LINKS FROM TEACHING SECONDARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL MATHEMATICS
Professional Organizations
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) www.nctm.org
NCTM is the largest professional organization for improving the teaching of
mathematics at the pre-K-12 grade levels. This site includes membership forms,
an on-line catalog of materials, feature articles for reading, and other general
information.
School Science and Mathematics Association (SSMA) www.ssma.org
SSMA is an organization committed to improving mathematics and science education
in grades K-12. The site features information about SSMA and its professional
journal, access to the SSMA newsletter, grant opportunities, special publications,
and more.
Curriculum Projects
ARC Center www.comap.com/elementary/projects/arc
The purpose of the ARC Center site is to provide teacher enhancement, leadership
development, and public awareness of mathematics education. The site is a great
help in rebuilding curriculum for grades K-6 based on the Standards. It also
provides resources for professional development.
COMPASS www.ithaca.edu/compass/
Curricular Options in Mathematics Programs for All Secondary Schools (COMPASS)
assists schools, teachers, administrators, parent groups, and other community
members and constituencies interested in improving secondary school (grades
8-12) mathematics opportunities and experiences for their students.
Show-Me Center http://showmecenter.missouri.edu
The Show-Me Center, in partnership with the NSF-sponsored middle grades curriculum
development satellites and their publishers, provides information and resources
needed to support selection and implementation of Standards-based middle grades
(grades 5-8) mathematics curricula.
Activities and Lesson Plan Ideas
Ask ERIC www.eduref.org
The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a national information
system funded by the U.S. Department of Education. This Internet-based resource
is available to help educators find and evaluate a wide variety of products,
including lesson plans and software.
Columbia Education Center (CEC) www.col-ed.org
CEC offers more than 600 lesson plans created by teachers for use in their own
classrooms.
Coolmath.com www.coolmath.com
Designed “for the pure enjoyment of math,” the Coolmath site contains
mathematics lesson plans and links, organized by subject area (algebra, geometry,
trigonometry, calculus, and so on). It features fractals, puzzles, problems,
and career information.
Eisenhower National Clearinghouse www.goenc.com
K-12 mathematics and science lesson plans, activities, a resource finder, reviews of software, on-line help desk for students, and much more are available at the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse site.
Figure This www.figurethis.org
Mathematical challenges for families of middle school students are provided
at the Figure This site to motivate students and their caregivers in pursuing
mathematical tasks at home.
Illuminations http://illuminations.nctm.org
Illuminations is a site for teachers that provides lesson plans, Web resources,
interactive mathematics tools, and mathematical investigations. NCTM sponsors
the site, so all of the lesson plans reflect the spirit of the Standards.
Mathematics Education Directory—Yahoo! http://dir.yahoo.com/Science/Mathematics/Education
Links to mathematics Web sites that feature lesson plans, tutoring, research,
and so on can be found at the Mathematics Education Directory site.
Mathematics Hotlist http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/hotlists/math.html
Links to many Web sites dealing with general mathematics and computing are featured
at Mathematics Hotlist.
Mathematics WWW Virtual Library http://www.math.fsu.edu/Virtual/index.php
At this site, a collection of mathematics-related resources is maintained by
the Florida State University Department of Mathematics.
Math Archives http://archives.math.utk.edu
At the Math Archives site, many materials are made available, including topics
in mathematics, software, teaching materials, other links, and more.
Mathcounts http://mathcounts.org
Mathcounts is a competitive problem-solving program for middle school students.
The Web site features information about the competition, as well as problems
of the week and other helpful resources.
Math Gems www.sciencegems.com/math.html
Mathematics content areas are listed by name, and the Math Gems site is updated
regularly with new information. This is a place to visit if you are looking
for information on a particular branch of mathematics.
MegaMath www.c3.lanl.gov/mega-math/menu.html
Each subsection at MegaMath includes activities, vocabulary, background information,
big ideas and key concepts, evaluation, for further study, prep and materials,
and connections to the NCTM Standards.
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives www.nlvm.usu.edu
With funding from the National Science Foundation, Utah State University features numerous on-line manipulatives that include lesson ideas and hints for users. A grid makes it simple to search by content area and grade level.
General Mathematics Education Sites
Annenberg Media Learner.org www.learner.org
The Annenberg Foundation's Web site makes hundreds of hours of streaming video available to teahers. These videos can be used for individual professional development or shown to students within a mathematics lesson.
Biographies of Women Mathematicians www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm
The Biographies of Women Mathematicians project illustrates the numerous achievements
of women in the field of mathematics.
The Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP)
www.comap.com
COMAP is an award-winning nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve
mathematics education for students of all ages. COMAP’s purpose is to
create learning environments where mathematics is used to investigate and model
real issues in our world.
History Topics Index www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Indexes/HistoryTopics.html
Mathematics history may be explored by topic or may be searched by
mathematician, year, or location at the History Topics Index site.
Teachers Helping Teachers www.pacificnet.net/~mandel
The Teachers Helping Teachers site contains weekly updated material in many
subject areas and is divided into content areas, classroom management, and a
topic of the week. There is also a list of other Web sites, a poem of the week,
and a stress reduction moment of the week. Users can also contribute lessons
and submit questions or problems.
The Math Forum www.mathforum.org
From the homepage at Math Forum, you can access what seems to be an endless
amount of information on mathematics. Some of the links include the teachers’
place, student center, research division, parents and citizens, and Ask Dr.
Math where students can seek advice on problem solving. One may also search
subject resources, mathematics education, key issues in mathematics, and forum
features.
The Math Learning Center www.mlc.pdx.edu
The Math Learning Center site provides teachers with access to information about
this nonprofit organization’s curriculum materials, programs, and workshops
that exemplify the NCTM Standards.
Lesson Planning and Resource Sites (recommended by BGSU students)
The following Web sites (more than 80 of them!) were identified by students from early, middle, and secondary mathematics methods classes (graduate and undergraduate) between the Fall of 2000 through the Fall of 2008. Descriptors are provided (many have been written by the students who found them) to help you select the sites that would be most useful to you in your lesson planning and teaching. Some link to one another, and Dr. Brahier does not necessarily "endorse" one site over another, but they serve as a nice list of places to visit when looking for mathematics lessons and teaching ideas. If you click on one and find an error, dead link, etc., please email Dr. Brahier (brahier@bgsu.edu) to have it repaired. Enjoy!
AAA Math – http://www.aaamath.com
This site contains hundreds of basic math pages as well as interactive practice problems and explanations for grades K-8.
A to Z Teacher Stuff – http://www.atozteacherstuff.com
This Web site for teachers is a good resource because it contains a variety of things such as a tips section to give advice and suggestions, theme units, theme lesson plans, articles and discussions.
Academic Benchmarks -- http://www.academicbenchmarks.com
This site can be used to search for academic content standards in all 50 states. If you want to compare, for example, Ohio's expectations to those of Texas, you can locate the Texas standards from this page.
Academy Curriculum Exchange -- http://www.ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/
At this site, each subject is easy to locate, and lessons are accessible by grade level. Searches for specific ideas are easy to run, since subject areas are divided up into different sections.
Activities Exchange -- http://education.ti.com/educationportal/activityexchange/activity_list.do?cid-us
This Web site contains different activities to do on the graphing calculator during class. There are instructions, a description of required preparation, and amount of time needed for each one.
Ask Dr. Math -- http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
Get your math questions answered! It also includes links for frequently asked questions for early, middle, and secondary students.
Automatic Calculus and Algebra Help – http://www.calc101.com
This site does different types of calculus problems for you such as derivatives and matrices for free as well as other problems such as integrating and graphing for a small fee.
Awesome Library -- http://www.awesomelibrary.org
The Awesome Library site organizes resources on the Web with 15,000 carefully-reviewed resources, including the top 5% in education. Lesson plans are readily available in all subject areas.
Calculus-Help -- http://calculus-help.com
This site is a "must" for calculus teachers to bookmark. It features problems of the week and tutorials for calculus concepts, as well as information about contests, books, and other Web sites that support the teaching and learning of calculus.
Core Knowledge Organization Web Site -- http://www.coreknowledge.org/CK/index.htm
This Web site contains a large library of lesson plans and unit outlines arranged by grade level and subject area that support the Core Knowledge Sequence. The site also features materials, books, unit plans, and conference information.
Cut-The-Knot -- http://cut-the-knot.org
A wealth of applets (mini applications) are available at this site. Teachers can use these applications in the classroom with an interactive whiteboard or can have students use them to explore in a computer lab or at home. It is an excellent resource for those wanting to use visuals and technology in their teaching!
Dynamic Geometry -- http://dynamicgeometry.com
This is the home of teaching ideas that support Geometer's Sketchpad. There are lesson ideas, activities, and downloads for the Sketchpad user.
EdHelper.com -- http://www.edhelper.com
Included in this site are worksheets, WebQuests, Primary Teacher Resources, Math Writing, Reading, Science, Social Studies, and Technology lesson plans, plus much, much more! This site includes the former AskERIC resources which are very popular among in-service teachers.
Education World - Lesson Planning Center -- http://www.education-world.com
If you are looking for a fun and useful website that will aid you in your journey to educate in innovative ways, then you need to visit Education World! It features lesson plans, activities, a message board to talk to other educators, and general education information.
Educational Resources and Lesson Plans -- http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edres.htm
This helpful list of resources was collected by Dr. Edmund Sass at the College of St. Benedict. By clicking on the "Math" link, you can find lesson plans, activities, and other Web sites with valuable mathematics education information.
The Educator's Reference Desk -- http://www.eduref.org
Designed by the same people who created the AskERIC site, this is a general resource area available to teachers. From this site, over 2,000 lesson plans can be accessed, as well as over 3,000 other links for educators, including information on everything from learning theories to counseling, family life, and educational technology.
Egyptian Mathematics -- http://www.eyelid.co.uk/numbers.htm
This Web site teaches students and teachers how to read and write the seven different symbols the Egyptians used to solve math problems. It even includes sample problems that teachers can use in the classroom.
Estimator -- http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/estim/
Find out how good you are at estimating with this tool. The site is aligned with the NCTM Standards and provides interactive activities that are fun and useful for students and teachers alike.
Famous Problems in the History of Mathematics -- http://mathforum.org/isaac/mathhist.html
This site investigates some of the great problems in the history of mathematics and the mathematicians who were inspired by them. It provides the background information of the problem, the problem itself, and various solutions.
Fun Mathematics Lessons -- http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/Lessons/
Test your math skills with lots of fun problems on all kinds of topics, such as fractions, geometry, money, and more. It provides 24 lessons that can be used from grades 5-12, some of which can be viewed in Spanish, along with various teacher resources.
Gavin’s Calculus Projects -- http://www.math.lsa.umich.edu/~glarose/courseinfo/calc/calcprojects.html#calcIprev
This site contains various real-life calculus projects for Calculus 1 and Calculus 2 that can be integrated into a class for long term projects and activities. There is also a list of links to go to in order to find similar sites on the Web.
Geogebra.org -- http://www.geogebra.org
Geogebra is a free software package that can either be run on-line or downloaded. It functions similar to Geometer's Sketchpad but is easily accessible to all and has no cost.
GetTech.org -- http://www.gettech.org/
This interesting and very interactive Web site can help sharpen your math and science skills with games and activities. Students can also explore different career paths they can take with their new knowledge.
Graphics for the Calculus Classroom -- http://www.ima.umn.edu/~arnold/graphics.html
This site gives visual representations of calculus topics so even abstract topics can be seen. Explanations of topics are also given to aid understanding.
Hotmath -- http://hotmath.com
Hotmath offers step-by-step solutions and answers for specific textbooks in pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, and calculus (Some require you to become a member). There are also helpful graphing calculator resources for teachers.
i4c (Internet 4 Classrooms) -- http://www.internet4classrooms.com/index.htm
This site has everything you need to know about using the Internet and various types of technology in your classroom. There are step-by-step processes that you can follow to effectively use the Internet with your class.
Illuminations -- http://illuminations.nctm.org
Illuminations is a Web site established by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics to provide lesson plans, Web resources, and on-line software to teachers. Organized by grade level bands, this site is filled with great teaching ideas and resources for your classroom!
Interactivate (Shodor) – http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/
At this Web site, there are lesson plans aligned with NCTM Standards, as well as activities for students to engage in to explore concepts in a hands-on manner. This is an excellent resource for students to learn to problem solve and to visualize math concepts.
LessonFactory -- http://lessonplans.fundingfactory.com/
Original lesson plans have been submitted from teachers all over the country. The lessons are organized both by content and by grade level, making it easy to navigate.
LessonPlans.com -- http://www.lessonplans.com
This site includes links to lesson plans from many other "outside" sites. There is also a link to lesson plan studies, as well as other resources available to teachers.
Lesson Plans Page -- http://www.lessonplanspage.com
This is a user-friendly, valuable resource that will provide you with a wide variety of lesson plans. The lesson plans are complete lessons, organized by subject and grade level, and are easy to navigate.
Lesson Plan Search -- http://lessonplansearch.com
This site contains lesson plans, units, and other activities that are easy to locate. Other general teacher information can also be found at this site.
LessonPlanZ.com - Lesson Plans & Resources -- http://www.lessonplanz.com
This site is an easy way for teachers to find online lesson plans and teaching resources. There are over 4,000 lesson plans available at the site, which can be searched by subject, grade level, and content strand.
MathCast-- http://mathcast.sourceforge.net
MathCast is an equation editing software package that is free to the user. It functions much like MathType but has no cost.
MacTutor History of Mathematics -- http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/
This is a very useful website for teachers who are covering the history of mathematics. It includes a collection of interesting facts about math history, biographies of famous mathematicians, and other helpful indexes.
Marco Polo Education Site -- http://marcopolo-education.org/home.aspx
A rich Web site, Marco Polo features activities and lesson plans for teachers. Many of the mathematics lessons link back to the NCTM Illuminations site, but searches allow for lessons to be found beyond Illuminations as well and to be targeted to particular grade level bands.
Math Activities for K-12 Teachers (aeronautical and NASA-based) -- http://www.ed.arizona.edu/ward/math-nasa.htm
This site offers activities for K-12 teachers to use with real-life aeronautical problems for students to solve.
Math Counts Problem of the Week Archive -- http://www.mathcounts.org/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=142&z=7
This is a national coaching and competition program for 7th and 8th grade students. It includes a new math problem to challenge you each week! The problems tend to be non-traditional and encourage students to think outside of the box. The archive goes all the way back to 1996.
The Math Forum -- http://mathforum.org/
This site is one of the most famous mathematics Web sites on the Internet. It provides mathematics information, assistance, research, tips, and general resources for parents, teachers, and students. The Math Forum provides many lesson and activity ideas as well as answers to common mathematical questions.
Math Glossary -- http://www.hbschool.com/glossary/math2/index_temp.html
Math Glossary, for grades K-6, offers illustrated and animated definitions and explanations for math terms to help you with your homework. Many definitions have sound and animation to go along with them, which makes it easier for many students to understand.
Math Goodies -- http://mathgoodies.com
This site features mathematics lessons, worksheets, and more for the interactive classroom environment. More are available for purchase on a featured CD-ROM.
Math Moves U -- http://mathmovesu.com
Advertised as "the place to explore the stuff you're into, have fun, and pick up some cool math skills along the way!" The site runs like an arcade game in which you select a character and age and then progress through the games by answering questions.
Math Playground -- http://www.mathplayground.com/
A Web site for grades K-8 that includes all sorts of fun games, videos, worksheets, and more. It covers various topics, such as word and logic problems, algebra, and money. It is geared more for the student rather than the teacher.
Math Portal -- http://fcit.usf.edu/math/default.htm
This Web site offers a variety of different links and lesson plans for math teachers of all grades that are aligned with Florida’s Standards.
The Math Projects Journal -- http://mathprojects.com
This site contains lesson plans, activities and articles for pre-algebra, algebra and geometry.
Math Slice -- http://mathslice.com
At Math Slice, you will find mathematics teaching ideas, from early childhood through advanced courses, as well as worksheets, on-line activities, and games for students to play.
Math Tour -- http://library.thinkquest.org/22494/main_page/introduc.htm
Go on a numerical journey with this ThinkQuest team. You can try arithmetic, algebra, or geometry problems, read math stories, and more. The site is geared towards older students and is a good resource for teachers who want different and challenging questions for their students.
Maths Is Fun -- http://www.mathsisfun.com/
This is a great resource for teachers to find supplements for their lessons. You can find print-outs, take quizzes, play math games, and more. There are also definitions, visual aids, a math forum with a chat room set up, and a few TI-83 calculator activities.
Mathematics Lesson Plans -- http://www.col-ed.org/cur/math.html
A good site for K-12 mathematics teachers. Contains lesson plans at all grade levels covering various topics and skills
Mathematics Lessons that are Fun! Fun! Fun! by Cynthia Lanius -- http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/Lessons/
This Web site contains math activities for a variety of grade levels. The activities range from graphing to direction (left and right). Fun activities and user friendly!
MathsNet -- http://www.mathsnet.net/geometry/index.html
This Web site has great interactive ways to teach geometry as well as wonderful explanations and examples.
Mathwire -- http://mathwire.com
Designed as a "one stop shop," this site features many resources for mathematics teachers. The site features activities, games, suggested daily routines, templates, connections to literature, seasonal teaching ideas, and more.
MathWorld -- http://mathworld.wolfram.com/
This very helpful Web site is geared towards older students who have begun to learn more advanced topics, such as algebra, number theory, geometry, discrete, history, topology and more.
Middle School Net – http://www.middleschool.net
This site is for teachers by teachers. There are resources from lesson plans to flash cards, to links for middle school teachers of all subjects.
More Than Math -- http://www.morethanmath.org/
Here you can try some cool activities that combine the visual arts with math. It provides directions to follow for various activities that teachers can use in the classroom.
Mr. Titen's More Than Math Page -- http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Tower/1133
A math teacher from New Jersey created this site containing many interesting mathematical links. Descriptions of some links are available.
Mudd Math Fun Facts -- http://www.math.hmc.edu/funfacts/
Search a database full of random facts about math and interesting problems that can be presented to students, along with suggestions on how to teach and explain them. There are fun facts for all types of math, including topology, number theory, probability, and calculus.
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives for Interactive Mathematics -- http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/index.html
Housed at Utah State University, this site provides a wealth of on-line manipulatives and activities, organized by grade level and content strand. These virtual manipulatives can also be purchased on a CD-ROM, though all of them are available to run for free from this site.
Ohio's Instructional Management System -- http://ims.ode.state.oh.us/ODE/IMS/Lessons/Default.asp
Created by educators in Ohio, this collection of lesson plan ideas is designed to correspond directly with the Benchmarks of the Ohio Academic Content Standards. The site is a branch of the Ohio Department of Education. Check back to this site, as updates and additional lesson plans are constantly being added.
Ohio Math Works – http://www.ohiomathworks.com
If your students want to know when they are “ever going to use this again” show them this site. It is aimed for seventh through ninth graders and explains how math is linked to various careers.
Ohio Resource Center -- http://www.ohiorc.org/
This is an entire site devoted to teachers in the State of Ohio. It serves as a clearinghouse of lesson ideas, books, and other materials that constitute best practices in teaching.
PBS Teacher Source -- http://www.pbs.org/teachers
This site can be used by choosing the grade and subject that you want. In turn the site gives you a variety of lesson plans (1,400 are available) and activities that correspond to your choice of Arts/Literature, Health/Fitness, Mathematics, Science/Technology, and Social Studies.
Pro Teacher -- http://www.proteacher.com/lessonplans.html
Acquire and share lesson plans and activities that can be used in the classroom for grades K-6 for all subject areas at this site. It also has a link called Teaching Practices that will take the user to useful tips or information for the classroom teacher.
Purplemath -- http://www.purplemath.com
This site does not really provide "lessons" per se, but it does provide examples and explanations for a wide variety of types of mathematics problems. Explanations can be used as a source for ideas and examples that can be built into lesson plans, though most do not stand as lessons in and of themselves. The site can also be helpful to parents or students who are looking for explanations when attempting homework, etc.
Reform Calculus Resources -- http://barzilai.org/archive/
If you are teaching a calculus class, this is the address to know. You can find many different in-class and long-term project ideas for calculus classes. There are also capsules and tutorials as well as a list of resources.
Science and Mathematics Initiativ for Learning Enhancement -- http://www.iit.edu/~smile/
Summer teacher participants in a project develop lesson plans to share with other teachers via the Internet. Over 200 mathematics lesson plans are arranged by lesson content.
SCORE Mathematics Lessons – http://score.kings.k12.ca.us/lessons.html
This site has many different lesson plans sorted by topic and age group. There is something for students from grades K-12.
Sites for Teachers: Math -- http://www.sitesforteachers.com
This site features links to 25 other sites that feature lesson plans, activities, and teacher exchange ideas. There is something here for everyone at all grade levels and only a click away from this page!.
SuccessLink Site -- http://www.successlink.org/
This site is a great tool for teachers who are looking for lesson plans and activities for their classroom. It also provides may other important resources that teachers can use for their professional development.
Teacher Vision (Learning Network Teacher Channel) -- http://www.teachervision.fen.com
This site is a free teacher resource for lesson planning, professional development, references, and articles. It includes links to other sites on the Web, in order of popularity. Parents and students may use the site for fun activities and a "student safe" information search section.
Teachers.net -- http://www.teachers.net
A must-see site for furture and/or current educators! Excellent lesson plans for all grade levels and subject areas, user-friendly reference links, informative chatboards and job postings.
Teaching Math Through Culture -- http://www.rpi.edu/~eglash/csdt.html
Using themes from Native American, Latino, and African-American cultures, this site features Standards-based mathematics lesson plans, evaluations, and other teaching materials.
Teachnet-- http://www.teachnet.com/lesson
Teachnet.com features lesson plans across the content areas. The site is geared toward parents who are home schooling their children but does feature some creative lesson ideas.
Teachnology -- http://teachnology.com
Teachnology features lesson plans, rubrics, worksheets, and more for teachers in any subject area. Paid and free memberships are available, but there is much available to teachers without registering or paying at all.
That Quiz-- http://www.thatquiz.org
If you're looking for short, skill-based quizzes that students can take on-line for free, this is the place! Students can choose from arithmetic to geometry or calculus and are asked basic, skill-based questions that help them to do mental mathematics, memorize definitions, etc. The software could be used as a class, individually in a computer lab, or by students for practice at home.
University of Virginia: Center for Technology and Teacher Education – http://teacherlink.org/content/math/
Here you can find a variety of different lesson plans for high school mathematics classes and instructions on how to use different kinds of technology such as Geometer’s Sketchpad, Microsoft Excel, Digital cameras, and it teaches how to utilize resources on the Internet.
Villainy, Inc -- http://villainyinc.thinkport.org/
This Web site, geared towards grades 5-8, is a fun, interactive lesson that has the student working as a secret agent in the Anti-Villainy Unit. The site includes many teacher resources and information about the program.
Visual Fractions -- http://visualfractions.com
This site is all about fractions -- visual models, concepts, operations, investigations, and games. Visual Fractions can be used as an instructional tool in the classroom or computer lab, or used by students to review and explore on a computer at home.
Web Graphing -- http://webgraphing.com
On-line graphing calculators are featured at this site. Their use is free, although registration is required. The user can choose from a variety of available calculator styles, depending on the type of problem that is being solved.
WebMath -- http://www.webmath.com/
Forget that formula? Then visit this site to get some help. This is a helpful site for students that walks them through different equations.
We All Use Math Everyday -- http://weallusematheveryday.com
Organized around the television show NUMBERS, this site features problems and activities that feature the use of mathematics in the real world. The site was created in conjuction with Texas Instruments.
What Good Is Math? -- http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webunits/math/
If you have ever asked this question, you might find the answer here by trying one of these practical math problems. It provides real-life math problems and solutions for teachers to use in their classroom.
The World of Math Online -- http://www.math.com/teachers.html
This Web site provides everything from lesson plans to classroom resources, career information, worksheets, problems of the week, and more. Students can even use the site for homework help and study tips.