PBL Pathways
What Should Have Happened on Gilligan's Island?
"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale ..." Gilligan's Island is a classic that spans generations and offers a problem-solving opportunity for scholars. Take a project-based learning approach to examine the population of the island....
Illustrative Mathematics
Daisies in Vases
Have your first graders master word problems with an activity that prompts them to find as many combinations for daisies in vases, with the most in the large vase and the least in the small vase. Pupils must also explain their...
Curated OER
Problem/solution
Young scholars examine presentations of problems and reaching solutions in literature. In this writing skills lesson, students read "The Three Little Pigs," and respond to several discussion questions about plot, characters, setting,...
Curated OER
Fun-Factory - NOT!
Students design a solution to a problem based on the Industrial Revolution. In this design lesson plan, students come up with architectural designs and present them to teachers in a simulated factory.
Mathematics Vision Project
Module 2: Systems of Equations and Inequalities
The brother-sister pair Carlos and Clarita need your class's help in developing their new pet sitting business. Through a variety of scenarios and concerns presented to the siblings, the learners thoroughly explore systems of equations...
Illustrative Mathematics
Buying Protein Bars and Magazines
Packing for a trip? This activity allows learners to decide how many magazines and protein bars they can buy with twenty dollars. They can organize their work in a chart to track how many items they can purchase. There are two different...
Illustrative Mathematics
Fishing Adventures 2
This resource is part of a series which expects participants to be familiar with graphing inequalities on a number line. It is a word problem that asks your class to graph a discrete solution set and interpret it in the context of an...
Illustrative Mathematics
Toll Bridge Puzzle
Here is a great problem-solving activity for young mathematicians. Intended solely for instructional purposes, the activity is appropriate for learners to add four numbers together. Not only must they add four numbers together,...
Mathematics Assessment Project
“Ponzi” Pyramid Schemes
Use mathematics to show your classes the power of a good model. Young mathematicians analyze the famous Ponzi pyramid scheme using an exponential pattern. They make conclusions on the reliability of the plan and why it is illegal.
Noyce Foundation
Once Upon a Time
Examine the relationship between time and geometry. A series of five lessons provides a grade-appropriate problem from elementary through high school. Each problem asks learners to compare the movement of the hands on a clock to an angle...
Concord Consortium
Line of Sight
There's no way around it—learners must use trigonometry to model the line of sight around a race track! Using the starting line as the origin, pupils model the straight line distance to any car using a trigonometric expression. The...
Curated OER
If It's to Be, It's Up to Me!
Eighth graders discuss the question: How does one become an effective decision-maker or problem solver in social situations? They are given three brief scenarios and after each one students are asked, "What would you do?" Students think...
CK-12 Foundation
Whole Number Division: Repaying Money
Mathematicians answer five word problems in an interactive practice all about repaying money using division. A calendar and moveable dollar bills aides participants in finding solutions to multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and...
Mathed Up!
Probability
How likely is it to draw a blue marble? Pupils find the likelihood of events and connect that to the probability of the event. They find the probabilities of simple events and show their probabilities on a scale.
Illustrative Mathematics
Listing Fractions in Increasing Size
Increase the depth of your class's fractional number sense with this number-ordering activity. Given four fractions, each with different numerators and denominators, young learners are asked to place them in order from smallest to...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Search and Rescue Activity
Get your classes moving and practicing sequences at the same time! Learners move about the room solving problems and finding their solutions. Problems include both recursive and explicit formulas and both geometric and arithmetic sequences.
Waterford Union High School
Writing the Persuasive Essay
An excellent, in-depth resource would be an asset to your unit on writing an argument essay. It provides an explanation to each part of the essay as well as examples of transition words to strengthen your kids' writing. Additionally, the...
Community Resources for Science
A Whole New World of DNA and Proteins
Lead your young scientists into an exciting world as they participate in a role play and experiment focused on proteins and DNA. After researching the Central Dogma of Biology, individuals or groups participate in a classroom...
Marion County Schools
Popcorn Literacy
Popcorn is a tasty part of a culminating activity designed to motivate readers to share important literary elements. The popcorn fills the inside of a white paper bag that is transformed on the outside into a presentation tool with the...
Virginia Department of Education
Spring Fling Carnival
Think critically — and linearly by applying linear equations to solve real-world problems. Young mathematicians write equations to model the profit on popcorn and cotton candy at a carnival and solve problems using these equations.
Mathematics Assessment Project
The Number System
Count this assessment in the "use" pile. Middle schoolers solve a set of five problems in the seventh and eighth grade number system domains. All problems are in pure mathematics with no applications.
Mathematics Assessment Project
A Golden Crown?
For this assessment task, learners determine whether a crown with given information is composed of pure gold. The task expects algebraic and numerical solution methods, so unlike Archimedes, no bathtub is necessary.
Curated OER
Worksheet 3: Assessing Your Resources and Needs
In this group project resources and needs worksheet, students assess what is required of them to complete a research task as they respond to 3 short answer questions and complete an internal resources and needs graphic organizer.
Illustrative Mathematics
Use Cavalieri’s Principle to Compare Aquarium Volumes
Learners are designing a stunning new water feature for an aquarium, but they soon discover that more than just a pretty home for their fishy friends is required. From calculating the volume of a composite shape through the...