Virginia Department of Education
Changes in Ecosystems
How does water pollution affect the environment? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question as they learn about eutrophication and ecosystem changes. Over two weeks, they simulate the effects of pollution on the...
Virginia Department of Education
Building a DNA Model
It has been decades since the discovery of DNA. Still, activities such building this DNA model allow blossoming scientists to better understand the components that form this overall structure. During this activity, they will also...
Virginia Department of Education
The Germ Theory and Koch’s Postulates
Explore the history of cholera and its effect on society with your biology class. Young biologists will then proceed to grow their own germs, prepared from live cultures, and follow the steps of the scientific method to generate data....
Virginia Department of Education
DNA Structure, Nucleic Acids, and Proteins
What is in that double helix? Explain intricate concepts with a variety of creative activities in a lesson that incorporates multiple steps to cover DNA structure, nucleic acids, and proteins. Pupils explore the history of DNA structure,...
Virginia Department of Education
Biotechnological Issues and Bioethics
Culminate a bioethics unit with the implementation of a lesson that incorporates the Socratic method to encourage class feedback and participation. Pupils participate in a discussion on bioethics and morality, complete a...
New South Wales Department of Education
Invertebrates
Of all invertebrates, insects by far are the most numerous. Scholars discuss invertebrates and then use a key to classify them. They see different examples and must describe features of each organism based upon the key.
Radford University
Sleep and Teen Obesity: Is there a Correlation?
Does the number of calories you eat affect the total time you sleep? Young mathematicians tackle this question by collecting their own data and making comparisons between others in the class through building scatter plots and regression...
Virginia Department of Education
Rational Functions: Intercepts, Asymptotes, and Discontinuity
Discover different patterns by making connections between a rational function and its graph. An engaging activity asks scholars to explore the behavior of different rational functions. Groups discover a connection between the...
02 x 02 Worksheets
Inverse Functions
Young mathematicians look for patterns in inverse functions as they relate to the original functions. The comprehensive lesson emphasizes vocabulary throughout as well as algebraic and graphical characteristics of the inverse functions.
Virginia Department of Education
Complex Numbers
Build on your class' understanding of real numbers as they begin working with complex numbers. Pupils begin with an exploration of i and the patterns in the powers of i. After developing a definition for i, they...
Virginia Department of Education
Probability
Classes explore different scenarios using manipulatives to learn about the difference between independent and dependent probability. Learners experiment with colored chips to model the two types of probabilities. To test their...
Virginia Department of Education
Area and Perimeter
Develop a strategy for finding the area and perimeter of irregular figures. Building on an understanding of finding area and perimeter of rectangles and triangles, learners apply the same concepts to composite figures. After...
Virginia Department of Education
Graphs
Examine different types of graphs as a means for analyzing data. Math scholars identify the type of graph from a series of data displays and then develop questions to match each one. Then, given a scatter plot of height versus age...
Virginia Department of Education
Balancing Act
How many different interpretations of the mean are there? Scholars place numbers on a number line and determine the mean. They interpret the mean as the average value and as the balance point.
Virginia Department of Education
Modeling the Big Bang Theory
Young astronomers learn about the Big Bang Theory and redshift through a hands-on activity in the last installment of a three-part series. Participants draw dots on balloons and then inflate them to model how galaxies moved farther apart...
Virginia Department of Education
Angles in Polygons
Polygons — it's all about the angles. Groups work with dynamic geometry software to find the sum of the measures of the angles of various polygons. After finding the information for several polygons, the groups generate a formula that...
Virginia Department of Education
Going the Distance
Estimate the value of one of the most famous irrational numbers. The hands-on instructional activity instructs classmates to measure the circumference and diameters of circles using yarn. The ratio of these quantities defines pi.
Roanoke County Public Schools
Officer Buckle and Gloria Vocabulary
Vocabulary from Peggy Rathmann's award-winning illustrated picture book, Officer Buckle and Gloria, named one of the National Education Association's top 100 books for children, is featured in a colorful, presentation that not only...
NTTI
Putting Together Ten
Groups explore sets of 10 items in two varieties (i.e. 3 white buttons and 7 black ones, or 5 bears and 5 bunnies). They brainstorm about their objects, write math sentences to represent what they have, and report their discoveries...
National WWII Museum
World War II in Photographs
A picture is worth a thousand words, and this activity is worth so much more! Learners closely analyze a series of photographs from World War II, matching them with their appropriate captions and sequencing them into a correct...
Curated OER
Tree Hunt
Students identify the common trees of Iowa and make observations while creating a key. In this tree hunt lesson, students write a letter to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to receive a pamphlet of Common Trees of Iowa. Students...
Curated OER
Rate of Solution
Eighth graders determine the amount of agitation necessary to dissolve various sized sugar particles. This task assess students' abilities to collect, organize, and interpret data, create appropriate graphs, predict future events based...
Curated OER
"The Story of Ruby Bridges"
Third graders examine the role of Ruby Bridges in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. They listen to the teacher read the book "The Story of Ruby Bridges" by Robert Coles, identify what is fact or opinion in the story, and sequence events in...
Curated OER
Recipe for Sensational Sentences
'Cook-up' sensational sentences with your class. They expand sentences by adding more descriptive words. Then discuss the importance of using appropriate grade level language in daily speaking and writing.