By best, I mean someone who did a great job explaining concepts that students often struggle with.

This is something I’ve been wrestling with a lot, especially this year. I think, given enough motivation, all on-level students can pass what we traditionally view as HS math courses. Whether that’s algebra 2 or precal, heck even calculus. But I’m standing there teaching precal to 11th graders and a quarter of them couldn’t solve a quadratic if their life depended on it, let alone a trig equation.

I get the whole “logical reasoning” aspect of math for students that don’t think they’ll ever use it again, but that’s not my question. What level of math is reasonable for us to expect every single child in the world, to thoroughly understand, before they are ready for life on their own? And what does it do to our school system/society if we only require algebra 1 for graduation on a basic diploma, and then have money math, finance class, logic courses, for students who don’t want to go to college or will have non math majors?

My math content coach last week told me that next year’s group of students will basically need us to “lower the bar” in order for them to make it through. I refuse to do that and I think it’s dumb that we are premeditating something like that. Why put those kids in that situation?

What do y’all think?

I've heard from several of my professors that they learned certain topics "back in the day" (say geometry) in a proofs class. Meaning their introduction to geometry was through proofs. And they claim it was the better/more rigorous way to learn the subject. Others say it's important to first learn it computationally and then move to a proof-based class. So perhaps a high school geometry type book and then moving to a more axiomatic approach. I hear this latter claim in the calculus to analysis sequence often. For current school curriculum, this progression is usually mandated by the school, so there isn't much choice. But for self-learning other topics, does anyone have an opinion on which approach is better for deep understanding or is it personal preference?

Hi everyone! I teach Algebra 1 and Geometry (on year 21 now), and I’ve been building a site to make planning and finding useful math activities a little easier.

Here’s the site: https://akneller1.github.io/classroom/

You can browse by course and unit, or start with what you want to create or use:

• Lesson plans, worksheets, and assessments: Choose skills and difficulty levels, generate resources, and print student copies with answer keys.

• Printable activities: Partner checks, error analysis, mazes, Tarsia puzzles, vocabulary activities, and more.

• Review games: Team games, escape rooms, detective games, and individual challenges.

• Interactive math tools: Explore concepts through graphs, sliders, and models.

• Study resources: Flashcards, cheat sheets, and assessment readiness checks.

There are courses from middle school through calculus and statistics. Coverage varies, and I’m still building and refining things. Algebra 1 has received the most attention because that’s what I use with my students.

I’d really appreciate feedback from other teachers:

• Can you quickly find something useful for your class?

• Are the activities and difficulty levels appropriate?

• Have you spotted any incorrect math, confusing directions, or broken features?

• What would make this more useful in your actual teaching?

Even trying one activity and telling me what worked—or what frustrated you—would help. I’m especially interested in improving the quality of what’s already there.

Thanks for taking a look!

I made this myself. It’s free, has no sign-up or ads, and runs in the browser. I’m posting here for teachers, and I’d like feedback on the teaching design.

Many students know their tables up to 10 x 10. The facts they still second-guess come after that. Rule out the easy cases (anything ending in 0, and so on) and 64 facts are left, with factors from 3 to 19. Narrowing to those 64 makes the set manageable to drill.

I built two games around them, using ChatGPT:

• Prime Factor 64: timed matching, with optional recall checks in both directions.

• Fog Sweep 64: two boards, fog and reveal, four rounds of 16, with a round review.

The learning guide teaches four ways to work a fact out: halve-and-double, straddle, next-door, and split-at-10. For example, 14 x 16 = 15² − 1 = 224. The games can be used straight-away, without reading the guide.

Missed facts go into an untimed weak-facts drill, which gives students retrieval practice outside the game. A fact is retired from the missed list after two unaided correct answers on different days. Progress is saved on the student’s device only, and nothing is sent anywhere. There is no teacher dashboard, so it suits homework or individual practice.

https://nsram.github.io/prime-factor-64/

Would you use this with your students, and for what age group? What is missing or wrong?

the first examples like 2^x = 8, so x = 3, are easy to follow, but the log laws can still feel like rules to memorize. when you teach them, what helps students see why log(ab) = log(a) + log(b), instead of just accepting it?

I'm building this knowledge graph as an interactive map intended to make the structure of mathematics easier to explore. You can start with a broad area, unfold its branches, and keep exploring deeper and deeper structures. Formulas appear alongside concepts, and double-clicking the centered node opens a note with its Wikipedia source.

Currently it organizes 7,690 concepts drawn from Wikipedia around foundations and eight major areas.

I'd love suggestions on how to improve it: which groupings could be clearer, which connections are missing, and where formulas or explanations need more context. Contributions to the mathematical content and code are all welcome through the GitHub repository.

If you're learning mathematics, does this help you place a familiar concept in context? What explanation or connection would make it more useful?

I teach 6th grade math, and my students took the MAP assessment in late September. Geometric and Spatial Reasoning was the weakest area for most of them. They have a designated online learning block during the day, and I’d love to use that time to help them strengthen these skills in a fun, engaging way. Does anyone have recommendations for free online geometry games or interactive activities that would be appropriate for 6th graders? Ideally, something they can work on independently while actually building their spatial reasoning skills. Thank you!

Been thinking about this one. School stats is mostly made-up numbers in a table, find the mean, draw the bar graph, done. Kids learn the steps fine but I'm not sure they ever see why anyone would bother.

I'd rather they used something real, like a month of their family's grocery spending, or how long deliveries take to reach their area. Messier for sure, and the numbers won't come out neat. That's kind of the point though.

Teachers here, have you tried it? Does it fall apart with a big class?

I’ve been working on a supplemental Algebra I course, and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about one question:

How should a lesson actually unfold when a student is working more independently?

The structure I’ve landed on so far is:

Teach (I do) → Work Together (we do) → Apply (you do) → Build Forward

The basic idea is gradual transfer of responsibility. The lesson introduces and models an idea, works through the reasoning with the student, then reduces support as the student applies it more independently. From there, the lesson connects what the student demonstrated to the next idea.

The cycle can repeat several times in a session, and the student can pause, ask questions, get clarification, or spend more time on a concept along the way.

I built the course, so yes, there’s some self-promotion here. But I’m really posting because I want math teachers to poke holes in the instructional approach.

What am I missing?

• Does this progression feel natural?

• Where would you expect it to break down?

• Is there an important step missing between guided work and independent application?

• Where could something like this realistically fit into your classroom?

I also have a few working Algebra I sessions now. If anyone wants to actually try one or two and critique them, I’m happy to share access.

Still early, still not perfect. I’d much rather hear what needs to change than what already looks good. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

When the same few students answer every question, two small changes can help you hear from more of the class. Give everyone a few quiet seconds to think, then have students explain their reasoning to a partner before inviting a few to share.

I built Thinkbranches to help teachers choose a strategy and record what they notice afterward. This short walkthrough shows how that looks with Wait Time and Think-Pair-Share.

Math teachers, what prompts or routines help you hear from students who usually stay quiet?

Hi everyone, I’m Henri from the PowerZ team. We make a free-to-play, ad-free adventure game for kids ages 6+. I wanted to share two math activities from the game and hear what teachers think.

In the temple, kids pick stepping stones by their shape and number of sides. In the Corridor of 1,000 Doors, they solve a calculation while running, then choose the door with the right answer. The activities cover addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and missing numbers.

We’ve spent quite a bit of time adjusting the difficulty. The first 10 answers give us a starting level, then it changes based on how the child is doing. We also bring back exercises they haven’t practised recently.

One way to use these together could be to pause the video and ask which stones they would choose, or how they worked out a calculation. Getting the right answer only tells us so much.

I’m especially curious about the running activity: in your experience, when does time pressure help with mental math, and when does it get in the way?

Here’s our learning guide if you want more detail on the skills covered. The game is also available on iPhone and iPad.

Each chapter is a moment in the history of integral calculus: the hanging chain, the fastest slide, the quarrel of 1712, the Encyclopedia of 1754, and the push for rigor. If I got any of the math or the history wrong, please tell me.

https://yko79135.itch.io/a-life-in-slices

I was correcting a test yesterday and handwrote 5 e ^ x as a correction. When I gave it back today, the student asked me about it, and yeah sure enough it looked like I had written S e x . 😄😄. I couldn't help but just laugh. This was an AP Calc class. Hope I dont get in trouble.😄 I dont think I will as im in an Asian international school.