How to Help a Seventh Grader with Math
Strategies and resources to engage and inspire
Published:
Jan 2025
Key takeaways
- Middle school math is a bridge - 7th grade math is the bridge between more elementary concepts and higher level math to come, so mastery is important
- Varied methods are best – All children have different needs and levels of understanding. Visual aids, games, and real-life applications support different learning styles.
- Math anxiety is curable – Stress and anxiety around math are normal feelings, but it doesn’t have to be this way! Helping kids see things differently can cure feelings of dread and overwhelm
Your seventh grader is on a journey. Like the rest of us, they’re all at different stages and moving forward at varying paces. Middle school parents and educators have the unique challenge and privilege of coming alongside these students wherever they are on the path.
In this article, we’ll explain how to deliver 7th grade math help in a way that connects with each individual and supports mastery using fun, engaging methods.
Table of contents
Understanding seventh-grade math
Middle school math is the bridge between math foundations and higher level concepts.
Key Topics Covered
In seventh grade, lessons expand on problem-solving methods that were introduced the year prior. Students will work with rational numbers, integers, and whole numbers, expand geometry topics, and gain more fluency with equations and expressions.
DreamBox by Discovery Education provides seventh-grade math help in the following key areas:
- Addition and Subtraction:
- Adding and subtracting integers
- Multiplication and Division:
- Multiplying and dividing integers
- Geometry:
- Constructing and measuring polygons
- Angles
- Solving for the volume and surface area of prisms and pyramids
- Area and circumference of circles
- Matching 2D shape slides to their 3D solids
- The coordinate plane with decimals
- Addition and Subtraction:
- Expressions and Equations:
- Absolute value
- Identifying variables
- Integer operations
- Variable expressions with integers and distribution
- Scaling by powers of ten
- 2-step equations and inequalities
- Rewriting expressions
DreamBox’s 7th grade curriculum is rigorously designed to match US state math standards, Common Core and several Canadian standards. Learn more about how DreamBox can make your seventh grader more confident with these key math concepts.
7 Strategies for Effective Learning
There are many ways you can support your 7th grader as they tackle their math homework. By building in these seven habits in your home routine, you can create a supportive learning environment.
1. Implement regular practice and repetition
Foster the engagement that your child needs to build confidence through active learning. Hands-on practice and repetition can take many forms, including group collaboration, real-life math (like budgeting and grocery shopping), games, and technology.
DreamBox employs active learning with immersive technology, including math games with feedback and assistance. Your kid will have fun playing interactive games as they conquer personalized challenges. Our intuitive program puts skills to the test, learning where repetition is needed for individual learners and catering to unique progress.
2. Use visual aids and tools
Over 60% of the population are visual learners; even other types of learners (like auditory or tactile) can benefit from visual aids. Math manipulatives are a great way to help students gain an understanding of challenging terms or ideas. Other tools, like songs, help enforce rules and other tips to remember.
Math games are one of the best opportunities for a connection point for a middle school child. Engaging, fun lessons that offer correction and assistance along the way keep the child engaged and encouraged as they work through problems and other numerical expressions.
3. Provide real-life examples and application
Math is all around us. Opening your child’s eyes to the real-life applications of numbers and geometry can help encourage a love for learning and solidify a seemingly abstract seventh grade math curriculum.
Managing time, understanding details of the cell phone bill, baking a cake and other real world problems require a working knowledge of math. Whenever possible, use real-life applications of math concepts to help students make the connection from the classroom to everyday life. Engagement soars when students understand math’s lifelong place in their lives, as well as learning to work out real-life scenarios.
4. Help overcome math anxiety by building confidence
Your child may have developed some math anxiety over the years. When students believe math isn’t their forte, equations may seem arduous, and even mentioning something like negative integers may be downright fear-inducing.
Overcome math anxiety and give your student a fresh outlook on what’s possible by making math fun, employing active learning, and utilizing technology. Help seventh-grade math students see future career possibilities with a math focus and encourage them to avoid a limiting mindset. Remind them they’re much more capable than they might believe.
5. Create a time management plan for homework
Kids spend the majority of their time at school. While studying at home is an important factor in solidifying math concepts, no one wants students to feel overburdened or burned out at the end of the day. Students must be taught time management with math homework to reap the benefit of practice without dreading it.
Middle school students need help setting a schedule to stay consistent with practice and break down more complex math concepts into manageable portions. DreamBox supports time management with learning goals measured by time and personalized in real time. Parents can rest easy knowing their kid is getting at-home practice on their individual level, catered to their strengths and weaknesses in manageable increments of time.
6. Make math fun
Kids learn the best when they’re having fun. The same is even true for adults! Out-of-the-box teaching methods can be the kind of seventh grade math help your students need. Games are among the best ways to connect middle school students with math concepts, making learning fun and reinforcing ideas. With DreamBox, your child will enjoy learning and reap the benefits of personalized practice. No more math drama. No more frustration. This is game schooling at its best.
7. Leverage online resources and tools
Using online resources and tools effectively can enhance learning and understanding of seventh-grade math. Platforms like DreamBox provide age-appropriate lessons on state approved seventh grade math curriculum. Online resources can not only give your students interactive exercises at home or in the classroom, but they also provide data insights to parents and educators on student’s progress.
Goal: Technology is an educator’s friend. Seventh-grade math help is available through a variety of online tools and resources and can be a valuable asset to your student’s growth.
FAQs about 7th grade math help
Seventh-grade math help is available via a variety of online tools and resources. DreamBox provides state-approved lessons in the seventh-grade math curriculum that adapt to the student’s strengths and weaknesses in real time. Fun, engaging practice and repetition can help your middle school student progress in math.
Seventh-grade math builds on concepts introduced in sixth grade. In seventh grade, your student will add, subtract, multiply, and divide integers, work on geometry concepts such as polygon volume, and learn to rewrite expressions.
Simplifying math is all about making it fun. Take away math anxiety and utilize practice and repetition in a fun and engaging format to make math easier. Math games are available on DreamBox to cater to individual needs.
Seventh-grade math is the bridge between elementary math fundamentals and the higher-level math that will soon be introduced. While math can be challenging for some students, seventh-grade math is more than attainable with practice, focus, and repetition.
