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We've created Yummy Math to provide teachers with an easy way to bring real-life into their math classrooms. It is our belief that when math is explored in contexts that are familiar and of interest to students, students will be more engaged to do math, reason, think critically, question and communicate.  Our activities are written to correspond with the NCTM Process Standards and the CCSS Standards for Mathematical Practice.

The US Census Bureau provides access to a staggering amount of data that can be used to create "detailed portraits of the changing characteristics of [American] communities," but for the uninitiated, interpreting that data can be a challenge. To help address this difficulty, the Census Bureaus Statistics in Schools (SIS) program has created this collection of classroom geography activities designed to supplement the standard curriculum while providing useful learning tools related to real life data. Here, readers will find detailed, well-developed activity plans for students in grades 4-12, broadly grouped into grade level appropriate topics: elementary (e.g. "Examining Changes to the Environment Through Pictures and Data"), middle school (e.g. "What role does Geography Play in the Census?"), and high school (e.g. "Analyzing Correlations of Education and Income"). Individual activities indicate the specific grade level(s) they are intended for, and each gives a description, states the time and materials required, and also provides a list of learning objectives and a Bloom's Taxonomy teacher's note. Each lesson includes downloadable PDFs of teacher and student versions of the activity.

Mathematics teachers and tutors, especially those who work with students with special needs, may be interested in the Learning Kaleidoscope. Authored by Andrew Gael, who teaches mathematics at a K-12 school designed for students with disabilities, this blog is designed to share instructional techniques and build community among math teachers. Check out the Tasks & Instructional Routines tab, which features hands-on-activities designed to engage students in math concepts. One highlight of this collection is a shopping activity related to financial literacy. Under the #SwDMathChat (Students with Disabilities Math Chat) tab, instructors can check out archived chats that took place between mathematics teachers on Twitter. Each conversation centers on a different topic related to teaching math to students with disabilities, including collaboration with general education teachers and neurodiversity.

Reading bedtime stories to children is a common strategy to boost kids' literacy--but what about doing the same for math? Parents hoping to prevent math anxiety in their children may find Bedtime Math to be a formidable ally. This resource offers more than two thousand short math puzzles designed as fun activities for parents to do with their kids at bedtime. New puzzles are added daily and each features "a cool fun fact, followed by math riddles at different levels so everyone can jump in." Parents can subscribe for free to get new daily Bedtime Math puzzles via email or they can download a free app (available for iOS and Android devices) where they can access the puzzles in both English and Spanish. Bedtime Math also offers the "Crazy 8s Math Club!" a kit of free resources designed to be used for fun after-school recreational math clubs. Bedtime Math was created by Laura Overdeck, a mom with degrees in astrophysics and public policy who loved playing with numbers as a child. Bedtime Math's activities have been used in studies by the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University, who both found their offerings to be beneficial.