Fluence Learning
Writing an Argument: The NIEHS
Should the work of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences be funded by the government? Middle schoolers weigh in on the status of federal funding for programs that protect the environment with three text passages and...
Shodor Education Foundation
Incline
Study velocity while examining graphical representations. As scholars work with the animation, they discover the effect the height of an incline has on the velocity of the biker. They make conclusions about the slope of the line in terms...
Shodor Education Foundation
Regression
How good is the fit? Using an interactive, classmates create a scatter plot of bivariate data and fit their own lines of best fit. The applet allows pupils to display the regression line along with the correlation coefficient. As a final...
DiscoverE
A Leg to Stand On
Give your learners a leg up in their study of engineering. Groups design and create a prothestic for a leg. They test out their designs for strength, stability, durability, and comfort.
Curated OER
Measuring Mixed Numbers
Mixed numbers can be added conceptually, algorithmically, and physically. Have the class visualize mixed numbers by adding fraction bars together. They then discover the algorithmic process that simplifies adding mixed numbers. Finally,...
National Research Center for Career and Technical Education
Hospitality and Tourism 1: Safety and Sanitation
Math and science come alive in this career-related lesson on sanitation. Along the way, learners explore bacterial growth rates using exponential notation and graphs. A link to a very brief, but vivid video shows just how quickly these...
Education Development Center
Integer Combinations—Postage Stamps Problem (HS Version)
It seems the post office has run out of stamps! Learners build all the values of postage available if the post office only sells five- and seven-cent stamps. The task provides an opportunity to create an expression in two variables and...
University of California
The Cold War (America)
The Cold War—with its roots in World War II—impacts the world today. Using an extensive curriculum, scholars consider its impact through primary sources, including speeches and propaganda, as well as other skills-enhancing activities. An...
Curated OER
Unwind: Pre-Reading Strategy, K-W-H-L
Readers of Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel, Unwind, record what they know, what they want to know, how the will find answers to the questions, on a KWHL chart.
Code.org
Asymmetric Keys – Cups and Beans
Beans are for more than just counting! Introduce public key cryptography with cups and beans and ask scholars to use the beans to send secret numbers. Participants learn how this activity relates to public key cryptography and asymmetric...
Fluence Learning
Writing an Argument: Is Electronic Communication Helpful or Harmful?
Technology has undoubtedly improved the lives of people around the world—but has it improved communication? Seventh graders read two informative passages about the rise of texting and emailing versus in-person conversations before...
Cornell University
Electroplating
Silver pennies and copper nickels are made possible by applying some chemistry. Learners use electrolysis to coat a penny with zinc sulfate and a nickel with copper sulfate. Their investigation builds an understanding of electroplating...
New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 7
Designed specifically for math instructors, the seventh workshop of a 15-part series allows time to explore Webb's DOK, ponder open-ended questions, and create lessons to apply what is learned. Teachers craft high-quality math problems...
Shodor Education Foundation
Function Flyer
Fly through graphing functions with the Function Flyer. Young mathematicians use an interactive to graph different types of functions. A set of exploration questions has users investigate patterns in functions.
Shodor Education Foundation
Function Machine
Machines can be so helpful sometimes. A simple interactive has learners enter input values for a function machine and observe output values. These values help determine a function that represents the input-output relationship in the...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Informational Text: Everybody Can Bike
A three-part assessment challenges scholars to read informational texts in order to complete three tasks. Following a brief reading, class members take part in grand conversations, complete charts, and work in small groups to research...
CCSS Math Activities
Smarter Balanced Sample Items: 7th Grade Math – Target G
Don't leave learning to chance! Assess your class's understanding of random sampling and making inferences using questions from the experts at Smarter Balanced. As the seventh of nine parts in the Gr. 7 Claim 1 Item Slide Shows series,...
Curated OER
Global Environmental Issues: Air and Water Pollution
Thinking about designing a project for your social studies or environmental science classes? Use an overview of a project that prompts class groups to research an environmental issue.
Illustrative Mathematics
Weather Graph Data
Teaching young mathematicians about collecting and analyzing data allows for a variety of fun and engaging activities. Here, children observe the weather every day for a month, recording their observations in the form of a bar graph....
Novelinks
Tuck Everlasting: Bio-Poem
Learn about the characters of Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting with a character biopoem. Readers fill in a poem format to detail the character traits of Winnie, Jesse, Miles, and Mae, and share their finished poems with their peers.
Teach Engineering
Dress for Success
Dressing for success is not always about looking sharp. Sometimes it is about staying warm and dry. Present your class with an activity that challenges groups of pupils to design a layered material for blizzard conditions. The teams test...
Education Development Center
Rectangles with the Same Numerical Area and Perimeter
Is it possible for a rectangle to have the same area and perimeter? If you disregard units, it happens! In a challenging task, groups work to determine the rectangles that meet these criterion. The hope is that learners will naturally...
California Education Partners
Lashelles Garden
Let knowledge grow bountifully like plants in a garden. Given a diagram of a rectangular garden split into plots, scholars determine the area of the entire garden and the areas of the individual plots. As a culminating activity, they...
Curated OER
Phineas Gage: “Medicine: Then and Now” Pre-Reading Activity
What did medicine look like a hundred years ago? Two hundred years ago? Invite small groups to conduct research on the history of a chosen medical advancement before reading Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science....