Students examine and create a tool that enables them to explore the scientific principle the Moire Effect. Using markers, paper, and scissors, they create an optical illusion that involves superimposing a grid of lines over another...

Students examine how different animals care for their young and how young animals change as they grow. They conduct research on the growth patterns and life cycle of a selected animal, create a realistic baby and adult form of their...

Students use the story, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" to explore the concept of color, name writing, and text sequencing. A personal page is created for the class Big Bear Book.

Older high schoolers use maps to study changes in society like migration, population loss, and economic shifts, and then connect events from historical events to present day mapping of their region (The resource focuses on Canada, but...

In this statistics lesson, learners use an on-line form generator create a class-specific form, then complete the form, view a graph and data analysis, and draw conclusions.

Skill in using Excel and increasing proficiency in manipulating data are challenged with this data analysis work.  A web link supplies data and step-by-step instructions help learners create a graph.  There are many extension...

Shapes in art, shapes in stories, shapes in the environment, shapes all around. A multi-part lesson that includes looking at the artist Paul Klee's work, reading books about shapes, taking a walk in the neighborhood and identifying...

Middle schoolers are encourage to try their hand at traditional Oceania tapa art by crafting their own cloth using brown paper bags. Included in the resource is background information about the cultures of Oceania and their art. 

Explore the patterns of fractions that produce finite and infinite decimals. The sixth lesson of the series asks learners to determine a similar feature of fractions that produce finite decimals. Using the patterns, pupils create...

An interesting instructional activity on hypothesizing about the diameter of a drop of blood that is splattered. To test their theories, learners work in groups to make blood droplets splatter from different heights. They use graphed...

Young geometers and biologists investigate the math of nature in an activity that is just the bee's knees. Participants will study the tessellations of hexagons in a beehive, along with the natural rationale behind the specific shape....

It's all in the numbers! Create a mathematical model to analyze a number game and develop a winning strategy. Using a given numerical pattern, scholars write an expression to model the scenario. They then interpret the pattern of the...

Learners thrive in a classroom where they are part of a strong community. Foster a collaborative atmosphere in your classroom with a series of activities focused on conflict resolution, communication, empathy, and defense against bullying.

It's a sign! Scholars analyze sine functions for patterns in their periods. The exploration advances beyond a simple function to the combination of two functions with even and odd coefficients. Their goal is to find a pattern between the...

The big idea in this poetry unit plan is that structure and content work together to create meaning. Class members learn how to identify and mark the metrical patterns and line lengths used in poems. They study the structure of various...

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. 

Does the depth of a pond matter to the waves created when rain is falling? Many people assume the answer is no, but interestingly, it does matter. Pupils explore this concept and other variables related to wave behavior through a...

Transform your instruction with an exploratory lesson! Young scholars manipulate absolute values and quadratic functions to look for transformation patterns. They use the patterns to write general rules of transformations.

Redlining—or the practice of racial discrimination in housing loans—directly led to today's segregated living patterns in America. Using data from the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation, classmates visualize the impact of policy on...

What more could we want from floor tiles? Using pattern blocks and graph paper, pupils determine ways to completely tile a floor of given dimensions. They consider the aesthetic quality of the tiles by creating a tessellation and...

Supernovas burn for a short time but can give scientists extensive information about the universe. Learners analyze given data about the change in the light magnitude of a supernova. They look for patterns in the data and use them to...

The moon is famous for its craters, but they haven't always been there. Young learners experiment with materials to simulate the creation of moon craters. Pupils are able to see patterns in their materials that are similar to the...

Students, after reading Fahrenheit 451, brainstorm inventions that could have been in the novel. They present their invention to the class and writing an expository essay about their creation.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Kids can practice color matching and fine motor skills as they cut out scoops to put on cones and bars to place over popsicle sticks. Glue the first to pages to the inside of a file...