University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Step Inside the Brain
Before digital microscopes, scientists hired artists to draw the things visible in the microscope. Through training in neuroscience and art, Cajal revolutionized the way we view the beautiful brain. The third instructional activity in a...
Curated OER
Symmetry
Where is the line of symmetry? Learners begin by drawing in a line to split three images evenly in half, using an example as reference. Encourage them to think about physically folding the picture to solidify this concept. Next, they do...
Illustrative Mathematics
Running to School
The object of this activity is to compute how far Rosa ran to school. Given in the exercise is the fractional number of miles between home and school and the fractional distance Rosa ran. The commentary shows several ways to have your...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Angles on Kandinsky
Not only is Wassily Kandinsky fun to say, his art contains tons of angles. Learners discuss Kandinsky's music-inspired abstract art and four types of angles. They search one of his paintings for obtuse, right, straight, and acute angles,...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
The Pasture and the Fence
Beginning geometers use tiles and grid paper to draw and calculate perimeter and area. Rectangles of different sizes are created and then measured to build understanding. The one-inch grid sheet referenced is attached.
Curated OER
Matching Directions
These abstract shapes are pointing in different directions and young scholars determine which ones are oriented the same way. For each of five starting shapes they examine a set of four identical figures pointing in various directions,...
Curated OER
Chocolate Graphing
Chocolate lovers develop a bar graph based on the types of chocolate the class likes. They participate in The Art of Chocolate at The Hershey Story before they make a bar graph that shows the favorite chocolate types of their class. They...
Curated OER
Pocket Solar System
The scale of the solar system is difficult to grasp without some sort of concrete visual; with some register tape and different-sized stickers, teach astronomers of any age just how spread out our solar system really is. Try to use...
Brooklyn Museum
Fred Tomaselli
Kids will observe, write, and create as a way to better understand the work of artist Fred Tomaselli. Guided by great critical thinking questions, learners will first analyze the piece Field Guides. Then, they will write a creative...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Pi Day Fun!
In this multi-faceted introduction to pi, participants perform a bevy of pi-related activities. Ranging from measuring household items to singing pi songs and reading pi stories, this fun and non-intimidating resource serves to bring up...
Curated OER
Comparing Fractions
Learners compare three sets of fractions using the greater than, less than, and equal signs. To justify their answers, a drawing is also required that illustrates their reasoning. Including fractions with like and unlike denominators, as...
California Academy of Science
Carbon Cycle Role Play
Anytime you make concepts clear with role playing or hands-on experience, it's a win for the whole class. Ping-Pong balls are used to represent carbon in a carbon cycle role-play activity. In small groups, children first discuss what...
California Academy of Science
Discovering Rainforest Locations
How many rainforests are there, where are they, and do global factors effect their locations? These are great questions that have great answers. Children in grades four through eight use several different maps to determine why...
California Academy of Science
Dry My Laundry!
Meant to be a pre-field trip lesson plan, this can also serve as a cute and simple activity to use when your little ones are learning about evaporation or surface area. The children cut tiny t-shirts out of paper towel material, wet...
Code.org
Encoding B and W Images
Imagine drawing with zeros and ones. The third lesson in a unit of 15 introduces the class to creating black and white images. Pairs get together to create an encoding scheme in order to make these images. They move on to a...
American Statistical Association
You and Michael
Investigate the relationship between height and arm span. Young statisticians measure the heights and arm spans of each class member and create a scatter plot using the data. They draw a line of best fit and use its slope to explain the...
American Statistical Association
Colors Challenge!
Does writing the name of a color in a different colored ink affect one's ability to read it? Scholars design an experiment to answer this question. They collect the data, analyze the statistics, and draw a conclusion based on...
Statistics Education Web
How High Can You Jump?
How high can your pupils jump? Learners design an experiment to answer this question. After collecting the data, they create box plots and scatter plots to analyze the data. To finish the lesson, they use the data to draw conclusions.
Illustrative Mathematics
Computing Volume Progression 1
Finding the volume of a right rectangular prism is the focus of the resource. Worksheet includes a drawing of a cube to help learners visualize the concept. Young geometers will learn that as the side length increases, so does the...
Mathematics Vision Project
Quadratic Functions
Inquiry-based learning and investigations form the basis of a deep understanding of quadratic functions in a very thorough unit plan. Learners develop recursive and closed methods for representing real-life situations,...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Graphing Piecewise Functions
Step up to learn about step functions. The lesson plan, designed for high schoolers, first covers piecewise functions and how to draw their graphs. It then introduces step functions, including the greatest integer (floor) and...
Statistics Education Web
Consuming Cola
Caffeine affects your heart rate — or does it? Learners study experimental design while conducting their own experiment. They collect heart rate data after drinking a caffeinated beverage, create a box plot, and draw conclusions....
Cornell University
Radical Reactions
The radical reactions of polymers seems abstract to many pupils, but this activity turns them into a fun building game. Scholars use dice and building pieces to build polymers. Then, they determine the theoretical and experimental weight...
Science 4 Inquiry
The Impact of the Sun and Moon on Tides
In 150 BC, Seleucus of Seleucia theorized that the moon causes the tides. Scholars learn about what causes tides by studying the interactions of gravity between the sun, moon, and Earth. They use technology to formalize otherwise...