Education Development Center
Language of Algebra
Don't rush into algebra, let learners visualize, guess, and predict their way to a successful math career. The introductory unit incorporates beginner algebraic concepts with shapes instead of variables. Young mathematicians use a...
Noyce Foundation
Cubism
If cubism were a religion, would you follow it? Lower-level tasks focus primarily on counting the number cubes in a structure and relating the number to surface area. As learners progress to higher-level tasks, isometric drawings and...
Noyce Foundation
Lyle's Triangles
Try five problems on triangles. Levels A and B focus on shapes that can be created from right triangles. Level C touches upon the relationship between the area of a six-pointed star and the area of each triangle of which it is composed....
Noyce Foundation
Piece it Together
Score some problems all related to soccer balls. The first few problems focus on pattern blocks to see relationships between figures. More advanced problems focus on actual soccer balls, the patterns on the balls, and their volumes and...
Bowland
Alien Invasion
Win the war of the worlds! Scholars solve a variety of problems related to an alien invasion. They determine where spaceships have landed on a coordinate map, devise a plan to avoid the aliens, observe the aliens, and break a code to...
Math Stars
Math Stars: a Problem-Solving Newsletter Grade 7
Put on your thinking caps because middle school math has never been more interesting in this huge resource full of thought provoking questions. Written as a newsletter, the resource has 10 two-page newsletters with a variety of...
Curated OER
Triumph of the Will
Students view the propaganda film, "Triumph of the Will". Identifying propaganda techniques used, they review any fallacies in logic or persuasive appeals. They discover elements in German culture and their meaning in 1934. They...
Curated OER
Is This a House for Hermit Crab?
First graders identify text that uses sequence or other logical order. They identify and interpret how different plants and animals inhabit different kinds of environments and have external features that help them thrive in different...
Curated OER
Proof by Induction
Twelfth graders define and prove theorems using induction. In this calculus instructional activity, 12th graders differentiate between inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning. They review sigma notations and work proofs by induction.
Curated OER
Preparation and Transition to Two-Column Proofs
Students investigate proofs used to solve geometric problems. For this geometry lesson, students read about the history behind early geometry and learn how to write proofs correctly using two columns. The define terminology valuable to...
Education Development Center
Algebraic Habits of Mind
Math really is just one big puzzle waiting to be solved. Show learners that math can be intriguing and provide them with visually engaging problems and puzzles. The focus is on solving simple equations and looking at expressions.
Reading Through History
The Federalist Papers: Federalist Paper No. 10
James Madison, under the pen name “Publius,” justifies the need for an American Republic in Federalist Paper 10, which is perhaps one of the most influential contributions to the Federalist Papers. Readers examine his perspective with...
TryEngineering
Solving a Simple Maze
Solve a maze ... from a robot's point of view. In the instructional activity, your scholars build a small, simple maze from cardboard and then find a route from the start point to the finish point. They write an algorithmic process that...
Curated OER
Liquid Logic: Experiments in Viscosity
Middle schoolers examine specific characteristics of liquids through a hands-on lab activity. An experiment with teacher prepared viscosity tubes is conducted in which liquid identities are predicted based on data. A hypothesis is...
Curated OER
Heating Crystals
Students examine the effects of heating on various crystals. They formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using logic and evidence. Students work individually during this experiment.
Curated OER
A Fiedl Study of an Integral Species
Students compile baseline population information on a local species. They design and conduct a scientific investigation of a local species. Students interpret, analyze and communicate results based on sound scientific and mathematical...
Curated OER
U Boat Hunt
Students recognize patterns and sequences in numbers. For this geometry lesson, students create rules to define the sequences and patterns they obsere. They translate coded messages as they dicuss navigational terms.
Curated OER
Body Changes in Space
Students explain the cause of and effects of fluid shift in a microgravity
environment. Students identify the effects of microgravity during long duration space flight. Students describe research on cardiovascular effects in microgravity...
Curated OER
Habitats: Rainforest
Students use the internet to find reasons the rainforest is endangered and ways that affects the rest of the world. They read for information, perform experiments, locate rainforests on maps, and write about this ecosystem.
Curated OER
Your Body: A Bacteria Incubator!
Young scholars demonstrate their comprehension of PREDICTING AND HYPOTHESIZING by... ¿¿¿ Predicting a logical outcome to a situation, using prior knowledge, experience and/or evidence. AND ¿¿¿ Explaining reasons for that...
Curated OER
A Look Through My Antonia's Eyes
Thoroughly delve into My Antonia by Willa Cather with a plethora of activities. Engage scholars with videos and web sites in this week-long unit that explains the historical context and creates pioneers in the field of research. An...
Shodor Education Foundation
Algorithm Discovery with Venn Diagrams
Here is a lesson that takes an interesting approach to analyzing data using box and whisker plots. By using an applet that dynamically generates Venn diagrams, the class forms a strategy/algorithm for guessing the rule that fits the...
Shodor Education Foundation
Sets and the Venn Diagram (Beginner)
Venn diagrams are helpful in understanding the idea of a set and using attributes to sort items. This basic plan is an introduction with an added bonus of an applet that can be used to demonstrate the activity. If a classroom of...
Curated OER
Air Is All Around Us!
Students design an instrument to show that air is all around. In this air lesson plan, students research, construct, and present a design that proves that air is all around, even though they can't see it or touch it. A teacher and self...