University of Colorado
Looking Inside Planets
Researchers use scientific data to understand what is inside each of the planets. The first in a series of six, this instructional activity builds off of that concept by having pupils use a data table to create their own scale models of...
National Science Teachers Association
Hop into Action
Young scientists find out what makes amphibians such unique and interesting animals in this simple life science lesson. After looking at pictures and discussing the characteristics of amphibians, learners complete a series of three Venn...
Curated OER
Arkansas' Top Ten Events of the Century....Says Who? Why? Deciding What is Important in History
Middle and high schoolers work in small groups to compare four different lists published in the Arkansas Times newspaper which chose the "top ten" Arkansas news events of the 20th century. Learners look for similarities and differences...
PHET
Iron Filings and Magnetic Field Lines
How do magnetic fields differ? Allow scholars to see the difference between 2-D and 3-D magnetic fields. They construct models of both and observe how they are similar and different. It is the fifth installment of an 18-part unit.
BioEd Online
The Skeleton
Don't be chicken to try a lesson plan that compares the anatomy of birds to humans. Read the background information so you don't have to wing it when it comes to the anatomy of a chicken. Prepare cooked chicken bones by soaking them in a...
EngageNY
Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem
What does similarity have to do with the Pythagorean Theorem? The activity steps through the proof of the Pythagorean Theorem by using similar triangles. Next, the teacher leads a discussion of the proof and follows it by an animated...
Illustrative Mathematics
Equal Area Triangles on the Same Base II
A deceptively simple question setup leads to a number of attack methods and a surprisingly sophisticated solution set in this open-ended problem. Young geometers of different strengths can go about defining the solutions graphically,...
Illustrative Mathematics
Extensions, Bisections and Dissections in a Rectangle
Gaining practice in translating a verbal description into a diagram and then an equation is the real point of this similar triangles exercise. Once the diagram is drawn, multiple methods are provided to reach the conclusion. An effective...
Illustrative Mathematics
How Many Leaves on a Tree?
This is great go-to activity for those spring or fall days when the weather beckons your geometry class outside. Learners start with a small tree, devising strategies to accurately estimate the leaf count. They must then tackle the...
Facing History and Ourselves
Responding to Difference
James Berry's poem, "What Do We Do With a Difference?" launches a lesson that asks class members to consider the ways people respond when they encounter someone different from themselves. After analyzing the poem and discussing how they...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Nature Walk: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 2)
Reinforce concepts such as long vowels, spelling patterns, sound clusters, double-final consonants, and syllables with a nature-themed unit. Through a series of extra support lessons, learners compare and contrast using a Venn diagram,...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Text Connections
There are so many different ways to help learners make text-to-self connections. Here, fifth graders will create tableaus that show an event from a chapter in the class reader. They'll discuss why they chose that event to dramatize and...
EngageNY
Comparing Data Distributions
Box in the similarities and differences. The 19th lesson in a unit of 22 presents class members with multiple box plots to compare. Learners use their understanding of five-number summaries and box plots to find similarities and...
EngageNY
Continued Close Reading of Waiting for the Biblioburro: Comparing and Contrasting the Children in Colombia, Appalachia, Chad, and Afghanistan
Focus on similarities and differences with a jigsaw activity that requires pupils to compare Waiting for the Biblioburro to other texts they have read. To prepare, class members first respond to text-dependent questions, moving on to...
Channel Islands Film
Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 2
Why are Torrey pines only found in La Jolla, California and on Santa Rosa Island? Class members examine images of Torrey pines from these two locations, noting the similarities and differences, and then develop a demonstration model that...
PHET
The Dynamic Nature of the Sun
In this second lesson of the series, pupils learn to observe similarities and differences in photos of the sun and record them in a Venn diagram. Then, small groups practice the same skill on unique images before presenting their...
National First Ladies' Library
Women's Lives in the Victorian Era
The lives of middle-class Victorian women were circumscribed by strict standards that governed all aspects of behavior. To gain a better understanding of the Victorian Ideals for women, class members research the life of a middle-class...
Pace University
Grades 7-8 Solving Equations
Create a similar blueprint. The differentiated lesson has pupils work in teams to create a brochure, scale model, or blueprint of a selected house with some minor changes. Once finished, team members present their final projects to the...
Aquarium of the Pacific
Lego Molecules
Young scientists construct an understanding of molecular compounds in this hands-on science lesson. Using LEGO® to model the atoms of different elements, students build molecules based on the chemical formulas of common compounds.
National Park Service
Same Colors, Different Flavors
Who says getting to know your neighbors has to be difficult? The first resource in a three-part series creates an engaging project that teaches your scholars about Canadian culture. A question-and-answer format takes place via e-mail and...
Radford University
REALLY Tall!
Conduct indirect measurements three ways. Working in groups, pupils come up with different ways to measure three tall objects indirectly. The teacher provides measurement information requested by the teams, and learners then calculate...
Curated OER
Comparing Investments
Money, money, money. A complete lesson that makes use of different representations of simple and compound interest, including written scenarios, tables, graphs, and equations to highlight similarities and differences between linear and...
State Bar of Texas
Mendez v. Westminster and Delgado v. Bastrop ISD
You arrive at school only to be told you have no place there. Scholars research the Supreme Court cases Mendez v. Westminster and Delgado v. Bastrop ISD, both dealing with school segregation. Two short video clips as well as small group...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Making a Patriot Inquiry: Are Independence, Freedom, and Liberty the Same Thing?
As part of a study of the American Revolution, class members engage in an inquiry-based lesson that has them watch a scene from the play Slave Spy, examine multiple primary source documents, and then discuss the similarities and...