Challenge: create an assessment that features higher level thinking from beginning to end. A ready-made test assesses knowledge of dilations using performance tasks. Every question requires a developed written response. 

In this connecting dots worksheet, students solve a word problem involving connecting dots using a continuous line. Students complete 1 complicated higher order thinking problem.

Explore distance and time factors to build an understanding of rates. A comprehensive set of problems target learners of all grade levels. The initial problem provides distance and time values and asks for the winner of a race. Another...

Performance task questions are the most difficult to write. Use this assessment so you don't have to! These questions assess factoring quadratics, modeling with quadratics, and key features of quadratic graphs. All questions require...

What do your young geniuses really know? Assess the procedural knowledge of your pupils at the same time as their higher-level thinking with an assessment that identifies their depth of knowledge. Topics include solving...

Young mathematicians practice their reasoning as well as adding and subtracting skills with this activity that includes five simple word problems about birthdays. Learners are give pictures of birthday cakes and based on the number of...

Many problems in life have more than one possible solution, and the same is true for advanced mathematics. Scholars solve seven problems that all have at least two solutions. Then three higher-level thinking questions challenge them to...

Looking for higher-level thinking questions? This assessment provides questions that challenge young mathematicians to think and analyze rather than simply memorize. Topics include piecewise functions, linear modeling, exponential...

A basic set-up leads to a surprisingly complex analysis in this variation on the question of surrounding a central circle with a ring of touching circles. Useful for putting trigonometric functions in a physical context, as well as...

Examine the relationship between time and geometry. A series of five lessons provides a grade-appropriate problem from elementary through high school. Each problem asks learners to compare the movement of the hands on a clock to an angle...

Scholars can use area formulas, but can they apply what they know about area? The lesson challenges learners to think logically while practicing finding area of shapes such as rectangles, circles, parallelograms, triangles, and other...

In this multi-faceted introduction to pi, participants perform a bevy of pi-related activities. Ranging from measuring household items to singing pi songs and reading pi stories, this fun and non-intimidating resource serves to bring up...

This first of twelve algebra 2 resources provides a broad review of many algebra 1 concepts through a number of separable lessons and labs. Starting with the real number system and its subsystems, the sections quickly but thoroughly...

Keep your pets slim, trim, and healthy using mathematics! Pupils use a linear programming model to optimize the amount and type of food to provide to a pet rabbit. They model constraints by graphing inequalities and use them to analyze a...

Can you spare a 10? Scholars determine digits that could complete a two-digit subtraction problem. They must find all possible combinations of digits and provide an explanation for their reasoning.

Explore using units with scientific notation to communicate numbers effectively. Individuals choose appropriate units to express numbers in a real-life situation. In this 13th instructional activity of 15, participants convert numbers in...

If cubism were a religion, would you follow it? Lower-level tasks focus primarily on counting the number cubes in a structure and relating the number to surface area. As learners progress to higher-level tasks, isometric drawings and...

A second attack at figuring out the number of leaves on a tree, this activity makes both an excellent follow-up to version 1 and a stand-alone activity. Learners practice setting parameters and deciding acceptable estimate precision, and...

 Students explore the likelihood of events.  In this logical thinking activity, 3rd graders are given several scenarios and determine whether the possibility of the described event actually happening is likely, unlikely, or...

On your mark, get set, GO! The class sprints toward the conclusions in a race analysis activity. The staggered start of the 400-m foot race is taken apart in detail, and then learners step back and develop some overall race strategy...

Will human population growth always be exponential, or will we find a limiting factor we can't avoid? Young scientists learn about both exponential and logistic growth models in various animal populations. They use case studies to...

Trigonometry teachers often go off on a tangent, and here's a worksheet that proves it! First, young mathematicians use a formula with tangent to prove a formula correct for area. Then, they draw conclusions about the area of a circle...

Here's a resource teachers won't want to wash their hands of. Given a task where a full bar of soap is on one side of a balance and 3/4 of a bar of soup and a 3/4-ounce weight is on the other side, young mathematicians must determine the...