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Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Mega
Fun

Math
s
r
e
d
l
i
u
B
l
Skil

by Richard Porteus

grades 6
-8

PROFESSIONALBOOKS
New York Toronto London Auckland Sydney
Mexico City New Delhi Hong Kong

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Scholastic Inc. grants teachers permission to photocopy the reproducible pages from this book for
classroom use. No other part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without permission of the publisher. For information
regarding permission, write to Scholastic Professional Books, 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
Cover design by Daniel Moreton
Cover illustration and interior illustration by Richard Porteus
Interior design by Richard Porteus and Vincent Ceci
Copyright 1999 by Richard Porteus. All rights reserved.
ISBN 0-439-04495-2
Printed in the U.S.A.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Number Sense

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Number User (Using numbers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6


Number Stumper (Choosing operations) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Sensible Chooser (Understanding estimates) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Best Estimator (Making estimates) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Patterns and Relationships


Number Jumper (Continuing patterns) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Pattern Finder (Finding patterns) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division


Truth Sleuth (Multiplying 1- and 2-digit numbers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Swell Helper (Multiplying 2- and 3-digit numbers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Rate Creator (Multiplying 1- and 2-digit numbers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Neat Eater (Adding and subtracting) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Smart Archer (Adding 2-digit numbers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Digit Fitter (Multiplying and dividing to complete math sentences) . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Crossdigit Wiz (Addition, subtraction, multiplication & division) . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Sure Tourist (Multiplying and dividing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Division Man (Dividing with remainders) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Fractions, Decimals & Percents


Fraction Tracker (Finding equivalent fractions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Jolly Joker (Adding decimals) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Match Maker (Rewriting fractions as decimals) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Convertor Clerk (Finding fraction/decimal/percent equivalents) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Percent Presenter (Understanding percentages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Able Surveyor (Determining fractions, decimals & percents) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Worthy Earthling (Working with mixed numbers). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Geometry and Measurement


Shape Chaser (Exploring solid shapes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Shape Gaper (Understanding solid shapes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Great Decorator (Computing area) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Alert Convertor (Converting units) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Measure User (Understanding metric measurement). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Smiling Miler (Converting units) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33


Meter Leader (Determining meters per second) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Shape Finder (Exploring polygons) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Probability
Number Chum (Using the Fundamental Counting Principle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Event Inventor (Determining probability) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Charts and Graphs


Graph Drafter (Reading circle graphs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Decibel Tester (Reading a bar graph) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Money
Quiet Buyer (Finding unit prices) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Reliable Buyer (Determining discounts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Real Dealer (Determining discounts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Refined Diner (Spending money) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Problem Solving
Answer Fancier (Solving word problems) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Puzzle Guzzler (Solving puzzles) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Introduction

This is the book for your students!


It contains a one-of-a-kind collection of activities that reinforce

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

basic math skills. I have thoughtfully selected activities to


stimulate, fascinate, and challenge students to be active learners.
These activities provide students with practice problems requiring
logical thinking as well as computation application.
Do your students think that math is just adding, subtracting,
multiplying, and dividing? These pages offer a variety of math
activities that do not involve those operations and many that do.
There is no particular sequence required for presenting the
activities in this book. When you wish to teach or reinforce a
specific topic, simply look it up in the table of contents. The
contents page is arranged in a sequence appearing in most sixth,
seventh, and eighth grade math textbooks.
I want students to enjoy math. That is why every page is
designed differently, many featuring cartoon drawings and
characters. Every topic is a name for the student doing the math.
So it is, that the student using numbers on page 6 is a Number
User. The student solving the problems on page 17 is a Digit
Fitter, and so on.
I am a retired teacher (kindergarten through high school) and
author of a variety of educational books for children. I hope that
you and your students enjoy this book as much as I have enjoyed
writing and illustrating it.

Richard Porteus

Number Sense

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Number User

Date _________________

Number Sense

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Number Stumper

Number Sense

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Sensible Chooser

Date _________________

Number Sense

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Best Estimator

Patterns and Relationships

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Number Jumper

10

Date _________________

Patterns and Relationships

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Pattern Finder

11

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Truth Sleuth

12

Date _________________

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Swell Helper

13

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Rate Creator

14

Date _________________

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Neat Eater

15

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Smart Archer

16

Date _________________

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Digit Fitter

17

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Crossdigit Wiz

18

Date _________________

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Sure Tourist

19

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Division Man

20

Date _________________

Fractions, Decimals & Percents

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Fraction Tracker

21

Fractions, Decimals & Percents

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Jolly Joker

22

Date _________________

Fractions, Decimals & Percents

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Match Maker

23

Fractions, Decimals & Percents

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Convertor Clerk

24

Date _________________

Fractions, Decimals & Percents

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Percent Presenter

25

Fractions, Decimals & Percents

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Able Surveyor

26

Date _________________

Fractions, Decimals & Percents

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Worthy Earthling

27

Geometry and Measurement

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Shape Chaser

28

Date _________________

Geometry and Measurement

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Shape Gaper

29

Geometry and Measurement

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Great Decorator

30

Date _________________

Geometry and Measurement

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Alert Convertor

31

Geometry and Measurement

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Measure User

32

Date _________________

Geometry and Measurement

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Smiling Miler

33

Geometry and Measurement

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Meter Leader

34

Date _________________

Geometry and Measurement

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Shape Finder

35

Probability

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Number Chum

36

Date _________________

Probability

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Event Inventor

37

Charts and Graphs

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Graph Drafter

38

Date _________________

Charts and Graphs

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Decibel Tester

39

Money

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Quiet Buyer

40

Date _________________

Money

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Reliable Buyer

41

Money

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Real Dealer

42

Date _________________

Money

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Refined Diner

Menu
Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Soups
Hot and Sour
Wonton
Egg Drop
Seafood

$2.50
2.75
2.25
3.00

Appetizers
Egg Roll
Spring Roll
Port Strips
Chicken Fingers
Crab Rangoon
Peking Ravioli
French Fries
Onion Rings

2.00
1.75
3.25
2.95
2.75
2.95
1.50
2.75

House Specials
Sesame Chicken
Yu Hsiang Scallops
Orange Chicken
Ginger Lobster
Seafood Supreme
Kung Pao
Hon Sue Gai
Thai Red Beef
Dragon & Phoenix
Gai Poo Lo Mein
Har Loan Kew
Chung King Pork
Pepper Steak
Pu Pu Platter

8.95
9.00
8.95
10.15
11.25
10.55
6.50
8.95
10.65
12.95
7.25
6.75
7.35
6.50

Plus 5% tax

43

Problem Solving

Name______________________________________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Answer Fancier

44

Date _________________

Problem Solving

Name______________________________________________

Date _________________

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Puzzle Guzzler

45

Answers

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Page 6

Page 7

Page 10
1. 24, 35, 48 2. 89, 121, 185
3. 8, 4, 2 4. 36, 25, 16
5. 79, 75, 71 6. 512, 2048, 8192
7. 42, 35, 27 8. 18, 15, 12
9. 36, 44, 52 10. 9, 11, 13
11. 19, 26, 34 12. 5/6, 6/7, 7/8
13. 18, 27, 38 14. 13, 21, 34
15. 20, 24, 28 16. 10/11, 12/13,
14/15 17. 243, 729, 2187
18. 16, 22, 29
Page 11
1. Answers will vary; if you add
the sum of the digits, they equal
nine.
2. All are evenly divisible by 3.
3. 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020,
2024, 2028, 2032, and 2034
4. 165; 1999; 802
5. Answers will vary.

9. $8, $12, $16, $20, $24


10. 720; 1,440; 2,880; 5,760;
11, 520
Page 15

Page 16

Page 12

Page 8
1. Exact answer 2. Exact answer
3. Estimate 4. Estimate 5. Exact
answer 6. $1.75 7. 120 8. $3.75
9. 10 10. $25,000
Page 9

Page 13
1. 10,752
3. 66,300
5. 68,688
7. 63,460
9. 24,102

2. 22,464
4. 17,112
6. 22,661
8. 32,035
10. 9,542

Page 14
1. 168, 252, 336, 420, 504
2. 110, 165, 330, 550, 825
3. 100, 150, 200, 250, 300
4. $5.50, $8.25, $11.00, $13.75,
$16.50
5. 175; 350; 525; 1,050; 2,100
6. $13.00, $19.50, $26.00,
$39.00, $52.00
7. 84, 126, 210, 420, 630
8. 54, $1.44, $2.16, $2.52,$2.88

46

Page 17

Answers

Page 24

Page 18

Page 28
1. D 2. B 3. A 4. E 5. C
6. H 7. J 8. I 9. G 10. F

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Page 29
A.
1. A 2. B
7. C 8. C
B
1. B 2. E
7. D 8. A

3. B 4. D 5. C 6. B
9. E 10. E 11. E
3. A 4. C 5. E 6. C
9. D 10. B 11. C

C
1. A 2. E. 3. B 4. C 5. E 6. D
7. E 8. C 9. A 10. C 11. C
Page 19
1. 9 hours; .0059;
2. 26 hours; .040;
3. 56 hours; .045;
4. 41 hours; .043;
5. 21 hours; .052;
6. 22 hours; .042;

$26.67
$52.76
$139.28
$88.58
$54.34
$46.96

Page 25
1. 111 2. 66 3. 231 4. 63
5. 49 6. 40 7. 114
Page 26

Page 31
1. 11 feet
2. 37.5 gallons
3. 15 cups
4. 24 hours
5. 6 gallons
6. 6549 weeks
7. 50 yards
8. 74 feet
9. 89 dozen
10. 198 pounds
11. 2,000 pounds
12. 230 feet

Page 20
1. 5R39 2. 8R25 3. 5R5
4. 11R21 5. 12R12 6. 923R7
7. 23R3 8. 88R1 9. 89R1
10. 43R19 11. 63R3
Page 21
Equivalent fractions are in boxes:
1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 17,
19, 22, and 24.
Page 22
O. 26.55
A. 27.34
L. 20.20
N. 30.13

C. 10.38 Y. 8.46
G. 5.09 T. 16.16
U. 30.75 P. 29.55
E. 17.97 S. 25.55

You can go to sleep.


Page 23
1. .25 2. .25 3. .23 4. .75
5. .06 6. .6 7. .22 8. .44
9. .88 10. .75 11. .67
12. .45 13. .75 14. 4.6
15. .63 16. .44 17. .88
18. .35 19. 1.13
20. 1.25

Page 30
1. $540 2. $170.88
3. $49.50 4. $22.50
5. $276.48 6. $90.00
7. $246 8. $199.80

Page 27
2. 8/9 of 96 = 8 x 96 = 768
9 = 85.3 lbs.
3. 6/16 of 96 = 6 x 96 = 576
16 = 36 lbs.
4. 21/8 of 96 = 21 x 96 = 2016
8 = 252 lbs.
5. 17/16 of 96 = 17 x 96 = 1632
16 = 102 lbs.
6. 9/8 of 96 = 9 x 96 = 864
8 = 108 lbs.
7. 1/25 of 96 = 1 x 96 = 96
25 = 3.8 lbs.

Page 32
1. 45 cu ft 2. 3.7 ft
3. 40 L 4. 318 m
5. 10 yd 6. 1 mm
7. 7 sq in 8. 5.8 m
9. 1.2 m 10. 105 sq ft
11. 5 mL 12. 20 sq ft
13. 50 cm 14. 11 mm
15. 0.24 ft 16. 12 cu ft
17. 8 oz
Page 33
1. 7,920
2. 528
3. 7,040
4. 10,560
5. 480

47

Mega Fun Math Skill Builders: Grades 6-8 Richard Porteus, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Answers

48

6.
7.
8.

6. 1,056
7. 21,120
8. 440
9. 3,520
10. 12,672
11. 2,640
12. 5,280

8. 1/4 x 32 = 8
9. 1/8 x 40 = 5

Page 34
1. bird 300 / plane 271
2. runner 139.5 / cheetah 159
3. sound 332 / light 299.792
4. skier 385 / greyhound 27
5. sound 1.992 /spacecraft 21.816
6. tennis ball 14.4 /
hockey puck 10.6
7. roller blader 4.4 /
bicyclist 2.48
8. hockey puck 31.8 /
bowling ball 42
9. swimmer 66
Olympic runner 90

Video Store Rentals


1. 184 2. 126
3. 79 4. 37
5. 47 6. 16
7. 11 8. 26

Page 35

Page 40
1. Y
2. X
3. Y
4. X
5. X
6. Y
7. X
8. X
9. Y

Page 38
Pizza Shop Choices
1. 55 2. 80
3. 55 4. 30
5. 20 6. 10

Page 39
1. 30 dB
2. 30 dB
3. 20 dB
4. 20 dB
5. 40 dB
6. Jet Plane Take Off
7. 120 dB

.40
.49
.37

Page 43
1. $26.15
2. $19.20
3. $10.25
4. $5.13
5. $9.60
6. $1.31
7. $27.46
8. $2.54

9. Spring roll, chicken fingers, and


French fries; or spring roll, Peking
Ravioli, and French fries.
Page 44
1. $30.00
2. 2 days
3. 5
4. 80 feet
5. 37
Page 45

Page 36
2. 1,000,000
3. 10,000
4. 10,000,000
5. 100,000
6. 2,600
7. 11,881,376
8. 100,000,000

Page 41
1. $8.10; $9.90
2. $12.00; $48.00
3. $5.74; $5.06
4. $10.00; $40.00
5. $2.70; $24.30
6. $5.92; $10.08
7. $4.95: $10.05
8. $2.00; $6.00
9. $24.00; $56.00

Page 37
1. 1/4 x 60 = 15
2. 4/12 x 24 = 8
3. 1/2 x 500 = 250
4. 2/3 x 24 = 16
5. 1/6 x 96 = 16
7. 2/4 x 50 = 25

Page 42
Hanlon's
1.
$1.40
2.
.31
3.
.61
4.
.55
5.
.57

Murray's
$ .92
.38
.83
.58
.44

.38
.31
.30

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