Arithmetic is the foundation of all mathematics and is something that 7th grade students need to be fully familiar with if they are going to take on more advanced learning. Arithmetic includes simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. There a few things you can do to help teach the vocabulary of arithmetic. One activity involves having the kids make up their own mnemonic for remembering the four arithmetic actions. Much like an acronym, a mnemonic is a four-word phrase that should sum up the A (add), S (subtract), M (multiply) and D (divide) of arithmetic. One good example is "Does McDonald's Serve Aardvarks?" Get the children to share their mnemonics with the class and rate each other's out of five.
Set up a match activity to get the pupils to remember the name of each mathematical shape. To set up the activity, make a set of cards and divide them into two piles. One pile should have a mathematical shape on each card and the other pile should have the name of each shape. Mix all the cards up so they are not in order and give each small group of students a full set of the custom cards. The task is straightforward enough: simply get them to match up the shape with the word. This should encourage them to remember what the shape looks like and what its name is.
Use English vocabulary activities to help teach math language. One teaching game, for example, is the insert word activity, which gets students to read a paragraph with missing words in it. The pupils are also given a list of appropriate words that could fit into the blanks and they must piece together the paragraph until there are no words left over. Make this more math-based by making a paragraph that talks about data and measuring or algebra. Simply take out some of the words and put them to one side. Jumble the words so they are not in any obvious order and get the students to piece the paragraph back together. An example sentence might read: "Angles are measured in ___ and can be found out by using a ___" where the words are "degrees" and "protractor" respectively.
With so much vocabulary to learn at a 7th-grade level, consider setting a lengthy math project for the class. One of the math vocabulary projects that can include all and any math word is the ABC book activity. Students make their own ABC books with a math term or phrase for each letter and each word must be one that they have learned in class. For example, the letter "A" could be "Addition" and the letter "T" could be "Triangle," etc. Get the pupils to define the term beneath each letter so that they fully understand it. Make the activity more fun by encouraging the students to decorate and color their ABC book pages. This could be an individual or group activity.