Fun & Challenging Programs for U.S. Middle School Students

Greetings teachers!  We hope you had a great summer and are ready to get your students excited about math!  For 30 years, MATHCOUNTS has been making math exciting through fun and challenging programs for students of all ability levels.  You can get more information on each of our three programs below:

FUN MATH ACTIVITIES FOR TEACHERS WHO WANT TO DO A MATH CLUB – AND IT’S FREE!

The Club Program provides all of the structure and materials you need to put on a math club – and it's entirely FREE! It’s perfect for students who want more math in a fun club setting – and the FREE prizes (including trophies, gift cards and a grand prize trip to Washington, DC) are great motivators to get them to the meetings!  

When you sign your school up for the Club Program, you will receive the MATHCOUNTS Club-in-a-Box that contains:

• Hard copy of the 2012-2013 MATHCOUNTS School Handbook and the 2012-2013 Club Resource Guide.
• Club Program Resource CD - Includes over 50 more club meeting ideas and other great resources.
• 12 MATHCOUNTS pencils for your students.
• Hands-on math activity that has students create their own board game.

READY FOR A CHALLENGE?  SIGN UP YOUR MATH TEAM FOR THE COMPETITION PROGRAM!

The MATHCOUNTS Competition Program is a national middle school math competition that promotes mathematics achievement through a series of fun and engaging "bee" style contests.  The program takes place in all 50 states plus U.S. territories and the Department of Defense and State Department schools.  With over 500 local competitions, there’s one near you! 

LOOKING FOR A PROJECT THAT COMBINES MATH AND TECHNOLOGY WITH TEAMWORK AND CREATIVITY?  THAT’S THE REEL MATH CHALLENGE - AND IT'S FREE!

The Reel Math Challenge is an innovative program involving teams of students using cutting-edge technology to create math teaching videos.  This new competition is meant to excite students about math while allowing them to hone their creativity and communication skills. Students form a team consisting of four students each to create a video based on one of the problems included in the MATHCOUNTS School Handbook, published each year and distributed free of charge to every middle school in the country. The video must teach the solution to the selected math problem as well as demonstrate the real-world application of the math concept used in the problem.  Videos are posted to the contest website, where the public votes on their favorites.  Top vote getters receive prizes, including scholarships and trips to the National Competition! 

GET YOUR FREE COPY OF THE 2012-2013 SCHOOL HANDBOOK!

The MATHCOUNTS School Handbook contains 300 creative problems meeting National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards for grades 6-8. All problems are mapped according to topic, to difficulty level, and to the Common Core State Standards. In addition to fun and challenging problems, the MATHCOUNTS School Handbook also contains detailed rules and information on all three MATHCOUNTS programs.  

Download the 2012-2013 MATHCOUNTS School Handbook - Click Here!

THE INTERACTIVE VERSION OF THE MATHCOUNTS SCHOOL HANDBOOK!

This year, we are pleased to offer the 2012-2013 MATHCOUNTS School Handbook online in a new, interactive format through NextThought, a software technology company devoted to improving the quality and accessibility of online education.

When logged on to the NextThought platform, students will be able to discuss problems in real time, access helpful teaching video resources, share notes directly in the content, receive help from coaches and collaborate with teammates and peers across the country. Online collaboration channels, such as messaging, digital whiteboards and note-sharing capabilities will enable students to build personal learning networks, build knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of math topics.

In addition to providing users with online, interactive access to the Warm-ups, Workouts, and Stretches included in the 2012-2013 MATHCOUNTS School Handbook, the NextThought platform will allow students and coaches to take advantage of the following features:

• Students can bookmark pages, add notes, comments and questions, and show their work through digital whiteboards. All interactions are contextually stored and indexed within the School Handbook.
• Content is accessible from any computer with a modern web browser through the cloud-based platform.
• Interactive problems can be used to assess student or team performance.
• With the ability to receive immediate feedback, including solutions, students develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
• View related videos correlated to handbook problems.
• Advanced search and filter features provide efficient ways to find and access MATHCOUNTS content and user- generated annotations.
• Students can build their personal learning networks through collaborative features.
• Chat function allows students to discuss problems in real time.

Please note that new materials (such as past handbooks and competitions) as well new functionality will be added throughout the year.  To access this exciting new platform, please visit mathcounts.nextthought.com.