Geometric design makes a fashion statement! Challenge learners to design a hat to fit a Styrofoam model. Specifications are clear and pupils use concepts related to three-dimensional objects including volume of irregular shapes and...

In a nose-cone to nose-cone competition, which rocket will prevail? Teams form rocket companies to design and build a rocket while competing against other teams in an economic challenge. The team that comes up with the best benefit/cost...

Life is only a reflection of what we allow ourselves to see. The lesson includes three experiments on light reflection, light refraction, projection, lenses, and optical systems. Each experiment builds off the ones before and...

Between the time scientists discovered Pluto and reclassified it as a dwarf planet, it did not even make one full revolution around the sun. In two activities, scholars investigate scale models and their properties. Pupils find that it...

Class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, Executive Order 9066, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Indian Removal Act to gather information about not only the challenges encountered by diverse groups of Americans, but their...

Your parents were both in different countries. You were born in the US. Documents and application forms ask you to identify your racial or ethnic classification. Which box do you check? Class members collect documents...

Who became US Chief Justice in 1801? Which delegate from New York advocated a strict constructionist interpretation of the US Constitution? What is the term given to the chief or one of several import crops regularly grown and sold in a...

Class members are challenged to design a device that will move a circus elephant into a train car. Groups brainstorm ideas that use simple machines to load the elephant. They then choose one of their ideas, sketch a plan, and present it...

Introduce your class to map projections and coordinates, the basics for the work done in a GIS, with an activity that uses Google Earth to challenge learners to think about the earth's shape. 

How many times can you cheer about a snow day before you get to the 100th letter? Find out with a creative word problem that challenges young mathematicians to determine what the 100th letter will be in a sequence of letters.

Monarch butterfly populations have decreased by 90 percent over the past 20 years due to misuse and ineffectiveness of some pesticides. Given the challenge to increase pesticide safety and effectiveness, the class, through discussion,...

Many problems in life have more than one possible solution, and the same is true for advanced mathematics. Scholars solve seven problems that all have at least two solutions. Then three higher-level thinking questions challenge them to...

Designers in Prague are not diagonally challenged. The mini-assessment provides a complex pattern made from blocks. Individuals use the pattern to find the area and perimeter of the design. To find the perimeter, they use the Pythagorean...

Get to know the human body from the inside out. The first lesson plan in a series of 10 introduces the class to the abdominopelvic cavity. Biomedical engineers need to understand the region of the body as they develop and improve...

Your pupils can build their own electromagnet — awesome! The culminating activity in an eight-part series challenges groups to design and build their own electromagnet. The goal of the activity is to build a magnet capable of picking up...

Challenge the class to utilize their knowledge of linear and quadratic functions to determine the intersection of the parent quadratic graph and linear proportional graphs. Using the pattern for the solutions, individuals develop a...

Challenge the class with inscribed circles in triangles. The assessment task requests class members use their knowledge of circles and right triangles to prove two triangles are congruent. They go on to utilize their knowledge of...

Sometimes, the best solution to a problem can be found by walking in someone else's shoes. Here, scholars use character cards to take on the roles of people around the world. They determine how their character's...

Help overcome challenges in eating pizza. Scholars work in groups to design a device that assists a physically handicapped person eat pizza. They build a prototype of such a device to test their designs before building. To...

Who's driving that car? Science is! Through a simulation, learners adjust the magnitude and angle of motion on a driverless car. Two different motions create a resultant motion. Vectors represent the motion and graphs depict the...

Discover relationships between linear and nonlinear functions. Initially, a set of data seems linear, but upon further exploration, pupils realize the data can model an infinite number of functions. Scholars use multiple representations...

Introduce the topic of astrobiology in a unit that's out of this world. Biology scholars examine the search for extraterrestrial life by culturing roundworms, a species that has been key in helping researchers understand the...

How much does your class know about the relationship between climate change and carbon dioxide? Science scholars explore the nature of greenhouse gases and rising ocean temperature through demonstrations, research, and experiments. The...

Challenge your classes to design and market a new product. Collaborative groups use geometry skills to create packaging for their products. Finally, they plan a marketing strategy to present to a marketing specialist.