Over the last year, we’ve welcomed thousands of new math teachers and expanded our math resources. With all this growth, you might be wondering: what different math resources does NGPF have? Keep reading to learn about the types of resources we have, the topics we cover, and our recommendations to get started. 

What types of math resources does NGPF have?

Here's an overview of the type of math resources we offer: 

• Financial Algebra Course: The Financial Algebra course is a semester-long course for high school math teachers that want to weave together real-world personal finance and algebra skills. 

• Application Problems: Applications are differentiated problem sets that practice core math skills within real-world contexts. Applications are part of the Financial Algebra course; however, they are easy to bring into any math class because they include 3 levels of difficulty for each topic. You can find them on the Math Activities page. 

• Desmos Activities: NGPF’s Desmos Collection includes over 40 interactive activities that are designed to build engagement and conceptual understanding as part of the Financial Algebra course. Many of these activities are also a great stand-alone addition to your math class. New to Desmos? Read how to get started with Desmos. 

• Math Collection: The Math Collection has stand-alone 30-minute lessons on a variety of math topics within a personal finance context. Each activity includes a worked example, Edpuzzle video, practice problems, and reflection questions. The Math Collection has amazing activities for building more math into a personal finance class, teaching practical financial life skills, and reinforcing the fundamentals of algebra. You can find them on the Math Activities page. 

• Data Crunches: A Data Crunch is one chart or graph followed by five scaffolded questions to guide students through analyzing data and drawing conclusions. These quick 10-minute activities are a great way to build data analysis skills in any class. 

• And more! The Financial Algebra course has a number of brand-new math activities. These include fun MOVE activities where students get up out of their seats, CARD SORTs where students group different math representations, and CREATEs where students apply their math skills to make something. 

What math topics does NGPF cover?

NGPF’s resources cover a wide range of math topics at the middle school and high school level. Our activities cover math topics pre-algebra, algebra, and statistics. Right now, our resources do not cover geometry, quadratic functions, or calculus. 

Where should I start?

Of course, it’s up to you, but here are some recommendations for where to start:

• If you’re a middle school teacher, start with our MATH activities on percents, expressions and equations, and functions, and Data Crunches for data analysis. Although Financial Algebra is designed for high school students, you might find some of those resources useful for teaching the fundamentals of algebra, linear functions, and statistics. 

• If you’re an algebra teacher, Financial Algebra is the place to go!

• If you’re a statistics teacher, the world is your oyster! Financial Algebra includes two statistics units, the Math Activities page has a statistics section, and there are dozens of Data Crunches to practice interpreting graphs.

• If you’re not a math teacher but love math, check out Data Crunches and the Math Collection for an easy way to incorporate math life skills and data analysis into your classroom.

About the Author

Kathryn Dawson

Kathryn (she/her) is excited to join the NGPF team after 9 years of experience in education as a mentor, tutor, and special education teacher. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in policy analysis and management and has a master's degree in education from Brooklyn College. Kathryn is looking forward to bringing her passion for accessibility and educational justice into curriculum design at NGPF. During her free time, Kathryn loves embarking on cooking projects, walking around her Seattle neighborhood with her dog, or lounging in a hammock with a book.

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