NASA
Next Generation Spacecraft—Orion
What is the cross-sectional area of the Orion spacecraft? Groups work together to estimate the area of a cross section of the Orion spacecraft by first counting the number of grids a scale drawing covers. Pupils also employ a method...
Education World
Every Day Edit - The Big Wind
In this everyday editing activity, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about the strongest wind ever measured. The errors range from punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and spelling.
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Rhythm Patterns
Fractions can be tricky. Why not have kids think of fractions like they think of eighth, quarter, and half notes? In teams, the class creates four-measure patterns with their percussion instruments. They need to explain their rhythm...
Curated OER
WS 1.4 Metric Units II
In this metric units worksheet, students convert measurements from one metric unit to another using dimensional analysis. They must show their work to receive credit.
Curated OER
CORNER CABINET
Ninth and tenth graders calculate the length, width, height, perimeter, area, volume, surface area, angle measures or sums of angle measures of common geometric figures. They solve problems involving scale drawings, models, maps or...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Railroad Tracks
Ahhh the vanishing point! Sounds ominous, but it's not. Fifth graders analyze the use of perspective in Renaissance art. They practice using linear perspective to draw railroad tracks that seem to go on forever. Tip: Make this lesson as...
Curated OER
Engaging Students with the History of Time
Researching the history of calendars and time-keeping devices can help students make sense of time measurement.
Noyce Foundation
Ducklings
The class gets their mean and median all in a row with an assessment task that uses a population of ducklings to work with data displays and measures of central tendency. Pupils create a frequency chart and calculate the mean and median....
SoundTree
Notating Friedrich von Schiller’s Theme to “Ode to Joy.”
To demonstrate their skills with traditional and computer-assisted notation, young musicians notate and perform the first eight measures of Friedrich von Schiller's theme to "Ode to Joy."
Curated OER
Acceleration Lab
Young Einsteins experiment with the acceleration of Hot Wheels™ toy cars down inclined planes at various angles. This classic physics lab activity is thoroughly explained in both a teacher’s guide and a student lab sheet. Science...
Teach Engineering
Swinging Pendulum
Get into the swing of things. Pupils use a pendulum to demonstrate the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy and back. After measuring the speed of a pendulum and compare it to the calculated theoretical speed, they determine...
Achieve
Framing a House
If members of your class wonder where they can use the math they learn in middle school, let them discover the answer. Learners apply geometry concepts of scale and measure to calculate the costs of framing a house addition.
Virginia Department of Education
Partial Pressure
At some point, everyone has been under pressure—even Dalton! Explore Dalton's law of partial pressures with young chemists as they measure the volume of air extracted from a sample compared to its original volume. Class members perform...
Curated OER
#17 Determining the Accuracy of Selected Laboratory Glassware
Students calculate the volume of a specific mass of water placed in selected pieces of common laboratory glassware, using the density formula. They then determine the accuracy of the volumetric measurement for selected pieces of...
Curated OER
The Heat of Fusion of Ice
Students measure the heat of fusion of ice. In this heat of fusion lesson plan, students use a calorimeter or Styrofoam cup and thermometer to measure the change in temperature of the water in their calorimeter. This allows students to...
Physics Classroom
Action-Reaction Lab
Computer-interfaced motion detectors are required to carry out this inquiry. It is a new twist on exploring motion with plunger carts: they are set back-to-back and then propelled away from each other. Their velocities are measured, and...
Virginia Department of Education
Acid-Base Theory
Litmus paper, why so blue? A chemistry instructional activity includes a pre-lab activity, practice calculating pH, an experiment measuring the pH in acids and bases, a titration demonstration, and a titration experiment.
It's About Time
Center of Mass
Lead your class on an exploration as they locate the center of mass in several oddly shaped two-dimensional objects they create from their imaginations. Pupils also determine the location of the center of mass in three-dimensional...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Calculating Volumes of Compound Objects
After determining the volume of various drinking glasses , class members evaluate sample responses to the same task to identify errors in reasoning.
Mathematics Assessment Project
Deducting Relationships: Floodlight Shadows
Try to figure out what happens with shadows as a person moves between two light sources. A formative assessment instructional activity has individuals work on an assessment task based on similar triangles, then groups them based on their...
Inside Mathematics
Hopewell Geometry
The Hopewell people of the central Ohio Valley used right triangles in the construction of earthworks. Pupils use the Pythagorean Theorem to determine missing dimensions of right triangles used by the Hopewell people. The assessment task...
Chemistry Collective
Virtual Lab: Determination of the pH Scale by the Method of Successive Dilutions
Where did the pH scale come from? Take a deeper look at a most important measure of ion concentration using a simulated physical determination. Young chemists prepare a series of dilutions after determining a dilution factor for the...
Chemistry Collective
Virtual Lab: Identifying the Unknown Metal (Metals Density Problem)
A metal's density could be considered its fingerprint! A virtual lab activity has learners calculate the density of a sample of metal to make its identification. The simulation allows individuals to perform the measurements as if they...
Chemistry Collective
Virtual Lab: Determining the Heat of Reaction in Aqueous Solution
It's gettin' hot in here! An investigative activity has learners measure the heat of reaction in a virtual setting. After exploring the reaction, they attempt to create a solution at an exact temperature.