How much gas does it take to drive around town? The class uses a variety of mathematical procedures to take a look at the use of gas for transportation. Class members use a different unit to determine the cost of driving a car as opposed...

Have you ever wanted to download a great lesson, but you weren't sure if you had enough time? Scholars learn to create a function for this situation to determine when a file will finish downloading. They also learn the difference between...

Reaction rates vary between your dominant and nondominant hand ... or do they? Young scholars conduct an experiment collecting data to answer just that. After collecting data, they calculate the p-value to determine if the difference is...

Is the gestation length of an animal a predictor of the average life expectancy of that animal? Learners analyze similar data for more than 50 different animals. They choose a data display and draw conclusions from their graphs.

If you're tired of defining allusion, onomatopoeia, and satire for your language arts students, hand out a complete list of literary devices to keep the terms straight. Each term includes a definition that is easy to understand and...

Maya Angelou's first autobiography,  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, demonstrates both the author's exemplary writing and the themes of gender and racial injustice that perpetuate beyond the limits of the 20th century. Use a...

Problem solve across the content standards. The presentation slides provide 19 sample items from the Smarter Balanced high school assessment. Items illustrate Claim 2, problem solving, of the test and are drawn from all the high school...

What is the appropriate model? Sample problems show the extent of the Smarter Balanced assessments Claim 4, Modeling and Data Analysis. Items provide pupils the opportunity to use mathematical modeling to arrive at a reasonable answer....

After reading Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street, class members craft an essay in which they use evidence from a variety of vignettes to demonstrate how Cisneros develops Esperanza's character.

Pupils investigate the air pollution situation in China by fitting a curve to historical data. They dig deeper into environmental issues that are of interest and provide a mathematical analysis of the issue. Class members develop a route...

When would a farmer use math? Class members work through five tasks on a farm that require knowledge of surface area, volume, and determining regression equations. The challenges range from figuring out the amount of paint to buy,...

Spend some time with lines of best fit. An informative unit has learners investigate government spending. They research data on poverty, educational spending, social security, and defense spending, and then analyze lines of best fit for...

What do I want to do when I grow up? Learners research job categories and determine a career within the category. Using the chosen job, pupils find the hourly wage and calculate future income based on percentage wages. Individuals then...

Given a scenario in which a class member wants to prove his height is not an outlier, pairs devise a plan and gather evidence to help support his claim. The small groups implement their plans and create graphical displays of their data...

Finally, a project pupils will instantly like! Young mathematicians collect data on the number of likes they receive for a social media post over time. During the first part of the project, they determine a curve of best fit and...

Where did they all go? Small groups collect data on different animal species that are on a decline. Teams develop equations to model the populations over time and then create presentations about the decline of their animals. Classmates...

Working in groups, learners research four countries' populations over the past 30 years. Using the data collected, the teams find regression equations that best fit the data. Taking the regression equations, they then make predictions...

What do The Simpsons, Survivor, Sponge Bob Square Pants, and Nine Inch Nails all have in common? They all include allusions to Lord of the Flies. Strange but true! An 18-slide presentation introduces viewers to the...

Keeping readers focused during literature discussion circles can sometimes be a challenge. Check out this worksheet that ensures accountability by establishing six very specific, very different roles for group members: facilitator,...

Explore global temperatures from the comfort of your learning place! Meteorologists analyze surface temperatures and anomalies across different latitudes. Investigators evaluate graphs to find temperature differences and answer questions...

Why does Charles Dickens have Ebenezer go from scrooge to light-hearted and generous? From "Bah, humbug!" to "God Bless Us, Every One!" After rereading Dickens' preface to A Christmas Carol, learners analyze quotations from the tale that...

William Golding's Lord of the Flies is the anchor text for a lesson that teaches readers how to distinguish between a literary topic and a literary theme. Using the provided worksheets, groups first chart some themes and propose a...

Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is filled with secrets. Help readers find the clues, solve the riddles and puzzles, and unwrap the mysteries with a six-page guide that includes before, during, and after reading discussion questions and...

The guide to John Steinbeck's The Pearl suggests ways instructors can help readers see below the surface of the novella to the parable beneath. Through a variety of activities, readers come to appreciate the complexity of the tale.