathematics Standard Course of Study and the Common core Standards, the NCDigIns formative assessment diagnostic tool can help students become proficient in math. A team of North Carolina... (Learn more)

Format: website

Provided by: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

On-Math - Online Journal of School Mathematics

These peer-reviewed short articles are published for all grade level educators. The articles are not just textual in nature, but include multimedia interactives as well as audio and video clips. The purpose is to be immersed in the subject at hand. Full... (Learn more)

Format: website

Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Student Explorations in Mathematics (formerly known as Student Math Notes)

Published five times a year, Student Math Notes is “intended as a resource for grades 5-10 students, teachers, and teacher educators. Each issue develops a single mathematical theme or concept in such a way that fifth grade students can understand... (Learn more)

Format: website

Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Wolfram MathWorld

This site from the makers of Mathematica provides clear and readable mathematical resources for students and educators. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: Wolfram Research