Curated OER
Science: Hurricanes As Heat Engines
Students conduct Internet research to track the path of Hurricane Rita. They record the sea surface temperature of the Gulf of Mexico during and after the hurricane and draw conclusions about how hurricanes extract heat energy from the...
Curated OER
Irregular Fractals
Middle schoolers study and research irregular fractals and construct a few based on their research. Students practice pattern recognition skills and plane geometry skills calculating dimensions on the Fractured Pictures activity.
Curated OER
How Far!
Fourth graders perform basic calculations using time. They read and construct a variety of scales, timetables, and charts. Students devise and use problem solving strategies to explore the situation mathematically.
Curated OER
Access Ramp
Just about every public building that your students are familiar with has an access ramp which complies with ADA requirements. As it turns out, designing such a ramp is an excellent activity to incorporate slope, the Pythagorean Theorem,...
Curated OER
Who's Range is it?
Students investigate the habits of panthers by analyzing radio transmitted data. In this animal life lesson, students utilize computers to view the range of different statistics dealing with Florida panthers. Students...
Curated OER
Finding the Area and Perimeter of Polygons
Seventh graders practice finding the area and perimeter of polygons. In this polygon area activity, 7th graders brainstorm shapes and take a walk to locate shapes. Students record properties of shapes and use various shapes to make...
Curated OER
A Honey of a Hexagon
Learners explore how bees make honey and why the hexagon is the best basic pattern for the honeycomb through the use of a video and hands-on activities with honeycombs and geometric shapes.
Curated OER
Can You Make a Hole in One?
Students relate miniature golf to reflection of an image. In this algebra lesson, students collect and graph data as they study linear equations. They apply properties of graphing to solve real life scenarios.
Curated OER
Automobile-Accident Reconstruction
Students investigate an accident and relate it to math. In this trigonometry lesson, students measure the accident scene, the friction produced, and the speed from the skid marks. They create a poster of their findings.
Curated OER
Book Illustration
Students view a video and discuss what illustrations in a book show and don't show. In this observation lesson plan, students look at the details on a page in Alice in Wonderland and create an illustration.
Curated OER
Nature's Recycling Program
Students identify what materials make up compost. In this science of recycling lesson, students explain the benefits of composting determine how compost is a good plant fertilizer.
Physics Classroom
As the Crow Flies Lab
A simple, yet memorable, way of practicing with displacement vectors is described here. Divide your class into groups and assign each a different landmark on campus. They measure smaller legs of the path from the classroom to their...
Discovery Education
Mood Music!
Grouchy? Sad? Here's a great resource that shows kids how music can be used to lift their spirits. Kids collect and chart data on the effects of music on emotions. After analyzing the results of their experiment, they develop...
Science 4 Inquiry
Edible Plate Tectonics
Many people think they can't observe plate tectonics, but thanks to GPS, we know that Australia moves at a rate of 2.7 inches per year, North America at 1 inches per year, and the Pacific plate at more than 3 inches per year! Scholars...
Discovery Education
Weathering Cubes
Weathering is not necessarily a result of the weather. Scholars conduct an experiment to explore the effect of surface area and volume on the weathering process. They create their own sugar cube rocks using the same number of cubes—but...
EngageNY
Complex Numbers and Transformations
Your learners combine their knowledge of real and imaginary numbers and matrices in an activity containing thirty lessons, two assessments (mid-module and end module), and their corresponding rubrics. Centered on complex numbers and...
NOAA
To Explore Strange New Worlds
It's time to boldly go where your class has not gone before! The introductory instructional activity in a five-part series takes young oceanographers aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos to begin a study of ocean exploration. The instructional...
Inside Mathematics
Functions
A function is like a machine that has an input and an output. Challenge scholars to look at the eight given points and determine the two functions that would fit four of the points each — one is linear and the other non-linear. The...
Curated OER
Proportionality Using Labyrinths and Mazes
Conduct research on the Internet about labyrinths and mazes to learn about proportions and ratios. Inquisitive minds design their own maze, one maze is chosen and proportionately enlarged to 20 feet by 30 feet. This is a fun challenge...
Curated OER
Whose Afraid of Contemporary Art?
Have your class create original modern art sculptures. Learners analyze and discuss "The Profile," a sculpture by Martin Puryear. They work in teams to develop a proposal for a large outdoor sculpture in the community. Presentations...
Chicago Children's Museum
Simple Machines: Force and Motion
Get things moving with this elementary science unit on simple machines. Through a series of nine lessons including teacher demonstrations, hands-on activities, and science experiments, young scientists learn about forces, motion,...
University of Colorado
Are All Asteroids' Surfaces the Same Age?
There are more than 600,000 asteroids in our solar system. Pupils analyze images of two asteroids in order to determine if they are the same age. They count craters for each asteroid and compare numbers.
Cornell University
The Physics of Bridges
Stability is key when building a bridge. Scholars explore the forces acting upon bridges through an analysis of Newton's Laws and Hooke's Law. The activity asks individuals to apply their learning by building a bridge of their own.
Washington Township Public Schools
Using Paired Text
Paired reading passages frequently appear on standardized exams, but finding text sets to use in the classroom is sometimes a challenge. A lesson plan on using paired texts includes a selection of passages and a graphic organizer for...