Shapes are everywhere in the world around us, from rectangular doors to the circular wheels of a car. The second instructional activity in this series opens the eyes of young mathematicians to this wonderful world of shapes as they...

A hands-on activity challenges young scholars to name a picture, segment its phonemes, then blend those sounds to make the word. 

Challenge young mathematicians' ability to compose and decompose shapes with this fun geometry puzzle. The goal is simple, locate all of the rectangles shown in a picture of three overlapping rectangles. Perform this activity as a whole...

Poetic language is abundant in Natalie Babbitt's beautiful novel, Tuck Everlasting. Learners note the examples of similes, metaphors, and personification they find as they read, and illustrate how the language creates a sensory...

Explore how lines of symmetry help define different categories of quadrilaterals. Looking at a square, rectangle, trapezoid, and parallelogram, young mathematicians discover that each shape has its own, unique symmetry. Encourage your...

Challenge young mathematicians' understanding of squares with this geometry puzzle. The task is simple, identify as many squares as possible in a 3x3 array. Allow learners to work independently or in pairs as they search for squares,...

The problem seems simple: find the area of the equilateral triangle whose sides are each length 1. In fact, this same problem is solved in 8th grade, addressing a different Common Core standard, using the formula for area of a triangle...

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....

The accuracy required by the design and measurement of an Olympic running track will surprise track stars and couch potatoes alike. Given a short introduction, the class then scaffolds into a detailed analysis of the exact nature of the...

Coral reefs are full of an abundance of life and color. Why not celebrate it with an edible coral reef? Learners and teachers alike use cake, icing, and candies to create a tasty version of a coral reef that's complete with colors,...

The class gets to practice being a mathematician in ancient Greece, performing geometric application problems in the way of Eratosthenes. After following the steps of the great mathematicians, they then compare the (surprisingly...

After learning that the sum of interior angles for triangles is 108 degrees, take it further to show that the sum of angles in any polygon is the same! Using hexagons, pupils practice finding the measure of the six congruent angles. Make...

Scholars subtract initial phonemes from given picture word cards to create new words. Feet becomes eat, and shelf becomes elf.

A complex question looking for the total cost of a stained glass window by calculating area and circumference of a circle. With detailed components, this activity will challenge your designers to figure out if they have enough money to...

This can be used as a critical thinking exercise in congruence or as a teaching tool when first introducing the concept. Four octagons are arranged in such a way that a square is formed in the middle. With this information, geometry...

Young geometers develop one of the fundamental properties of quadrilaterals (connecting side midpoints gives a parallelogram) in this short but thought-provoking exercise. Using a combination of hands-on techniques and abstract algebraic...

Crispin: the End of Time is the core text for this teaching guide, a valuable resource for those who use Avi's trilogy as whole-class reading, in book circles, or as independent reading.

Students explore shadows. In this art lesson, students put black construction paper on the ground and place objects on the paper. Students leave and when they come back at the end of the afternoon the sun has faded the black paper with...

Students create a shadow picture. In this art activity, students draw a scene and draw things they want to "spring" out of the picture. Students cut out the items they want to "spring" out of the picture. Students zig zag fold strips...

Seven pages offer scholars the opportunity to learn about North American mammals and boost their coloring skills. Animals include brown bears, beavers, jackrabbits, wolves, jaguar, and Dall sheep 

An excellent activity that encourages students to discover how complex figures can be broken into simpler shapes when measuring area. Working with block letters, learners are given the freedom to develop their own strategies for...

You'll feel more than prepared for the start of the school year with this collection of daily activities for the month of August! From filling in numbers on a calendar or coloring patterns to solving addition and reading...

Test your learners' sensory awareness with three hands-on activities that ask pupils to use their other senses to identify and describe everyday objects hidden from sight.  

Potty humor is always a big hit with the school-age crowd, and potty algebra takes this topic to a whole new level. Here the class develops a model that connects the dimensions (radii, paper thickness, and length of paper) of a...