Math tests are an easy way to get valuable information about a student’s study skills and foundational knowledge, but they don’t always show the whole picture. These middle school math projects will show you whether a student can think critically, creatively, and defend their decisions using math.
Get your 8th grade math students thinking outside of the box with this winter-themed angle relationships and triangles word problems activity! This real world application connects parallel lines cut by a transversal, angle relationships, and similar triangles to a day at the slope!
Here’s the scenario:
At the Snowy Peaks Ski Resort, the ski slopes are designed with triangular paths to ensure the best angles for skiing. The slopes form right triangles with the mountain’s height and the base of the hill.
You can use this activity as an assessment for angle relationships, transversals, and triangle rules or use only version 2 to assess the skills separately.
Version 1 assesses finding missing side lengths from similar triangles and finding missing angles from parallel lines and transversals, angle sum theorem, and exterior/interior angles.
Version 2 breaks up the activity if you only want to assess similar triangle rules and find missing side lengths using proportions.
Types of slope
This middle school math project for types of slope will engage even your most uninterested math students! Your students are tasked with finding real life examples of positive, negative, zero, and undefined slopes. They will then use the organizational templates to create tables and graphical representations of each slope that they find.
If you choose to extend this project and have your students create a presentation of their findings, directions and grading rubrics are included. This real world math activity is perfect for group work and collaboration, but can also be used as a stand-alone summative assessment for finding and comparing types of slope!
Compound probability
In this compound probability activity, your students will calculate the probabilities of independent/dependent events and conditional probability. This real world application tasks your students with predicting the weather for a popular tourist destination in Florida. They will calculate probabilities of rain, sunshine, thunderstorms, and hurricanes to help the tourists determine their weekend plans.
Systems of Equations
This systems of equations project will challenge your students to create their own food truck and sustain a profitable business. They will use the organizational templates provided to conduct market research to create a business plan. From this plan, they will create linear equations and solve systems of equations to determine their possible profit margins.
I loved using this activity as a group project at the end of my systems unit to show students how math is found in many different places in real life! In my classroom, I extended this project and had my students present their business plans.
Scatter Plots and Line of Best Fit
Take your standard scatter plots and line of best fit assignment to the next level with this real world application for 8th grade math or Algebra 1! This activity is designed to engage your students while challenging them to think outside of the box. They will graph two scatter plots using precipitation data, create lines of best fit, and make predictions based on their data.
Solving Multi-Step Equations
This real world math activity will challenge and engage your students in solving multi step equations word problems.
Here’s the scenario:
Jenny has recently decided to join a gym to get in share for the upcoming sports season. Like most young adults, she is short on time and money. The table below shows the prices of the two gyms that she is considering.
From this scenario, the students will write and solve various equations based on the cost and time constraints she has given.
There are two differentiated versions of this word problems worksheet. Level 1 has scaffolded verbal models to prompt your students through writing equations from word problems. Once the students have written the equations, they are asked to make predictions and defend their solutions.
Level 2 requires your students to think critically and problem solve independently.
Multi-step inequalities
In this real world math project, students are tasked with creating and solving multi step inequalities to budget and build a backyard landscape design for their client. This Algebra 1 project includes two differentiated versions with verbal prompts and planning templates.
Here’s the scenario:
You are a landscape designer enlisted by a family to redesign their backyard. Your clients have asked you to design a space for an inground pool, patio, and surrounding gardens. You will need to build inequalities to make sure that your design stays under the client’s budget of $75,000.
Linear Equations
In this real world linear equations project, your students will be tasked with using equations to plan an international family trip. They will need to work within their budget, create and solve linear equations, and justify their answers with mathematical evidence and reasoning.
This real world math project includes:
Writing linear equations in slope-intercept, point-slope, and standard form
Rewriting formulas and literal equations to solve for a missing value
Finding x- and y-intercepts
Solving and graphing linear functions
This real world algebra application is perfect for group work or as a summative assessment. I have also used it as an extra credit project for my early finishers.
Final thoughts about these middle school math projects
Real life applications are an essential part of any curriculum, but can often intimidate students. These middle school math projects offer scaffolding to support students as they learn to solve word problems and navigate the problem solving process.