Teach Teach

Math Worksheets

I often create worksheets for my students, even though every district-adopted math curriculum we've had has worksheets for students. I do this for two reasons:

  1. I sometimes want to teach differently than what the curriculum writing team was thinking.

  2. There's a particular structure/scaffold that reflects how I see the content can unfold for learners.

Here's a sequence of practice questions for my 8th graders on rigid transformations.

Everything about this is intentional.

  • Item #1 is a completed sample of what's to come. This is a practice worksheet, not a problem-solving task, so I will be clear about what is expected.

  • I remove certain parts in item #2, while keeping it similar to item #1.

  • Item #3 comes before item #4 because I think it's easier to follow the stated transformations than to say what they are.

  • Item #6 asks for more flexibility but with an ending constraint.

  • Item #7 opens up the problem and allows for peer exchange.

It's esthetically easier for me to create the questions on Google Slides. I then do screenshots to toss them onto a Google Doc. Here's a screenshot of questions for 7th graders on percent change. Here's a screenshot of questions for 6th graders on ratios and rates. If you'd like copies of these:

Yes, each of these takes one unit of shit-ton of time, especially when I have to look up real products with real numbers. But it's an OCD thing too, as in If-I-can-make-it-better-I-will. Stay safe, everyone.

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