PBS
The Supreme Court: The Importance of Precedent in the Decisions of the Supreme Court
People often hear the words precedent and Supreme Court together, but why? A resource on the Supreme Court includes a variety of discussion questions, handouts that guide young historians, a video about Nixon and the court system, and...
College Board
Random Variables vs. Algebraic Variables
Variables can vary in meaning. A reference material for AP® Statistics explains the difference between random and algebraic variables. It provides a hypothetical situation involving dice—great for use in a classroom situation.
College Board
Is That an Assumption or a Condition?
Don't assume your pupils understand assumptions. A teacher resource provides valuable information on inferences, assumptions, and conditions, and how scholars tend to overlook these aspects. It focuses on regression analysis, statistical...
College Board
Power in Tests of Significance
Test your knowledge of tests of significance. A curriculum model for AP® Statistics describes and defines power in terms of tests of significance. It also provides two classroom activities designed to investigate power and how it relates...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin Franklin, Elder Statesman
Ben Franklin was the only American to sign The Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris, and the US Constitution. An interesting resource explores his role in the latter by comparing the US...
College Board
Special Focus: Inference
Statistics is all about making inferences! A lesson guide explains the meaning of inferences and how to use statistics to make them. The resource provides instruction as well as information about the topic on the AP® Statistics exam.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Weighing the Evidence for a Mass Extinction Part 2: On Land
What can fossils tell us about periods of extinction? Young scholars interpret fossil layers to make conclusions about changes in life during different geological time periods. They analyze the fossils for abundance and diversity as well...
Didax
Pi Day #1a – Discovering Pi
Unravel the mystery behind the infamous number pi. Scholars complete a series of activities that explores where pi comes from, its digits and estimation strategies. Pupils should be ready to measure, calculate, and look for patterns to...
Judicial Learning Center
The Judge and the Jury: Trial by Jury
Why is it so important to have a trial by jury in the American judicial system? This right is one of the hallmarks of American democracy, but it also comes with the responsibility of serving on a jury if called. Young legal scholars...
National Constitution Center
Explore Rights Around the World
How has the American Bill of Rights influenced the rest of the world? An interactive web activity helps individuals see the similarities between countries' bills of rights. A text-to-text tool compares the American Bill of Rights to...
National Constitution Center
Civil Liberties and Rights Worldwide
How do governments differ in how they protect human rights? While the United States prides itself on its Bill of Rights, other countries have their own ways of protecting citizens' liberties. An interactive website, paired with...
Judicial Learning Center
About Federal Judges: Qualifications of Judges
"Help Wanted: A Supreme Court Justice." What should be included in the ad? Learners ponder the question during a lively activity that asks them to examine the qualifications for various federal offices and then create job postings....
National Constitution Center
American Treasures
Just how long did it take the framers to write the Constitution? What role did the drafting process play? Scholars examine various drafts from the Constitutional Convention to gain a better understanding of its formation. Interactive...
National Constitution Center
Writing Rights: The Bill of Rights
Where did the cherished ideals enshrined in the Bill of Rights originate? While history gives the Founding Fathers much of the credit, laws in colonial America influenced the Bill of Rights. An interactive web-based activity allows...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Coral Reefs in Hot Water
Global warming is leaving coral reefs in hot water. What does that mean for their survival? Find out as scholars use authentic satellite data to explore the issue. Learners look for global trends in the data and research the effects the...
PBS
KidVid: Scaling Up Rectangles
Tip the scale in your favor when learning about scale factors. After viewing a video clip of a learner trying to determine the scale factor of the areas of two rectangles, scholars consider how changing the dimensions of a rectangle...
PBS
KidVid: Fractions and Scale
Scale the challenge of learning about ratios and scales. Young mathematicians learn to incorporate fractional measurements when considering scales and scale factors. They use an interactive to investigate the concept and critically...
PBS
KidVid: Equivalent Ratios
There's no equivalent to this interactive. To learn about equivalent ratios, scholars first watch a video of a pupil trying to find an equivalent ratio. They consider whether the pupil is correct and explain their reasoning. Then, they...
PBS
Super Bear: Comparing Mass
A super bear is a whole lot of gummy bear. Scholars hone their estimation skills by completing an activity. Given the masses of a mini gummy bear and a regular gummy bear, they must determine the number of each needed to have the same...
PBS
The Lowdown — What You Need to Know about Immigration Reform
We're all from somewhere. An informative interactive provides information on immigration, foreign-born residents, and deportations. Pupils interpret the graphics to analyze how these quantities have changed over time. The resource is...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Biodiversity and Evolutionary Trees
Compare what shells look like on the outside with what makes that happen on the inside. Scholars begin by sorting an various seashells by their physical characteristics into phylogenetic trees. They then conduct a DNA comparison of...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Nazi Party Platform
Not all party platforms stay democratic. A resource covers many political issues in Germany during the time of World War II, and teaches pupils about the Nazi party platform and what went wrong. Individuals participate in a warm-up...
PBS
Using Primary Sources: Wide Open Town
A picture speaks a thousand words, no matter how old! Scholars use political cartoons from the era of Prohibition and the Temperance Movement to analyze what, a primary document (in this case, a bootlegger's notebook) is telling them...
Mathematics Vision Project
Module 6: Modeling Periodic Behavior
Around and around we go ... again, and again, and again, and again! That's the nature of a periodic function. Young scholars learn how to model a periodic pattern with trigonometric functions. The nine-lesson unit explores the connection...