3-Act Maths

3-Act Math lessons are an effective way to engage students in authentic problem solving.  This page contains my short (but growing!) list of 3-Act Math lessons as well as some more background information about 3-Act Maths.

Background

My lesson write-ups page also contains detailed lesson pathways and analysis of 3-Act Math lessons I’ve done as a part of lesson inquiries with teachers.

If you’d like to learn more about the structure of 3-Act Math lessons in the classroom, this webinar by Graham Fletcher is a great place to start.

Dan Meyer is the Grand Pooh-Bah of 3-Act Math lessons and has 30+ lessons appropriate for 6th-12th graders here.  His Tedx Talk is also well worth the 12 minutes.

Graham Fletcher offers excellent lessons for K-7th graders here.  At the bottom of his page, you will find links to Dan Meyer’s lessons and lessons written by other excellent teachers.  Give them a look!

My 3-Act Math Lessons

Good for:  Exploring decimal operations and reasoning.  Getting students making a guess and arguing for it.  Using strategies and structures that are simpler than the “standard algorithm”.  5.NBT.7, 6.NS.3, SMP7.

Good for:  Exploring place value and decimal values.  Using structures and strategies to make adding decimals easier.  Comparing different method and sharing reasoning.   5.NBT.3, 5.NBT.7SMP7.

Good for:  Carrying out a sequence of calculations using decimals.  Thinking about the meaning of units.  Contextualizing numbers and rates in the real world.  Thinking about order of operations.  5.NBT.7, 6.NS.3, SMP2.

Good for:  Making reasoning about expressions and equations become dynamic.  Fostering discourse in the classroom.  Thinking about how equations model relationships in the real world.  6.EE.6, 6.EE.7, 6.EE.9, SMP2.