Working with transformations allows the class to take a turn for the better. The short assessment has class members perform transformations on the coordinate plane. The translations, reflections, and rotations create pattern designs on...

Functions model relationships between quantities. The Smarter Balanced sample items demonstrate the assessment strategies for eighth grade function modeling standards. Items range from constructing linear functions from a table and a...

Put expressions, equations, and inequalities to work! Young scholars solve problems using various strategies. Meant as a snapshot of the Smarter Balanced Assessment, a set of seven questions includes topics from writing expressions to...

Split the work three ways. Learners use their knowledge of fractions to solve problems dealing with splitting up work loads evenly between three groups. Scholars determine the fractional portion of work each group will do along with...

The ninth lesson in the Health Smart series is designed to get high schoolers to understand the factors that make them feel the way they do about themselves, their bodies, and their self-worth. Pupils watch a video about teens and body...

This is one in several lessons that explore the relationship between temperature and phase changes of water. After some discussion, elementary physical scientists place wet paper toweling on a hot and a room-temperature water bag...

Second of six lessons in a unit on dissolving, this one focuses on how sugar behaves in different liquids. Learners stir it into water, alcohol, and oil and make observations. This lesson can stand alone, but is best used as part of the...

Physical science investigators mix sugar and food coloring into different cups of water and cooking oil to compare how the solid and liquid behave in each. As the introduction to this unit on dissolving, it is relevant.

Learners will like making a liquid layer cake to investigate the relative densities of various liquids: water, oil, and corn syrup. They will also introduce a few solid materials to find out how their densities compare. Standing alone,...

Crystallize the answer to the question that has been investigated since the first of four lessons: What is the unknown crystal? Pupils have examined, crushed, and dissolved four samples plus an unknown as an exploration of the properties...

If the area you live in is arid, or the preceding experiment in this unit didn't yield obvious results, use this one in place of it to help reveal where condensation comes from. The mini unit that this is part of a comprehensive...

Get ready to review and revise! Scholars peer edit each other's literary analysis essay drafts. Next, using peer and teacher feedback, pupils compose their final drafts. 

Using their notes developed throughout the unit, class members prepare for the end of the unit assessment by writing a formal essay in which they "analyze how the author of The Autobiography of Malcolm X provides a conclusion that...

Anybody can write a body paragraph! Pupils analyze the development of ideas in a body paragraph from a model essay. Next, using what they've learned, they draft the body paragraphs of their My Rule to Live By informative essay. 

Scholars use formulas for the area of a circle and the area of a rectangle to determine the number of pies a baker can make from a particular area of dough. They must also take into account rolling the remaining dough into a new sheet.

Young architects are prompted to design a playground in assigned groups. Using a 10 x 10 grid. Your fifth graders will apply their knowledge of fractions, percents, and decimals to the real-world task of designing a playground....

Ask class members to reflect on their year-long writing experience by creating a portfolio of their work. Here's a resource that details what should be included in such a portfolio, and provides a rubric that can be used to assess...

Middle schoolers complete a writing assessment task to demonstrate their ability to craft a narrative based on a variety of informational texts. They view West of the West's documentary Magic Isle, read three print resources about...

Is graffiti art? Writers explore that question as part of a source-based argument within a set of questions from the NY Regents examination. The assessment from June 2018, part of a larger set of standardized tests, consists of three...

Working in pairs, class members use the provided narrative writing rubric to assess the effectiveness of dialogue, pacing, and description in two model paragraphs with similar content. Writers then use the insights they have gained from...

Third graders demonstrate the effects of varying environmental components on plants and animals: chemical, physical and biological characteristics of a habitat. They find chemical, physical and biological characteristics of the lake at...

Your learners talk to each other every day, but are they really listening? Use a lesson based on listening skills to ensure that class members feel heard and respected. It includes games, discussion topics, and self-assessment tools...

Is there a way to determine a winner of a political debate? Use a helpful rubric to evaluate the issues, specificity, evidence, reasoning, and delivery of candidates in a debate. After assessing each person's performance, high schoolers...

Those in positions of authority don't always have the best interest of their people in mind. As part of a sample assessment question, readers must consider how works of literature they read apply to a quote from Edmund Burke—"The greater...