Cornell University
Non-Newtonian Fluids—How Slow Can You Go?
Children enjoy playing with silly putty, but it provides more than just fun. Young scientists make their own silly putty using different recipes. After a bit of fun, they test and graph the viscosity of each.
Curated OER
A New Phase In Town
Middle schoolers explore heat energy and how it is used to change the phase of matter, and discover that temperature does not increase or decrease until the phase change is complete. This extremely well-written plan is packed with great...
Mathematics Vision Project
Module 6: Congruence, Construction, and Proof
Trace the links between a variety of math concepts in this far-reaching unit. Ideas that seem very different on the outset (like the distance formula and rigid transformations) come together in very natural and logical ways. This...
Perkins School for the Blind
The Germinator
How does a plant grow from a seed? Observe the process with a clever idea from the PBS television show ZOOM. Watch the video, then have your young botanists create their own germinators. The instructional activity described here is for...
Curated OER
An Introduction To Volume
Upper graders explore the topic of volume. In this math lesson plan, pupils count volume in cubic units, multiply to find volume, estimate volume, write a multiplication sentence to find the volume, and make a cost analysis of different...
Cornell University
Constructing and Visualizing Topographic Profiles
Militaries throughout history have used topography information to plan strategies, yet many pupils today don't understand it. Scholars use Legos and a contour gauge to understand how to construct and visualize topographic profiles. This...
Curated OER
Those Vexing Variables
Students recognize dependent and independent variables in an experiment by practicing manipulation of variables; students practice designing experiments that contain the two types of variables.
Teach Engineering
Glue Sticks Bend and Twist
Stick this resource in the "Use" column. In the second installment of a six-part series, learners use glue sticks to demonstrate forces. Using glue sticks, instructors can demonstrate tension, compression, and torsion.
Noyce Foundation
Sewing
Sew up your unit on operations with decimals using this assessment task. Young mathematicians use given rules to determine the amount of fabric they need to sew a pair of pants. They must also fill in a partially complete bill for...
Curated OER
THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT SPACE
Ninth graders set up a scale model of the solar system using the same scale for distance and diameter. They calculate scale distances and sizes for modeling the solar system and relate actual distances to difficulties in discovering and...
Inside Mathematics
Archery
Put the better archer in a box. The performance task has pupils compare the performance of two archers using box-and-whisker plots. The resource includes sample responses that are useful in comparing individuals' work to others.
Virginia Department of Education
How Many Triangles?
Something for young mathematicians to remember: the sum of any two sides must be greater than the third. Class members investigates the Triangle Inequality Theorem to find the relationship between the sides of a triangle. At the...
Virginia Department of Education
Surface Area of a Rectangular Prism
Wrap up a lesson on surface area with a resource that asks scholars to use the idea of wrapping paper to investigate surface area. They draw representations of rectangular prisms on graph paper to find the areas of the respective...
Curated OER
We All Scream for Ice Scream
High schoolers explore the formulas for volume of three-dimensional objects. They participate in various activities involving ice cream, ice cream cones, small candies, and gum balls, recording their calculations on a lab sheet.
Curated OER
Plotting Earthquakes
Students plot earthquakes on a map. In this activity on earthquakes, students will explore recent earthquake activity in California and Nevada. Students will plot fault lines and earthquake occurrences on a map.
EngageNY
Rotations
Searching for a detailed instructional activity to assist in describing rotations while keeping the class attentive? Individuals manipulate rotations in this application-based instructional activity depending on each parameter. They...
NASA
Cleaning Water
From their sweat to the water vapor in their breath, astronauts recycle every possible drop of water while in space. After watching a short video describing the different ways materials are recycled and reused in space...
Scholastic
Discussion and Dissection of an Owl Pellet
Young scientists get the chance to dissect pellets "owl" by themselves to determine the owls environment and nourishment. This is the third part of a three-part series.
EngageNY
The Angle-Angle (AA) Criterion for Two Triangles to Be Similar
What do you need to prove triangles are similar? Learners answer this question through a construction exploration. Once they establish the criteria, they use the congruence and proportionality properties of similar objects to find...
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...
University of Georgia
Splat!
What does viscosity have to do with splatter? An activity shows that the viscosity of a substance is inversely proportional to the distance of its splatter. Learners conduct the experiment by collecting data, graphing, and analyzing...
Lesson This!
Fraction Fruit
Discover the concept of fractions by using fruit as a model. Scholars discover fractions are part of a whole, similar to the pieces of fruit which are placed in front of them. They then cut up several different types of fruit and discuss...
NOAA
Through Robot Eyes
How do robots assist ocean explorers in collecting data and images? The final installment in a five-part series has science scholars examine underwater images collected by robots and identify the organisms shown. Groups then calculate...
NOAA
Wet Maps
How do oceanographers make maps under water? Junior explorers discover the technologies and processes involved in creating bathymetric maps in part three of a five-part series designed for fifth- and sixth-grade pupils. The lesson...