Welcome to Menu Math! This page represents my ongoing attempt to curate a collection of ideas of a task structure that I invented while playing the the notions of building functions to specifications. [That collection of work can be found on the “Custom Functions” page].
A Math Menu is a collection of constraints that appear as an unordered list generally about 6-10 constraints long. Each menu prescribes a type of mathematical object that needs to be designed to satisfy these constraints. That object could be a certain type of function (as was the original idea), an expression, a shape, a number, etc.
The key to a Menu Math task is this: Each constraint must be satisfied at least once, and students try to complete this goal using as few mathematical objects as possible. This mechanism preserves a low entry point (where teachers might ask students to design objects that satisfy one or two constraints), but escalates the possibility as students analyze which constraints pair well together and which cannot pair together.
The menus are collected in the table below. Each is formatted into a downloadable word document.1 This is to help with preparation time as well as encourage edits of the constraints to fit your specific classroom context. These menus are published under this Creative Commons licence. They are available in both English and French thanks to the translation work of Joce Dagenais! Also, some wonderful coders have started converting Menu Math tasks into Desmos activities. You can gain access to an evergreen list of these activities here.
Take this as your open invitation to implement, adapt, share student thinking, and contribute new ideas. Communicate via Twitter (using the hashtag #MenuMath) or the Contact Page!
| Topic | Sujet | Contributor / Créateur | English | Français |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadratic functions in vertex-graphing form | Fonctions quadratiques forme canonique | Nat Banting | Handout | Doc |
| Linear functions | Fonctions linéaires | Amie Albrecht | Handout | Doc |
| Solutions to linear systems | Heather Theijsmeijer | Handout | Doc | |
| Systems of linear inequalities | Systèmes d'inéquations linéaires | Nat Banting | Handout | Doc |
| Patterns in tables | Kit Golan | Handout | Doc | |
| Slope | Nat Banting | Handout | Doc | |
| Polynomial functions | Fonctions polynomiales | Stephanie Gower | Handout | Doc |
| Exponential functions | Fonctions exponentielles | Sheri Walker & Tania Asselstine | Handout | Doc |
| Logarithmic functions | Mary Bourassa | Handout | Doc | |
| Angles in standard position | Meghan Donnelly | Handout | Doc | |
| Sinusoidal functions | Fonctions sinusoïdales | Dylan Kane | Handout | Doc |
| Sinusoidal functions 2 | Fonctions sinusoïdales #2 | Dave Martin | Handout | Doc |
| Rational functions | Fonctions rationnelles | Mary Bourassa | Handout | Doc |
| Calculus functions | Fonctions Calcul différentiel et Intégral | Erick Lee | Handout | Doc |
| Calculus Functions 2 | Jeremy Sundeen | Handout | Doc | |
| Parent functions | Meghan Donnelly | Handout | Doc | |
| Radical equations | Lena Miller | Handout | Doc | |
| Building triangles | Construction de triangles | Amie Albrecht | Handout | Doc |
| Building triangles 2 | Construction de triangles #2 | Chad Williams | Handout | Doc |
| Building quadrilaterals | Construction de quadrilatères | Amie Albrecht | Handout | Doc |
| Building quadrilaterals 2 | Construction quadrilatères 2 | Mary Bourassa | Handout | Doc |
| Area and perimeter of rectangles | Maegan Giroux & Kyle Webb | Handout | Doc | |
| Shapes | Formes | Chad Williams | Handout | Doc |
| 3D shapes | Formes 3D | Mary Bourassa | Handout | Doc |
| 3D shapes 2 | Formes 3D #2 | Chad Williams | Handout | Doc |
| 3D shapes 3 | Formes 3D #3 | Chad Williams | Handout | Doc |
| Building 3D Objects | JoAnn Sandford | Handout | Doc | |
| Line and point symmetry | Javier Cabezas | Handout | Doc | |
| Currency | Chad Williams | Handout | Doc | |
| Characteristics of numbers | Caractéristiques des nombres | Chris Hunter | Handout | Doc |
| Characteristics of numbers 2 | Caractéristiques des nombres #2 | Chad Williams | Handout | Doc |
| Characteristics of numbers 3 | Caractéristiques des nombres #3 | Chad Williams | Handout | Doc |
| Numbers and operations | Nombres et opérations | Chad Williams | Handout | Doc |
| Numbers and operations 2 | Nombres et opérations #2 | Chad Williams | Handout | Doc |
| Two-digit addition | Maegan Giroux & Kyle Webb | Handout | Doc | |
| Multiplication sentences | Maegan Giroux & Kyle Webb | Handout | Doc | |
| Order of operations | Mary Bourassa | Handout | Doc | |
| Division with remainders | Maegan Giroux & Kyle Webb | Handout | Doc | |
| Divisibility | Maegan Giroux & Kyle Webb | Handout | Doc | |
| Growing patterns | Heather Theijsmeijer | Handout | Doc | |
| Linear Equations | Carly Hart | Handout | Doc | |
| Base-10 blocks | Blocs en base 10 #1 | Chad Williams | Handout | Doc |
| Base-10 blocks 2 | Blocs en base 10 #2 | Chad Williams | Handout | Doc |
| 3D vectors | Vecteurs 3D | Mary Bourassa | Handout | Doc |
| Polynomial expressions | Polynômes | Marieta Angjeli | Handout | Doc |
| Integers | Jayne Breton | Handout | Doc | |
| Fractions | Fractions | Josh Giesbrecht | Handout | Doc |
| Fractions 2 | Fractions #2 | Chad Williams | Handout | Doc |
| Decimal operations | Opérations décimales | Dave Martin | Handout | Doc |
| Adding fractions | David Petro | Handout | Doc | |
| Multiplying fractions | Kirsten Dyck & David Petro | Handout | Doc | |
| Fractions and decimals | Maegan Giroux & Kyle Webb | Handout | Doc | |
| Improper and mixed fractions | Maegan Giroux & Kyle Webb | Handout | Doc | |
| Percentages with fraction and decimals | Maegan Giroux & Kyle Webb | Handout | Doc | |
| Square roots | Kirsten Dyck | Handout | Doc | |
| Data sets | Série de données | Josh Giesbrecht | Handout | Doc |