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Powers for Kids - Math for Kids -  Basic Concepts

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Exponents Game | Activity | Education.com

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Exponents can be tricky to learn. Fortunately this game provides plenty of multiplication practice for your math student!

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10 Engaging Exponents & Expressions Activities - Idea Galaxy

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I used to teach 5th grade and a student once said to me, “I’m nervous for 6th grade math. They do algebra!!” This student wasn’t confident with his own math skills and didn’t realize that he’d come in contact with algebra before. I think this a common concern for math students, especially those who struggle. […]

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When I taught the properties of exponents in algebra, it was always a breath of fresh air from our other topics. I had taught them about writing equations, solving systems, and there was lots of graphing. When we got to properties of exponents they didn't have to graph and there wasn't as much "writing".

Simplifying exponential expressions is also a fun unit to teach! I love using lots of activities during this unit, instead of homework assignments. Since these types of problems typically don't require lots of work to be shown, if a student makes a mistake they can't always figure out why. If students do lots of activities in class, I can catch mistakes and explain right away.

Check out these ideas and tips for teaching exponents!

Use Puzzles - I have recently developed a new love for puzzle activities. Students can channel their inner kid and put together a puzzle while working on exponent skills. You can copy them on cardstock and reuse them each year, you can have students cut them out and put them in their interactive notebooks, or you can even have students glue their puzzles together and hang them on the wall! They are an awesome sub day activity because students can work fairly independently and they are self-correcting. This Properties of Exponents Square Puzzle is a puzzle that can fit in an interactive notebook or can be used as an activity for learning centers. I like using this Simplifying Exponents Matching Puzzle for students that struggle because they can match the answers. If you want a more challenging puzzle, this Properties of Exponents with Negative Exponents Tarsia may be just the ticket!

Hang References - Using posters and word walls is a GREAT way to help students remember the properties of exponents. If students forget one of the rules, everything becomes a mess. When you hang references, it makes practicing correctly much easier for students. These Properties of Exponents Posters are quick and easy to print and hang in your classroom. This Properties of Exponents Mathbook activity is a fun way to have students practice problems and then you can hang them for reference later. This fun math pennant activity is another great way to display references and student work. If you want to give students their own reference, this Exponent Rules Bookmark is a great option.

Use Interactive Notebooks - My students strongly prefer their interactive notebooks to taking notes "the regular way". Having things preprinted helps me ensure they are copying problems correctly. My students love when I give them foldables to organize information. In these Exponents Interactive Notebook Pages, I love the INB page I used that explains the definition of exponents. This foldable for the Exponent Rules Lesson organizes everything in one spot and even finishes with an exit ticket. If you need a little more planning, this Exponents Interactive Notebook Unit takes care of everything for you! I love this Exponent Rules Simplifying Expressions Color by Number for an activity in an interactive notebook.

Clear Up Misconceptions Early - With any topic it's best to clear up misconceptions as early as possible. In the blog post, Math Misconceptions: Zero and Negative Exponents, there is an awesome explanation about using a table to help students remember the rules about zero and negative exponents. Also, these Tips for Teaching Exponent Rules are a great read.
Let Students Work Together - It's always more fun to work with a partner! I'm not going to lie, I love when we get to work in groups during inservice. I like when students "talk math" and they like working together. Partner worksheets like this Simplifying Exponents Partner Worksheet and any type of stations like this Properties of Exponents Scavenger Hunt are always a hit in my classes. For something totally different, this Laws of Exponents Battle My Mathship activity is a fun spin on the old game Battleship! This fun Negative Exponents Number Line Game is another fun way for students to work together. These Exponent Rules Task Cards would also be a fun way for students to practice together!

If you'd like to see MORE ideas about the properties of exponents, you may want to check out this post with 16 Exponent Rule Activities!

What is your favorite thing to do when you're teaching exponent rules?

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When I teach laws of exponents in algebra, I love using activities and interactive notebook foldables. There are ideas for introducing properties and rules of exponents, the dreaded negative exponents, and multiplying and dividing exponents. Use an activity after the notes, before giving a worksheet for homework. #mrseteachesmath #exponents

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Learn about exponents with these printable mathematics worksheets and task cards.

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Math Activity. Visualizing Exponents by paper folding. Joyful Learning  Exponents & Powers Grade 7,8

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Intro to exponents (article) | Khan Academy

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Learn for free about math, art, computer programming, economics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, finance, history, and more. Khan Academy is a nonprofit with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.

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Exponential Growth in Real-World Context

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Exponential Growth in Real-World Context

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Secret Worlds: The Universe Within

View the Milky Way at 10 million light years from the Earth. Then move through space towards the Earth in successive orders of magnitude until you reach a tall oak tree just outside the buildings of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. After that, begin to move from the actual size of a leaf into a microscopic world that reveals leaf cell walls, the cell nucleus, chromatin, DNA and finally, into the subatomic universe of electrons and protons.
Once the tutorial has completely downloaded, a set of the arrows will appear that allow the user to increase or decrease the view magnitude in Manual mode. Click on the Auto button to return to the Automatic mode.
Notice how each picture is actually an image of something that is 10 times bigger or smaller than the one preceding or following it. The number that appears on the lower right just below each image is the size of the object in the picture. On the lower left is the same number written in powers of ten, or exponential notation. Exponential notation is a convenient way for scientists to write very large or very small numbers. For example, compare the size of the Earth to the size of a plant cell, which is a trillion times smaller:

Earth = 12.76 x 10+6 = 12,760,000 meters wide
(12.76 million meters)Plant Cell = 12.76 x 10-6 = 0.00001276 meters wide
(12.76 millionths of a meter)

Scientists examine things in particular ways using a combination of very sophisticated equipment, everyday instruments, and many unlikely tools. Some phenomena that scientists want to observe are so tiny that they need a magnifying glass, or even a microscope. Other things are so far away that a powerful telescope must be used in order to see them. It is important to understand and be able to compare the size of things we are studying. To learn more about the relative sizes of things, visit our Perspectives: Powers of 10 activity site.

Note: - The sequence of images in this tutorial has been optimized for maximum visual impact. Due to the fact that discrete exponential increments are not always the most convenient interval for illustrating this concept, our artists and programmers have made dimensional approximations in some cases. As a consequence, the relative size and positioning of several objects in the tutorial reflect this fact.

The original concept underlying this tutorial was advanced by Dutch engineer and educator Kees Boeke, who first utilized powers to aid in visualization of large numbers in a 1957 publication entitled "Cosmic View, the Universe in 40 Jumps". Several years later, in 1968, architect Charles Eames, along with his wife Ray, directed a "rough sketch" film of the same concept and finally completed the work (entitled the "Powers of Ten") with the assistance of Philip Morrison in 1977. Other notable contributors to this effort include Philip's wife Phylis, who has assisted in translation of the concept into several beautifully illustrated books that are currently still available through the booksellers.

Purchase Nikon's Small World 2017 Calendar - The Nikon Small World 2017 Calendar is printed in full color on 8.5 x 11 semi-gloss paper and spiral bound for mounting on the wall. Included in the calendar are the top 20 prize winners and thumbnail images from all of the 15 honorable mentions. Winning entries included neurons, Quantum Dot crystals, plant tissues and fibers, cells in culture, recrystallized chemicals, animal tissue sections, a tapeworm, and several microscopic invertebrates. This year's contest drew entrants from over 50 countries, as well as from a diverse range of academic and professional disciplines. Winners came from such fields as chemistry, biology, materials research, botany, and biotechnology.
Contributing Authors
David A. Hahn, Christopher A. Burdett and Michael W. Davidson - National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, 1800 East Paul Dirac Dr., The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32310.

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Molecular Expressions: Science, Optics and You - Secret Worlds: The Universe Within - Interactive Flash Tutorial

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Start 10 million light-years from the Milky Way galaxy and wind up face to face with a proton in Florida.