Six Resources for Making Math Meaningful

Math can be made meaningful when connected to students’ experiences. With video clips and interactive games from public media students practice math concepts while exploring real world concepts. Learn how to decorate an intricate cake, play the role of the pharmacist, roof a house and more using PBS LearningMedia resources to measure with math.

Using Recipes for Fractions Lesson Plan and Video: Grades 4-8
While doubling a cupcake recipe, students practice three ways of doubling fractions using representations, addition, and multiplication. Students also convert between improper fractions and mixed numbers.

Reroofing Your Uncle’s House Interactive Game: Grades 3-9
In this interactive activity adapted from the Wisconsin Online Resource Center, students use mathematics and measuring skills to solve a construction problem by playing a game using tools (including a tape measure, notepad, and calculator) to determine how many shingles are needed to reroof a house. Students also learn the importance of proper planning and how miscalculating the amount of materials necessary can add to the cost and time spent on a project.

Cake Designer Video: Grades 3-9
In this video a cake designer describes how she uses math in her recipes and designs. Students will relate the importance of mathematics to the field of cake designing.

Area Circles of a Dive Dog Interactive Game: Grades 7-8
In this animated activity students learn the formula for the area of a circle and then apply it to multiple scenarios involving Spot the Dog. Activities include solving problems involving the area of a circle and for the areas of parallelograms, triangles, and circles. Students also calculate the area of a circle using the formula and recognize the relationship between a circle’s diameter and its circumference.

Dunk Tank: Area of Squares & Rectangles Video and Interactive Games: Grade 6
Using a combination of video and interactive gaming, each game addresses a single topic in 6th grade math curriculum and students compete with themselves for high scores. Other Dunk Tank episodes include: Venn Diagrams; Mean, Median, Mode & Range; Ratio & Proportion; Fractions, Decimals & Percents; Liquid Volume; and Circles.