Curated OER
Living in Base Ten
Students explore scientific notation and the structure of the metric system. For this middle school mathematics lesson, students read How Much is a Million? by David M. Schwartz to introduce students to the need for scientific...
Education Development Center
Logic of Fractions
Before diving into operations with fractions, learners discover the foundation of fractions and how they interact with one another. Exactly as the title says, logic of fractions is the main goal of a resource that shows pupils how...
Illustrative Mathematics
Equivalent fractions approach to non-repeating decimals
Trying to get your class to think of decimals as fractions and vice versa can lead to interesting discussions. After all, we can usually understand quickly that 1/4 is .25 but why is 1/7 not so easy to convert? This activity looks at...
NASA
Food For Thought
Science can be quite tasty. A delectable unit from NASA shows learners why it's important to consider food, nutrition, and health in space. Four lessons explore the idea in great depth, including testing cookie recipes. Along the way,...
Curated OER
Collecting Data to Learn About the People Around You
Human graphs, anyone? Did you eat fruit today? What is your favorite costume? Have your K – 6 learners graph the responses. Early elementary grades may count and compare while upper grades compare responses of different groups or make...
Curated OER
The King's Chessboard
Middle schoolers speculate on the better rate of pay: a dollar a day for 10 days, or a penny the first day, two pennies the second, doubling each day for 10 days. Start by listening to the story The King's Chessboard, by David Birch....
Curated OER
Frost Depth Study
Students complete activities to study the frost and frost depth. For this frost study lesson, students use frost tubes to study and measure the frost at their school. Students measure the frost in the tube and enter their data online to...
Yummy Math
Happy 14th B’ak’tun, the start of the next Great Mayan cycle
The ancient Mayans had a complex calendar and number system with a rich history. In fact, the date 12/21/2012 was the center of much controversy as to whether or not it was the end of time. It wasn't the end of time, but it was the end...
Curated OER
What Are Your Chocolate Eating Habits?
Students design and conduct a survey as an investigation of chocolate eating habits. They pool and analyze their results and consider which companies are making the largest profits based on the information gathered from their surveys.
Curated OER
Square Roots Using a Carpenter's Square
Students calculate the square root of a given number using carpenter's square measurements. In this math lesson, students relate this method on the Pythagorean theorem. They answer practice problems after the exploration activity,
Curated OER
Learning Inference
Making inferences can be a tricky proposition for middle schoolers. In the lesson plan presented here, pupils practice the skill of drawing a conclusion and making a judgment - which are what making an inference is all about! There are...
Curated OER
Getting It Right! An Investigation of the Pythagorean Theorem
Learners construct a variety of right triangles using a right-angled set square, cutting corners from pieces of paper or cardboard, and using dynamic geometry software. They measure the sides of these various right triangles and record...
Curated OER
Birdseed Mining
Students explore the meaning of mining. In this Science/Math activity, students engage in a small group activity to sort and calculate the value of seeds/beads. Additionally, they are made aware of environmental damages which will...
Curated OER
A Day at the Beach
Help learners determine the rate of change for the temperature of sand. They will collect data on the temperature of wet and dry sand over time with a heat lamp overhead. Then make a scatter plot of the data and find a linear model to...
Curated OER
Narrow It Down
Students participate in a logic activity in which they identify items. For this logic activity, students work in groups as they play a questioning game that is similar to "Twenty Questions." They ask questions and rule out items in a...
Curated OER
Active Wear
Students interpret and analyze data. For this middle school mathematics lesson, students conduct an experiment in which they investigate which solar collector, black, white, or silver, absorbs the most heat. Students examine the graphs...
Curated OER
Speed
Fifth and sixth graders practice working in pairs to determine whether they can walk with constant speed. They test themselves, collect their data, draw graphs with their data collected, manipulate the data, and then draw conclusions...
Curated OER
Tag and Recapture
Sixth graders participate in an activity in which colored jelly beans represent fish in a lake--10 green jellybeans per "lake" representing tagged fish. They draw from the beans (fish) and record the number of tagged fish they draw...
Curated OER
Opinions, Please!
Students discuss the meaning and purposes of polls and surveys. After reading an article, they analyze the results of a poll given to residents of New York City. They create a survey of their own and analyze the data to write a written...
Curated OER
Trash on Texas Beaches
Students take a field trip to a local Texas beach. Using the trash and debris they find, they classify them based on specific criteria. In groups, they calculate the total for each category and determine the percentage of each category...
Curated OER
A Measure of Happiness
Learners share opinions about the factors that contribute to or detract from their happiness. They create survey to determine how people in their community measure happiness, and write reflections on the relationship between money and...
Curated OER
Raising Plants
Learners investigate the life cycle of plants by growing their own in class. In this botany lesson plan, students practice using plant vocabulary while they grow their own Wisconsin Fast Plants. Learners collaboratively build a light...
Curated OER
Permafrost
Students use a thermometer to analyze soil temperature data to determine which soil sample is normal, and which one is permafrost. In this permafrost lesson plan, students participate in a hands on activity where they identify the active...
Curated OER
Holey Clamshells
Pupils analyze data to make hypotheses and conclusions regarding the predator/prey relationship between moon snail and surf clams.