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10 Best Math Tools for Middle School

During middle school, kids transition from grasping foundational concepts to organizing and synthesizing information through graphing, estimating, solving equations, and more. Tech tools can guide kids through this critical turning point with engaging activities that build their math fluency and confidence. On this list, you'll find games that promote problem-solving, social platforms for collaborating on tough mathematical concepts, and lessons that revolve around real-world concepts to make math more meaningful to middle school students.

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Freckle

Target skills and differentiate with dynamic practice and assessments

Bottom line: Rich with content-aligned assessments, printable worksheets, and progress analytics; mindful teachers will find it a valuable resource to promote skills mastery through practice.

Grades: K–12 Price: Free, Paid The Teacher Edition is free with limited features and content. The School Edition has unlimited assignments and benchmarking and data capabilities. The District Edition includes district-level reporting and Clever integration. Call for pricing.

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Prodigy

Adaptive math practice wrapped in role-playing adventure

Bottom line: Sometimes kids just need some math practice to get things to stick, and Prodigy delivers in a fun format with great teacher support.

Grades: 1–8 Price: Free, Paid Access to all educational content is free; subscriptions ($8.95 per month or $59.88 per year) include exclusive items, customizations, and other extras.

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Mangahigh

Phenomenal adaptive math games with a killer teacher dashboard

Bottom line: Fantastic tool for flipped or blended classrooms, formative assessment, or extra practice in any setting. It's gamification that really works.

Grades: 2–12 Price: Free, Free to try, Paid Free 30-day trial gives 100% access. Following the trial, users can select a basic or subscription account. The free, basic version limits access to 25% of the content. The subscription models vary based on the number of students enrolled, and range from $195/yr (up to 5 students) to $2995/yr (up to 1,000 students). Request a quote for more than 1,000 students.

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Woot Math

Woot! Woot! Truly adaptive lessons support concept building

Bottom line: A top choice for stand-alone instruction or remediation on fractions, ratios, and decimals.

Grades: 3–7 Price: Free, Paid Woot Math Polls is free. The adaptive curriculum starts at $5.77 per student; prices decrease depending on the number of students added to the subscription.

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ExploreLearning Gizmos

Vast array of science and math simulations impresses

Bottom line: This powerful and extensive set of math and science tools puts the learning in students' hands.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free to try, Paid Free accounts allow access to a rotating collection of free Gizmos, as well as a preview of all Gizmos for up to five minutes a day. School and district licenses available; pricing available upon request.

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Twelve a Dozen - all access

Engrossing math platformer puts problem-solving skills to the test

Bottom line: This absorbing game challenges kids' math and thinking skills as much as it entertains.

Grades: 4–8 Price: Free, Paid Offers in-app purchases.

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CueThink

Social approach to problem-solving promotes deep math learning

Bottom line: An innovative, community-based platform that helps students plan, strategize, and collaborate.

Grades: 5–12 Price: Free to try, Paid The Single Class license ($100 per year) is for one teacher and up to 30 students. The Multi Class license ($250 per year) allows for up to 150 students. Add-ons (from $75 to $150 each) include additional problems and data analysis tools. A professional learning program is also available.

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Tuva Labs

Dynamic data-exploration tool offers large collection of data sets

Bottom line: Partner with another teacher (preferably a data whiz) and work together to develop cross-curricular activities.

Grades: 4–12 Price: Free, Paid Tuva Basic is free, with access to 15 data sets and five data set uploads. Tuva Premium is $400 per teacher per year or $4,000 per school per year (custom rates available) and provides access to the entire content library.

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DragonBox Algebra 12+

Super fun, cutting-edge approach to learning and practicing algebra

Bottom line: Kids build a strong foundation for algebra by learning the underlying concepts for solving equations with this extremely fun and educational math tool.

Grades: 6–10 Price: Paid $7.99