The old aphorism, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions," might well serve as the title for a resource that asks viewers to consider the plight of the people of the Gamo Highlands, an area in southwestern Ethiopia. These...

Why was Pythagoras so obsessed with squares? The assessment task posits the question of whether the geometric interpretation of the Pythagorean Theorem holds for figures other than squares. Scholars first consider the case of semicircles...

The spacecraft is drifting too far off course! Two games help explain how a spacecraft can use its thrusters to maintain its position. The games have pupils be the components of vectors in order to create and counteract the...

Earth's magnetic poles switch positions about every 200,000—300,000 years. In the activity, groups create a planet with a magnetic field. Once made, they use a magnetometer to determine the orientation of the planet's magnetic field....

Has life changed for American women in the last century, or are there common themes between the lives of 21st century women and the struggle of suffragettes from the 1910s? Explore the ways media reflects the position of women...

Make an estimate by getting in line. The class works with scatter plots and lines of best fit to make an estimate for given values. Pupils determine whether there is a positive or negative correlation and draw a best-fit line. Using the...

This lesson introduces the idea of slope and defines it as a numerical measurement of the steepness of a line. Pupils then use the definition to compare lines, find positive and negative slopes, and notice their definition holds for...

Promote the most positive reading test-taking strategies to your third graders. A six-question practice test suggests using context clues, underlining words, rereading, and using process of elimination to choose the best answer when...

Redirect misbehavior and reinforce positive behavior with a management plan that focuses on specific goals, replacement behaviors, scholar feedback, monitoring methods, family communication, and future implementation of the...

Looking for cardio fitness to do with the class? Promote a little competition and positive cardio fitness. While one partner is jumping rope, the other partner is jumping from lily pad to lily pad, both keeping track of the number if...

The San Andreas fault is one of the longest fault zones in the world. In a series of 20 lessons, the fourth lesson has pupils use a paper model to recreate various types of plate faults. Each is held in position then drawn...

Are the people on the other side of the world standing upside down? Pupils discuss the relationship between movement and position words. The unit explores the concept of reference points through animation, modeling, photography, and...

It's hot today, but is that the weather or the climate? This colorful presentation isolates both concepts to allow for better understanding by covering the positioning of the planet, making comparisons of land versus water, and looking...

Inspire scholars to volunteer their time to make a positive change in their community. With help from research, a public speaker, and reflection, learners define and asses what it takes to be a volunteer in a business, non-profit,...

Motivate young citizens to make a positive difference through volunteering. Scholars examine the local and school community to discover ways the class, as a whole, can volunteer their time to help one or the other, then reflect on their...

Determine the distance between two hikers using vectors. Pupils use an interactive to develop the formula to find the distance between two points knowing their relationship to a third point. Learners use the formula to calculate the...

Why is that shadow getting longer? Determine the changes in the length of a shadow as the sun changes position in the sky. Individuals use an interactive to calculate the length of a shadow at different times during the day via the...

Cliff diving is more than an adrenaline rush ... it's a lesson in physics! Scholars adjust the height of a cliff and plot the resulting velocity and position over time on graphs. They also can incorporate air resistance to monitor the...

Go around the unit circle and create triangles. Pupils move a point around the unit circles to visualize the triangle associated with the angle in standard position. The three main trigonometric functions are defined in terms of the legs...

How can people control a hot air balloon? The simple simulation allows scholars to adjust the payload mass, burner, and vent position on a hot air balloon and observe the changes in velocity and altitude over time. Challenge questions...

Why do planets orbit the sun in ellipses when moons orbit their planet in circles? Pupils control the semi-major axis, eccentricity of the orbit, and position angle. The resulting orbital appears with the related force vectors as...

Swimmers improve their times by understanding the physics of their sport. As a swimmer moves through the water, the efficiency of motion affects the resulting velocity. Through an interactive simulation, pupils change the level of motion...

Learners compare acceleration to displacement through an interactive tutorial that permits them to adjust the running strategy of two robots and watch them race. A graph displays the robot's velocity over time and another shows their...

Make football a math sport! Move the football player (red dot) along the sideline (number line) to see how many yards (positive and negative integers) they've traveled to the other team's end zone.