How to teach square roots

This year I really changed how I taught my Number Systems Unit. I decided to teach a unit on Square Numbers and Square Roots. Then teach The Pythagorean Theorem Unit. My goal was for this unit to give the students a foundation of perfect and non-perfect square roots and set the students up for success with the concept of The Pythagorean Theorem and solving equations by taking the square root of both sides. Not only did I change the order of how this unit is taught, I completely changed how…

Foldable graphic organizers are the heart of interactive math notebooks. They’re great tools to have students organize new information and keep it accessible for future reference. But once the lesson is completed and the notes are neatly placed into the notebook, what happens next? Here are 5 (other) ways to use foldables in your math […]

This eye-catching bulletin board poster is perfect for any math classroom! Help your students memorize square roots and perfect squares and add to your cute classroom decor!

Perfect squares, square roots, anchor chart

A teacher messaged asking if I had a video showing how to estimate square roots using manipulatives. I didn't, but it sounded like a lot of fun to make a video on this topic. The video in this post shows how we can estimate square roots of numbers using visual models that show square root approximations. To prep for the video, I typed up and printed a sheet of visual models. If you want to show this method in class, you don't need anything more than paper, but here is the sheet of visuals if

Discovery Learning with Square Roots A few years ago I learned about the idea of discovery learning. It was revolutionary to me at the time. Math was taught to me in the most traditional ways for most of my life and I taught it that same way. You know- the teacher gives notes and the […]

Read this blog post for 12 engaging activities for practicing square roots and cube roots. Includes FREE mnemonic devices activity to help students remember their roots.

Teach the concepts of square root and exponents in a hands-on way using LEGO bricks! Students will love this algebra lesson.