If you’ve visited my website before, you know I’m all about real-world math projects that come straight from my classroom. Today, I’m pulling back the curtain to reveal my process of creating these projects from the beginning to the end. That’s right, I’ll explain my FIVE “must haves” for designing math projects. This blog post is your access to fresh ideas and handy tools, so you can create your own math projects for your classroom! Let the creativity begin…

If you want ALL the Math Project Must Have details via video and download the FREE notes and example project, CLICK HERE.

Real World Connection
Why does this matter? By exploring the common question of “how does math apply to real life?”, we are naturally unlocking student interest. Connecting the math they are learning to everyday situations makes it easier for them to understand and keeps students engaged because it’s relatable.
 
Plus, real-world projects are training for the future. When students create projects that mirror actual situations they might encounter later in life, they are getting a sneak peek into the challenges and problem-solving they’ll face.

Student Handout
Why do students need this? Knowing the objectives and directions for a math project is like having a roadmap for a journey. It gives students a clear sense of what needs to be done and the knowledge and skills they will demonstrate along the way.
 
Objectives – helps students grasp the purpose of the project
Directions – act as a guide, explaining the steps to take to complete the project
Alignment – ensures that the project accurately matches your standards
 
A handout not only helps students stay organized, but also keeps them focused on the key aspects and assists them to work more efficiently.

Rubric
What’s the purpose of this? A rubric breaks the project down into bight-sized pieces, making it easier to understand the expectations and levels of proficiency. It also allows you to weight different aspects of the project by importance.

Example
You may be wondering if having an example project is really necessary? The answer is a resounding YES! Let me explain why. I was filling in for another teacher and the students were starting a new project. Quite a few of them wished they had an example to look at, so they knew what a finished project would look like. That got me thinking–this visual aid is gold for students, perhaps even more important than the rubric.
 
I’ve always made it a point to include an example project for my students because, let’s face it, student directions and a rubric don’t always paint a full picture. A visual example though? Now that’s the game-changer students need to create an amazing project.
 
Answer Key
Let’s face it, answer keys are the holy grail for math teachers for efficiency and making grading student work a breeze. It’s also crucial to be able to check students’ answers as they work through a project.
 
Designing projects that facilitate unique answers for every student is my goal, however, this makes it tricky to create an answer key. I have a few tips on how to easily create answer keys that can be used to quickly type in each student’s unique answer to see if they are correct.

I’ve revealed my FIVE key elements for creating a quality math project and why they’re game changers. Are you excited to learn HOW you can add all of these elements into your own projects? Mathtastic! I’ve got a FREE video session and downloadable handouts waiting for you, so you can take your projects to the next level! Let’s make learning math a whole lot more exciting!

​Don’t have time to make your own math projects? I totally understand, that's why I've got you covered! Check out my favorite real world math projects by clicking on this image:

Real World Projects and Applications by Algebra and Beyond
Connecting quadratic concepts to real life really helps students understand how and why we learn about quadratics. You can do this in the form of a project or a handout with real world scenarios. 

Let’s talk math projects….
 
As a teacher, I love to implement projects into as many units of study as possible. Projects can push students to use a higher level of thinking, because often, projects include more creativity, application, evaluation and analyzation than the average assignment or activity. This is a great way for us, as teachers, to see that students’ have the capability to expand upon their skill set.
 
Students also enjoy doing something outside the normal lesson. Projects can give students’ choice, which can boost their engagement and motivation, allow them to capitalize on their interests and strengths, and enable them to meet their individual learning needs.
 
Projects are a teacher and student win-win! Therefore, my math friends and I want to share with you some of our FAVORITE math projects that you can use in your classroom!

Let’s start with the projects I use in my classroom…
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Students ALWAYS ask how will we use this math in the real-world?! Therefore, I create projects that have students use their math skills in real-world scenarios. They're also perfect for a summative assessment at the end of a unit OR integrated within a unit. Either way, you are answering that forever dreaded question of how math is used in real life! Read about some of the projects I’ve created for my students:

If you’ve been following me for a bit, you know that I LOVE real world projects! And it all began with this one….
 
Linear Equations are All Around Us!

This was the FIRST project I ever made for my students. 

It made me fall in love with integrating projects into my classroom.

I created it in a way that gives students' options of topics and various levels of difficulty.

And most importantly, my students had FUN doing math!!!

OBJECTIVE
Analyze a linear equation in a real-world setting. You will be able to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the following skills:

• Write a linear equation that represents a real-world scenario.
• Create a table to represent data for the linear equation.
• Graph the linear equation.
• Create a visual demonstrating this real-world scenario.
• Answer questions about the real-world scenario by analyzing the equation, table, and graph.

 
RESEARCH & COLLECTING DATA
Students determine the rate and write an equation for the real-world scenario. Some projects require a little research, but a link is included to help them find the data. Then, they use the linear equation to fill in a table.

GRAPHING & RESULTS
Students graph the linear equation and plot the ordered pairs. I suggest they use graph paper or Desmos. Students label important information on the graph: x-axis, y-axis, ordered pairs, and use an appropriate scale. Students then analyze their equation, table, and graph by answering questions.
 
VISUALS
Students create a visual demonstration of the real-world scenario by drawing or using an image from the internet.

GRADING
A Google Sheets answer key for each scenario is included, so you can insert any rate of used in each project and it automatically calculates the information needed for grading. A rubric is also provided, so you can easily evaluate each aspect of the project. It is great for students to use, so they know exactly what is expected of them for each part of the project.
 
What’s included in the project?

• 6 student projects (print & digital) – various levels of difficulty and perfect for differentiation
• Note to Teacher – an overview of the project
• Answer Keys
• Rubric
• Example Project

 
EVERYTHING in this project is 100% editable!

 Click on the video below to see an overview of the elements in the project: 

​One of my favorite concepts to teach is linear equations. I love giving students a variety of ways to show what they know. If you’re looking for a fun and creative way to assess students on linear equations, then this project is perfect!
 
Click on the image below to view this project:

I remember when I was in school and my teacher would say, “you have 15 minutes to complete your quiz and then we are moving onto the next activity”. It would make me panic and then I wasn’t able to focus to do my best work.
 
Therefore, one of the things I never want to do to my students is put pressure on them to finish an assessment in a certain amount of time, so the class could move onto the next task. It’s WAY too much pressure!
 
Of course, I can’t give them all day to complete it, BUT I can give them an ample amount of time to finish and check their work. But, by doing so, I may run into a few problems:

1 – Students that finish early will have nothing to do.
2 – We'd lose learning time, by allowing so much time for an assessment.
 
I didn’t want these things to happen either, so I created some quick, review activities for students to complete when they finished their assessments or work early. I call these iMath activities, which are based on everyone’s favorite apps. Below is a summary of each activity. Click on the image to link to the blog post with more detail about each activity. I specifically created them for an Algebra 1 course, but several of them can be used in 7th and 8th grade math as well.

​*Click on each image to go to the activity.