Concord Consortium
Broken Spreadsheet I
There is power in spreadsheet formulas and learners use this power to model quadratic data. Given a scatterplot of a parabola, pupils create formulas in a spreadsheet to populate the data. The formulas they use lead to an understanding...
Concord Consortium
Boards I
Learners create patterns in a table to mimic the function of an electronic spreadsheet. The result is a table that creates an addition table for decimals in intervals of one-tenth. While creating the pattern, pupils must thoroughly...
Concord Consortium
Bicycle Chain
Model a bicycle chain with circles and tangent lines. Given the dimensions of the sprocket wheels, young scholars calculate the length of the chain that surrounds them. A second task has learners write a function for the length of a...
Concord Consortium
Catching Up
Class members have some catching up to do. Given a linear equation describing the distance of a runner, young mathematicians interpret the equation in terms of the context. They consider a general equation of the same form and describe...
Concord Consortium
Calculator Numbers
Know thy calculator. Young mathematicians use their calculators to answer a set of questions. They consider how the number of digits the calculator displays affects the answers to calculations. They then find examples of computations...
Concord Consortium
Build a Box
Strive for gold with an informative resource. A short task challenges learners to investigate the thickness of a box made from a given volume of gold. The box must have specific dimensions, so setting up and solving a literal equation is...
MCHS Early US History
Ken Burn’s Civil War, Episode 1: The Cause
Ken Burn's epic documentary miniseries The Civil War, broadcast in 1990, was the most-watched PBS program ever. A question sheet helps viewers keep track of events in the first episode of the documentary.
Concord Consortium
Writing and Sketching II
Find the function that fits. Scholars first identify the graph of a function that looks the same after a horizontal translation. They must then find the equation of a function whose graph lies only in two adjacent quadrants.
Concord Consortium
Writing and Sketching I
Writing and sketching functions—what more could you want to do? Learners write and sketch functions that meet certain conditions as they complete a short task. They find a parabola that encompasses three quadrants of the coordinate plane...
Smithsonian Institution
Dia de los Muertos: Honoring our Ancestors Through Community Celebration
Oral storytelling has been an important part of every culture. The time-honored practice uses stories as a conduit for a culture's values and customs from one generation to the next. Keep the tradition going with a family interview...
Concord Consortium
The Six Faces of Amzora
Here's a task that is out of this world! Given a description of a fictional cube-shaped planet, scholars answer a set of questions about the planet. They create a two-dimensional map and consider the distances between locations on the map.
Concord Consortium
Three Circles
Round and round and round we go. Given a diagram of three circles, two of which share a point with the third circle, learners identify the radius of each circle. Doing so requires setting up and solving a system of equations based on the...
Concord Consortium
Track of Dreams
Don't run from the resource—sprint to it. Using an engaging performance task, scholars consider a set of constraints on the creation of a track. Given several possible designs, they determine if the designs meet the constraints. If not,...
Concord Consortium
Transformations Resource
Transform your lesson for transforming functions. Scholars transform linear, quadratic, exponential, rational, and trigonometric expressions. They write their expressions to fit specific forms and identify the values of the resulting...
Concord Consortium
Transformations-Diagnostic
Change the way you teach about rewriting expressions. A diagnostic task asks learners to transform expressions in different ways. Given two linear expressions and two quadratic expressions, they rewrite them into the indicated forms.
Concord Consortium
Triangles: Angle Space
Three angles in a triangle, three-dimensional space, it all seems connected somehow. Given several different triangles, pupils use the three angles of the triangle as coordinates to plot points in three-dimensional space. They explore...
Concord Consortium
Twinkle, Twinkle
Take a look at a star resource. Young mathematicians use a graphing calculator to draw intersecting lines that look like a star. They then apply translations to move the entire star and also consider what transformations must occur to...
Concord Consortium
Yearbook Pictures
Sorting memories doesn't have to be difficult. Young mathematicians evaluate two different methods of sorting yearbook pictures. They answer a set of questions to explore each method, then develop their own sorting procedure based on...
Concord Consortium
You Are What You Drive
Grab the wheel in learning about functions. A short performance task challenges young mathematicians to develop a function that describes the cars eight people drive. They consider whether the inverse of the function exists. If not, they...
Concord Consortium
Zero Coupon Bond
There are zero reasons not to learn about zero coupon bonds. Given information about the interest rate and closing price of a zero coupon bond, future investors determine the purchase price of the bond. They then consider the...
Concord Consortium
Two Pounds to Go
How hard can it be to measure out two pounds? A short performance task introduces a situation where a balance scale is broken. It gives a method for measuring out two pounds and asks learners to evaluate the procedure. They must prove...
Concord Consortium
Vending Machine
Let the resource quench your thirst for knowledge, like a vending machine that dispenses drinks. Future computer scientists develop an algorithm to identify the fewest number of coins that a vending machine could use in creating change....
Concord Consortium
Walled-Up Parabolas
Jump at the chance to use parabolas. Young mathematicians apply trigonometry to explore the trajectory of a ball in different situations. Some walls cause the ball to bounce, so participants must consider all possibilities.
Montgomery Public Schools
Romeo and Juliet Study Packet
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, a play about star-crossed lovers, resonates deeply with teenagers. The study packet contains study questions for each act of the play. Learners use a graphic organizer to analyze whether characters...