NOAA
Coastal Dynamics
Life's a beach! The 16th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program first examines different types of coasts and how they form. An activity then has learners investigate the shoreline...
Inside Mathematics
Snakes
Get a line on the snakes. The assessment task requires the class to determine the species of unknown snakes based upon collected data. Individuals analyze two scatter plots and determine the most likely species for five additional data...
Inside Mathematics
Population
Population density, it is not all that it is plotted to be. Pupils analyze a scatter plot of population versus area for some of the states in the US. The class members respond to eight questions about the graph, specific points and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Upton Sinclair, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harvey W. Wiley
Though Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle shocked the American public into a thorough examination of the meat-packing industry, the author was disappointed that his book's main argument—the exploitation of American immigrants—was not part...
Curated OER
Week 7: Animal Adaptations - Bird Beaks
Students use tools to represent bird beaks and pick up different types of food with them in order to discover which beak would help the bird survive depending on their food type.
Curated OER
Then and Now: Life in Early America, 1740 - 1840
Students complete a unit of lessons that examine life in early America from 1740-1840. They compare items with similar objects we use today, explore various websites, create a paper doll, try and guess the function of various objects,...
Curated OER
How Big is Barbie?
Students measure various dimensions of a male and a female dolls body and scale them proportionally to average human measurements. They calculate the appropriate scale factor (magnitude) to enlarge their doll and apply that scale factor...
Curated OER
Solar Car Series: during What Part of the Day Can the Most Sun Power Be Collected?
In preparation for solar car races, middle schoolers attempt to discover what time of day the most solar energy can be collected. Begin by demonstrating the use of a voltmeter for measuring solar cell output. Take them outdoors to take...
Curated OER
Understanding "The Stans"
Learners explore and locate "The Stans" in Central Asia to create, write and illustrate maps, graphs and charts to organize geographic information. They analyze the historical and physical characteristics of Central Asia via graphic...
Curated OER
EarTwiggle
In this counting leaves worksheet, students assist EarTwiggle in counting all the leaves found within a piece of art and then place their answer in the box provided at the lower right hand corner.
Virginia Department of Education
Transformational Graphing
Find relationships between the structure of a function and its graph. An engaging lesson explores seven parent functions and their graphs. Learners match functions to their graphs and describe transformations.
Cornell University
The Science of Snowflakes
Who can grow the best crystals? Challenge class members to develop strategies for enhancing growth in the crystals. Through a lab investigation, learners study the properties of crystals and test the effectiveness of different growth...
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 The Kansas-Nebraska Act
How the Kansas-Nebraska Act created Bleeding Kansas is complicated—until scholars research and examine documents from the time. After completing activities that include mapping, photo, document analysis, and discussion, learners...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: African Americans in Revolutionary Times
What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and Black...
Curated OER
Swamps, Shrimp, and Tsunamis: A Simulation of Sustainable Development Issues in Coastal Ecuador
Students examine the economic benefits, environmental losses and dangers of the shrimp farming industry on the coast of Ecuador. They read a script, role-play people involved in the shrimp business, and write an essay of the pros and cons.
Curated OER
On the Road with Marco Polo: Sea Voyage to India
Students examine Marco Polo's route from China to Sumatra. They investigate the geography and climate, the religions and architecture of modern Indonesia. They study the use of spices and why they were so important in medieval times.
Curated OER
On the Road with Marco Polo: From Hormuz to Venice
Students study the route from Hormuz to Constantinople that was traveled by the Polos. They explain the importance of Constantinople in medieval time and discuss its location, and outer wall structure.
K12 Reader
Water Carves the Land
What affect do bodies of water have on the world around us? Kids can find out by reading this passage. After reading, they answer five questions related to the text.
Core Knowledge Foundation
Rocks & Minerals
Take young geologists on an exploration of the rock cycle with this six-lesson earth science unit on rocks and minerals. Through a series of discussions, demonstrations, and hands-on investigations your class will learn about the...
EngageNY
Graphs of Piecewise Linear Functions
Everybody loves video day! Grab your class's attention with this well-designed and engaging resource about graphing. The video introduces a scenario that will be graphed with a piecewise function, then makes a connection to domain...
EngageNY
Transforming the Graph of the Sine Function
Build a solid understanding of trigonometric transformations through exploration. Learners work in teams to analyze the effects of different algebraic components on the graph of a sine function.
EngageNY
Ferris Wheels—Using Trigonometric Functions to Model Cyclical Behavior
Have class members going in circles as they model the path of a Ferris Wheel using trigonometric functions. Building on the previous lesson in this series on transformations, learners use trigonometric functions to model wheels of...
Inside Mathematics
House Prices
Mortgages, payments, and wages correlate with each other. The short assessment presents scatter plots for young mathematicians to interpret. Class members interpret the scatter plots of price versus payment and wage versus payment for...
Curated OER
Monarch Butterflies
First graders identify monarch butterflies and study their life cycles. They order the stages of the life cycle and create a monarch butterfly of construction paper. This well-designed lesson should be easy to implement in your classroom.