Hollis Upper Elementary School in Hollis, New Hampshire offers students a 45 minute choice period which meets once per week.  For each trimester, 6th grade students give preferences from among several areas of interest including physical education, music and performing arts, art, computer, meet your world, and media.  Starting with the second trimester of the 1999-2000 school year, I began leading a math problem solving choice period for 6th graders.

The main sources of problems I use are The Math Forum and The Math League.

The Math Forum problems of the week include both elementary school and middle school problems.  These problems are very good for use in a 6th grade problem solving class because they include solutions submitted by students for past problems.  6th grade is the overlap year in The Math Forum problems between elementary school and middle school.

In the spring, the students at HUES can choose to participate in the math contests from The Math League.  The Math League offers various contest problem books which cover problems and solutions for past math contests.  Click here for a summary of how HUES and Hollis/Brookline Junior High School students placed on the contests over the last three years.

HUES 1999-2000 math choice (6th grade) sample problems:

HUES 1999-2000 trimester 2 math choice (6th grade): HUES 1999-2000 trimester 3 math choice (6th grade): Contact Don Braffitt at:
Last update: 16-May-2000 Don Braffitt