6 Fun Math Activities for Middle School Students

There are plenty of ways to make math fun math for middle school students. Hands-on activities and games can engage all students in fun and effective math practice. Find a collection of math activities to use with your middle school learners. 

Middle school math games and activities for grades 6-8

Check out these six middle school math games and activities below to teach sixth, seventh, and eighth graders about topics ranging from two-step inequalities to estimated square roots. Each of these printable PDF activities, which originated from HMH's Into Math and GO Math! programs, are available to download.

Grade 6

Activity #1: Magnitude Madness

Students will relate real-world situations to rational numbers, then find the number's magnitude, or absolute value, and graph the number on a number line. We suggest completing this activity as a whole class, or in large groups.
 

Materials:

• 1 set of activity cards per class or group

Activity #2: R-A-T-I-O

In this math game for Grade 6, students will create and recognize different ratios. This activity is designed to be completed in groups of two.
 

Materials:

• 1 gameboard
• 2 sliders (any small, easily moved items such as paper clips) per group
• 15 game pieces per player (different color for each player)

Grade 7

Activity #3: Inequalitrio

Students will match three cards with different representations of the same two-step inequality relationship. This hands-on middle school math activity is designed to be completed in groups of 6 to 15.

Materials:

• 1 set of activity cards (real-world problems, inequalities, and graphs) per group
• 1 calculator per student

• Scratch paper

   

Activity #4: Scale a Comic

Students will predict dimensions on an enlarged scale drawing of an image and then create the scale drawing. We suggest having students complete this math project individually.
 

Materials:

• 1 frame from a comic strip per student (approximately 1 to 2 inches square in size)
• 1 centimeter ruler per student

• 1 sheet of graph paper per student (4 squares per inch)

   

Grade 8

Activity #5: Prime Predictions

Students will plot a sequence of prime numbers in the coordinate plane and use a trend line to predict other prime numbers. It is recommended that students complete this activity in groups of two to four.
 

Materials:

• 1 straight edge ruler per group
• Grid paper

Activity #6: Root-O!

Students will evaluate and estimate square roots, including of rational and irrational numbers. This activity is designed for three or more players.
 

Materials:

• 1 Root-O! board per player
• 1 set of caller cards
• 25 counters (or dried beans) per player
• Scratch paper

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Learn more about HMH's Into Math and GO Math! programs, designed to raise student achievement scores and support teachers along the way.

This blog post, originally published in 2019, has been updated for 2025.