Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Weather Graph Data

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Teaching young mathematicians about collecting and analyzing data allows for a variety of fun and engaging activities. Here, children observe the weather every day for a month, recording their observations in the form of a bar graph....
Activity
Houston Area Calculus Teachers

Collecting Driving Data

For Students 11th - Higher Ed
Give AP Calculus classes the opportunity to check the accuracy of their calculations! A calculus activity involves the collection of data, the application of mathematics, and the analysis of the accuracy of results. Young mathematicians...
Lesson Plan
Omaha Zoo

I Like to Move It

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
What do lemurs do best? They move! Lemurs like to jump, run, hop, and climb and it's your class's job to document seven fun lemur behaviors. The class starts by discussing why lemurs are considered primates, and then they isolate seven...
Activity
US Department of Commerce

Make Data Speak

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Data displays are more than just a bunch of numbers. Small groups access census results and create eye-catching data displays. Teams choose a statistic and collect data points for five locations. Classmates present their infographics to...
Activity
Fort Bend Independent School District

Data Analysis - AP Statistics

For Students 11th - Higher Ed Standards
What better way to study survey design than to design your own survey! Bring a versatile data analysis project to your AP Statistics class, and encourage them to apply the practices from their instructions to a real-world survey...
Activity
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Teach Engineering

Where Are the Plastics Near Me? (Mapping the Data)

For Teachers 7th - 9th
The last activity in a nine-part series has teams create a Google Earth map using the data they collected during a field trip. Using the map, groups analyze the results and make adjustments to the map to reflect their analysis. A short...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Vegetation, Precipitation, and Surface Temperature to Study Climate Zones

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Using NASA's Live Access Server, earth scientists compare the temperature, precipitation, and normalized difference vegetation index for four different locations. They use the data to identify the climate zone of each location using...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Erosion and Landslides

For Teachers 6th - 8th
A professional-quality PowerPoint, which includes links to footage of actual landslides in action, opens this moving instructional activity. Viewers learn what conditions lead to erosion and land giving way. They simulate landslides with...
Activity
Regents Prep

Activity to Show Sample Population and Bias

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
There is bias in many aspects of our lives, and math is no exception! Learners explore provided data to understand the meaning of biased and random samples. The resource includes various data sets from the same population, and...
Activity
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Eruptions: Old Faithful Geyser

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How long do we have to wait? Given several days of times between eruptions of Old Faithful, learners create a graphical representation for two days. Groups combine their data to determine an appropriate wait time between eruptions.
Activity
NASA

The Types of Clouds and What They Mean

For Teachers K - 3rd
Learn to forecast the weather using cloud types. Budding meteorologists identify cloud types and learn to use a dichotomous key. As scholars develop observation and identification skills, they discover how different cloud types cause...
Activity
US Department of Commerce

How Does Our Class Compare?

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
Compare the class to the country. As a group, pupils collect data on the types of activities boys and girls do after school. Learners compare the number of girls to the number of boys for each activity. Using census data, individuals...
Activity
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Teach Engineering

Backyard Weather Station

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Challenge young meteorologists to apply their knowledge of weather to build their own weather stations. The resource provides the directions to build a weather station that contains a wind vane, barometer, thermometer, and rain...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Button Bonanza

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Collections of data represented in stem and leaf plots are organized by young statisticians as they embark some math engaging activities.
Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor

For Teachers Pre-K - 2nd Standards
What better way to engage children in a math lesson than by talking about ice cream? Using a pocket chart or piece of chart paper, the class works together creating a bar graph of the their favorite ice cream flavors. Learners then work...
Activity
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Teach Engineering

Building-Testing-Improving Paper Airplanes: Head's Up!

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
Take foldables to all new heights. Pupils build and fly different types of paper airplanes in the 14th portion of a 22-part unit on aviation. Groups collect data on distance and flight time for each plane and compare the data from the...
Activity
Consortium for Ocean Leadership

Nannofossils Reveal Seafloor Spreading Truth

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Spread the word about seafloor spreading! Junior geologists prove Albert Wegener right in an activity that combines data analysis and deep ocean exploration. Learners analyze and graph fossil sample data taken from sites along the...
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Spreadsheet Tutorial 2: Autofill Data, Cell References, and Standard Deviation

For Students 9th - 12th
If you've always wanted to know more about spreadsheets, here's a perfect resource for you. A self-paced tutorial introduces how to autofill and copy formulas in a Google sheet or Excel spreadsheet. It also shows users how to find range,...
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Human Impacts on Biodiversity

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Have you always wanted to take your science class on an amazing field trip they will never forget? Now you can! Observe the wildlife in an African savanna through trail cameras with a five-part data analysis activity. Learners analyze...
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Seed Dispersal in Tropical Forests

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How do seeds get around? It's not like plants can control seed dispersal—or can they? Dig deeper into the amazing mechanisms of seed dispersal observed in tropical plants through interactives, a video, and plenty of hands-on data...
Activity
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Curated OER

Mathemafish Population

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
It's shark week! In this problem, young mathematically minded marine biologists need to study the fish population by analyzing data over time. The emphasis is on understanding the average rate of change of the population and drawing...
Activity
US Department of Commerce

Census in Counties - Describing and Comparing Histograms to Understand American Life

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Use graphs to interpret life in 136 counties. Pupils analyze histograms and describe the shapes of the distributions of data collected from several counties on different aspects of life. Scholars make predictions on the difference in...
Activity
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Teach Engineering

Using Hooke's Law to Understand Materials

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Provide a Hooke for a lesson on elasticity with an activity that has groups investigate a set of springs. They use a set procedure to collect data to calculate the spring constant for each spring using Hooke's Law. The groups...
Activity
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Teach Engineering

Combustion and Air Quality: Emissions Monitoring

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Help your class determine the types of pollutants coming from vehicle exhaust. Groups use an air quality monitor to determine the emissions from different vehicles, to gain knowledge about combustion energy, and to predict how the...