EngageNY
The Slope of a Non-Vertical Line
This instructional activity introduces the idea of slope and defines it as a numerical measurement of the steepness of a line. Pupils then use the definition to compare lines, find positive and negative slopes, and notice their...
Cornell University
Mechanical Properties of Gummy Worms
Learners won't have to squirm when asked the facts after completing an intriguing lab investigation! Hook young scholars on science by challenging them to verify Hooke's Law using a gummy worm. Measuring the length of the worm as they...
Novelinks
The Giver: Reading Road Map
Sometimes it's helpful to read certain passages in a novel slowly and carefully, and to read other parts more quickly to move the plot along. Learners tread carefully through Chapter 20 of Lois Lowry's The Giver, noting which...
Teach Engineering
Force on a Current Carrying Wire
What do electrical currents have to do with an MRI? Using a simple wire setup and a magnet, class members explore forces used in an MRI by investigating the magnetic force acting on a wire carrying a current.
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Contemplating Nature vs. Nurture
Does having an addict in your family make it more likely to become one yourself? Explore the genetic risk factors, as well as the prominent environmental influences, for substance addiction in a instructional activity that encourages...
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Growing Up With A Mission
New Horizons began its journey to Pluto in 2006. Ten years later, it continues its mission. In that time, scholars have surely grown, but how much more will they grow by the time New Horizons reaches its destination? Find out with an...
Science 4 Inquiry
Monster Mash-Up of Genetics
It's alive! Young mad scientists create monsters as they explore the probabilities of genetic traits during a well-structured inquiry lesson. Pairs travel from station to station, rolling the dice and adding traits to their creations as...
Inside Mathematics
Patterns in Prague
Designers in Prague are not diagonally challenged. The mini-assessment provides a complex pattern made from blocks. Individuals use the pattern to find the area and perimeter of the design. To find the perimeter, they use the Pythagorean...
Teach Engineering
Corn for Fuel?!
Can corn power the world? Young scientists learn about how corn and other plants can provide renewable biofuels in the second of nine lessons. They set up an experiment to investigate how different variables affect plant growth. All of...
EngageNY
More on Modeling Relationships with a Line
How do you create a residual plot? Work as a class and in small groups through the activity in order to learn how to build a residual plot. The activity builds upon previous learning on calculating residuals and serves as a...
Inside Mathematics
Graphs (2006)
When told to describe a line, do your pupils list its color, length, and which side is high or low? Use a learning exercise that engages scholars to properly label line graphs. It then requests two applied reasoning answers.
Inside Mathematics
Rhombuses
Just what does it take to show two rhombuses are similar? The assessment task asks pupils to develop an argument to show that given quadrilaterals are rhombuses. Class members also use their knowledge of similar triangles to show two...
Science 4 Inquiry
Battle of the Waves
Which travels faster, light or sound? Scholars work in groups to simulate the ability for waves to travel through solids, liquids, gases, and through a vacuum. Then, they learn about the properties of a mystery wave and must determine...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Measuring Biodiversity in Gorongosa
Take your biology class' understanding of biodiversity to a whole new level! Ecology scholars use data to calculate three different diversity indices based on the organisms in the Gorongosa National Park. The four-part activity uses an...
Council for Economic Education
Understanding a Balance Sheet
Read any financial website or book, and it is bound to discuss the words asset and liability. But what do these words actually mean to the class? The resource effectively explains by using multiple formats and techniques, including...
NOAA
Into the Deep
Take young scientists into the depths of the world's ocean with the second lesson of this three-part earth science series. After first drawing pictures representing how they imagine the bottom of the ocean to appear, students...
NOAA
Waves
Is it possible to outrun a tsunami? After watching a presentation that explains how waves and tsunamis occur, class members investigate the speed of tsunamis triggered by an earthquake.
Teach Engineering
Building a Barometer
Forget your local meteorologist — build your own barometer and keep track of the weather with an activity that provides directions to build a barometer out of a narrow necked bottle, a glass, and some water. Using their barometer,...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Review and Assessment: Causes and Effects of Climate Changes
The last activity in the series of five is a short one where individuals show what they've learned about the causes and effects of climate change. Working independently, they fill in a graphic organizer, then compare their notes with a...
Teach Engineering
All About Linear Programming
Class members connect engineering with an understanding of linear programming using a technical resource. Scholars learn about linear programming (linear optimization) and how it applies to engineering design in the first of two modules....
PBS
Using Primary Sources: The Rogue's Gallery
What would be in your life's scrapbook? Scholars use short video clips, primary and secondary documents, and photos to investigate a 1909 scrapbook. They analyze and uncover what the Rogue Book tells them about the past in Western...
Overcoming Obstacles
What Is Overcoming Obstacles?
Just like becoming proficient at playing an instrument or sport requires practice, so too does developing the skills to overcome life's obstacles. That's the big idea in the first lesson in a life skills course. To begin, participants...
Museum of Tolerance
Family Tree Activity
Discover the family histories that make the classroom with a family tree activity. Scholars locate information about their family, construct a family tree, and work together to tally where family members are born.
NASA
Development of a Model: Analyzing Elemental Abundance
How do scientists identify which elements originate from meteorites? Scholars learn about a sample of material found in a remote location, analyzing the sample to determine if it might be from Earth or not. They study elements, isotopes,...