Moving into 8th Grade Math

This school year is bringing some big changes! In addition to teaching a couple of my usual sections of 6th grade math, I will also have the opportunity to have one class of 8th grade math this school year. It can be a little nerve-racking to switch grade levels, but I am excited to get started! Since I am planning on using a math workshop structure (similar to what I do with the 6th graders), it has been a summer busy with creating materials and resources that I can use in 8th grade math. I thought I'd highlight a few of these 8th grade math resources in this post!

I started by creating task cards. My 6th grade math task cards have worked so well for me to use at the front table during workshop, I knew I had to start by creating an 8th grade version. Pictured below is a free unit of these 8th grade task cards that focuses on Units of Measure. You can click on the picture or the title to grab a free copy! :)

8th Grade Math Task Cards - Units of Measure

You can also grab the full year bundle of these math task cards at the following link. The bundle includes 12 different units, 91 topics, and over 275 problems!

8th Grade Math Task Card Full Year Bundle

To go along with these math task cards, I also created a more challenging set of task cards to push my higher students. At the front table during math workshop, I always start the students with the task card from the set above. If they are able to easily finish those problems, than I give them one of the enrichment task cards. I'm excited to have a full set of these ready to go for my first 8th grade math class! As you can see, I've spent a bunch of time this summer printing and cutting these task cards! I'm hoping I can get around to laminating them before the year starts!

8th Grade Math Enrichment Task Cards Full Year Bundle

After having my two sets of task cards ready to go, I knew I would need some resources to use at the math centers where students were working in small groups! I decided to start with one of my most engaging, class-tested 6th grade games... Connect Four. I use my 6th grade Connect Four games all the time and it seems like students don't ever get sick of playing! I use them a lot as math centers, but also with my math intervention groups - they have worked great in both settings. Theses games don't take long to print, cut out, and have ready to use! Each topic comes with 6 different game boards, 16 problem cards, teacher instructions, and sheets for students to record their work! You can try out Connect Four: Area, Volume, and Surface Area - 8th Grade Math, which is pictured below, for free if you want to get an idea of how it works! 

All 10 of my 8th grade math Connect Four games are also available as a full year bundle!

Connect Four: Full Year Bundle - 8th Grade Math

I hope you are all off to a great start to the school year (or about to get started like me!). I'm sure I will be looking to create and find some more 8th grade math resources as I start this new adventure into the upper middle school grades, so be sure to stay tuned for more! :)