American Statistical Association
Bubble Trouble!
Which fluids make the best bubbles? Pupils experiment with multiple fluids to determine which allows for the largest bubbles before popping. They gather data, analyze it in multiple ways, and answer analysis questions proving they...
Virginia Department of Education
Growing Patterns and Sequences
Learners explore, discover, compare, and contrast arithmetic and geometric sequences in this collaborative, hands-on activity. They build and analyze growing patterns to distinguish which kind of sequence is represented by a set of data...
EngageNY
Solve for Unknown Angles—Angles and Lines at a Point
How do you solve for an unknown angle? In this sixth installment of a 36-part series, young mathematicians use concepts learned in middle school geometry to set up and solve linear equations to find angle measures.
Kenan Fellows
Farm to Fuel: The Alternative Fuels Industry
Need a lesson to fuel young minds? A variety of hands-on activities is sure to get your class fired up! Beginning with an introductory slideshow and culminating with group presentations, the week-long unit has something for everyone....
Curated OER
Shaquille O'Neal Hand & Foot Span
If Shaquille O'Neal wears a size-20 shoe, how big are his hands? Learners will use the average ratios of foot length to hand span to calculate the hand span of Shaq, but first, they have to collect the data! They will...
NOAA
Methane Hydrates – What's the Big Deal?
Have you ever tried to light ice on fire? With methane hydrate, you can do exactly that. The ice forms with methane inside so it looks like ice, but is able to burn. The lesson plan uses group research and a hands-on activity to help...
Curated OER
When I Was Young In Appalachia
Students comapre and contrast the lifestyles of the people of the Applachian region with their own community through in-class discussions, creative projects, hands-on activities, food preservation, homemade remedies, home construction,...
EduGAINs
Discovery of Pi
Serve up a slice of math for Pi Day! A combination of fun, hands-on lessons and helpful worksheets encourage learners to practice finding the radius, diameter, and circumference of different circles.
Curated OER
Get the Picture!
Astronomers practice downloading data from a high-energy satellite and translate the data into colored or shaded pixels. As a hands-on activity, they use pennies to simulate high-energy satellite data and they convert their penny...
Curated OER
TE Activity: A Tornado in My State?
Students study data about tornadoes in the United States while completing a worksheet. They develop a bar graph showing the number of tornadoes for the top ten states in the US. They find the median and mode of the data set.
Curated OER
Shapes!
Explore five basic shapes- square, rectangle, triangle, circle, and stars with youngsters. They will participate in hands-on activities, draw each shape, name each shape. They also get to eat things that are in the shapes they have just...
National Security Agency
Systems of Equations and Inequalities
High school classes can use manipulatives too! Offer hands-on, interactive lessons that venture away from the typical day in your algebra class. Young mathematicians will be involved in collaborative learning, visual...
California Mathematics Project
Model Solar System
The sun's diameter is 864,337 miles—challenge learners to create a scale model of the solar system that fits in your classroom. Scholars make conversions and work with scientific notation as they create the scale model.
Shodor Education Foundation
InteGreat
Hands-on investigation of Riemann sums becomes possible without intensive arithmetic gymnastics with this interactive lesson plan. Learners manipulate online graphing tools to develop and test theories about right, left, and...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
What Is a Radian?
Here's an algebra II activity that strives to make the concept of a radian less abstract and more conceptual. It takes a hands-on approach to exploring the idea of a radian and allows individuals to develop a definition of a...
Curated OER
The Pythagorean Puzzle
An engaging hands-on activity is presented. Learners of all ages are addressed in thie unique plan. K-5 learners identify, name, and define a rectangle, square, triangle, and the concept of area. Older learners prove the Pythagorean...
Curated OER
Close Observation: Coins
Integrate math, science, and speaking/listening with a collaborative hands-on activity. Each group works with a single penny, examining it with the naked eye and recording observations. Repeat using magnifying glasses. Then repeat with a...
Curated OER
Skate Borders
Elementary schoolers explore how making different rectangular shapes with the same perimeter has an affect on the area of those shapes. Learners use the worksheet embedded in the plan to design their own skateboarding track. They use...
Curated OER
Guess My Shape
Learners play a game with shapes. They work in groups to identify the names and characteristics of various shapes. They give each other clues to see if others can identify the shape being described. This is a great hands on activity.
Virginia Department of Education
Matching Representations
Pupils explore the many representations of linear functions by completing a matching activity to connect the multiple representations of a function. They then reinforce the connection as individuals create the different representations...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Place Value Party
Help your young mathematicians master three-digit place value with a hands-on activity that builds on their social orientation. They create a place value house from construction paper and sort "number friends" according to which house...
Henrico County Public Schools
Models for Teaching Addition and Subtraction of Integers
Positive and negative numbers are everywhere in the world around us. Whether it's charged particles in atoms, a hot air balloon rising and falling in the sky, or a series of bills and checks being delivered in the mail, this...
Curated OER
20 Tickets
A great hands-on activity involving adding and subtracting, beginner mathematicians determine how many games can be played with 20 tickets. Instead of tickets, youngsters use 20 counters or linking cubes to represent the amount of...
California Academy of Science
Moons in Comparison
Just how big is Earth's moon? With a hands-on simulation, scholars use Play-Doh to model the sizes of the planets Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and their moons. They make predictions as a class, work together to make their models, and discuss...