University of Florida
Protecting Our Water Resources
Teach young environmentalists to protect their planet's resources with a set of interactive experiments. Kindergartners and other youngsters learn about watersheds and the water cycle, while older elementary learners focus on fertilizer...
Illustrative Mathematics
Global Positioning System II
Intricate details of a modern technology that many of us take for granted in our phones, computers (and some cars) are laid bare in a short but deeply investigative activity. The math behind a seemingly simple GPS device is...
Illustrative Mathematics
Use Cavalieri’s Principle to Compare Aquarium Volumes
Learners are designing a stunning new water feature for an aquarium, but they soon discover that more than just a pretty home for their fishy friends is required. From calculating the volume of a composite shape through the abstract...
Curated OER
Estimating the Mean State Area
Seventh grade statisticians randomly select five states and then determine the mean area. The class then works together to create a dot plot of their results.
Noyce Foundation
Circular Reasoning
Examine the origin and application of pi in five different levels. The five lessons in the resource begin with an analysis of the relationship between the radius and circumference of a circle. The following lessons lead learners through...
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Eruptions: Old Faithful Geyser
How long do we have to wait? Given several days of times between eruptions of Old Faithful, learners create a graphical representation for two days. Groups combine their data to determine an appropriate wait time between eruptions.
Curated OER
Stock Swaps, Variation 2
If Microsoft wanted to take over Apple, how many shares would they need to break even? This is an ideal task for seventh graders who are studying proportional relationships and applying them to real-world scenarios. Use it as an...
Noyce Foundation
Double Down
Double the dog ears, double the fun. Five problems provide increasing challenges with non-linear growth. Topics include dog ears, family trees and population data, and geometric patterns.
Illustrative Mathematics
Satellite
Learners practice relating rules of trigonometry and properties of circles. With a few simplifying assumptions such as a perfectly round earth, young mathematicians calculate the lengths of various paths between satellite and stations....
Teach Engineering
A Good Foundation
It takes a strong foundation to build a house and a stronger one for a bridge. This resource presents the effects of geology and soil on bridge foundations. Working in groups, the class investigates the interaction of shallow and deep...
Curated OER
The Math Poet
Students use numeric operations and concepts to describe, analyze, communicate, synthesize numeric data, and to solve problems.
Wake Forest University
Authentic Activities for Connecting Mathematics to the Real World
Check out the handout from a presentation that contains a collection of high school algebra projects connecting a variety of mathematics to the real world. Activities range from simple probabilities to calculus. The activities can be...
Teach Engineering
Slinkies as Solenoids
What does an MRI machine have to do with a slinky? This activity challenges learners to run a current through a slinky and use a magnetic field sensor to measure the magnetic field. Groups then change the length of the slinky to see the...
Curated OER
Flower Vases
Which vase holds more water: a cylinder, sphere, or cone? Figure out which should be used for your sister's birthday bouquet with this practical word problem.
MARS - Mathematics Assessment Resource Service
Applying Properties of Exponents
The properties of exponents are all linked together and it is your mathematicians' job to discover and apply those rules. The comprehensive activity begins with a pre-assessment task to check for prior knowledge and then goes into a...
Teach Engineering
Building an Electromagnet
Your pupils can build their own electromagnet — awesome! The culminating activity in an eight-part series challenges groups to design and build their own electromagnet. The goal of the activity is to build a magnet capable of picking up...
Teach Engineering
Clay Boats
Clay itself sinks, but clay boats float. Why? Young engineers build clay boats to learn about buoyancy. They test the weight the boats can hold using washers and then tweak their designs to make improvements, following the engineering...
Teach Engineering
Using Hooke's Law to Understand Materials
Provide a Hooke for a lesson on elasticity with an activity that has groups investigate a set of springs. They use a set procedure to collect data to calculate the spring constant for each spring using Hooke's Law. The groups predict the...
Cru High School
Games / Icebreakers
Twenty-three, fun-filled activities make up a list of icebreakers designed to familiarize class members with one another, and add a sense of community to the classroom.
Teach Engineering
Efficiency of an Electromechanical System
How efficient is a motor in a LEGO set? Future engineers conduct an activity where a LEGO motor-generator system raises an object to a specified height. They then show what they learned and use their measurements to calculate the energy...
Illustrative Mathematics
Where Do I Go?
Practice sequencing numbers 1–100 in a card sequencing activity. The hands-on learning makes a short activity flexible and fun. The opportunities are endless and easy to implement.
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Pi Day Fun!
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...
Noyce Foundation
Through the Grapevine
Teach statistics by analyzing raisins. A thorough activity provides lesson resources for five levels to include all grades. Younger pupils work on counting and estimation, mid-level learners build on their understanding of the measures...
Noyce Foundation
Tri-Triangles
Develop an understanding of algebraic sequences through an exploration of patterns. Five leveled problems target grade levels from elementary through high school. Each problem asks young mathematicians to recognize a geometric pattern....