Digital History
Representation: By State or by Population
Should representation in the new United States government be based on population? This instructional activity illustrates the details of this important quandary through an adaptation of speeches on the topic given at the Constitutional...
EngageNY
Slicing a Right Rectangular Pyramid with a Plane
How many ways can you slice a pyramid? The 18th instructional activity of the 29-part series examines the multiple planes of a rectangular pyramid. Pupils study each slice to determine its shape and relation to the different faces.
Curated OER
"Whose (Is)land is This?": topics in Immigration and The Tempest
Class members compare the ways the subject of immigration is treated in The Tempest, Act I, scene ii, Act II, scene i and Act III, scene ii with patterns in American history. After tracing their own family’s journey, a series of...
Scholastic
Pilgrim and Wampanoag Daily Life for Grades 6–8
Two slide shows, viewed side-by-side, permit middle schoolers to compare and contrast the lives of the Pilgrims of the Plimoth colony and the Wampanoags. Four videos take learners on virtual field trips to the Plymouth plantation. And an...
EngageNY
Graphs of Exponential Functions
What does an exponential pattern look like in real life? After viewing a video of the population growth of bacteria, learners use the real-life scenario to collect data and graph the result. Their conclusion should be a new type of...
EngageNY
How Do Dilations Map Lines, Rays, and Circles?
Applying a learned technique to a new type of problem is an important skill in mathematics. The lesson plan asks scholars to apply their understanding to analyze dilations of different figures. They make conjectures and conclusions...
EngageNY
The Definition of Sine, Cosine, and Tangent
Introduce your classes to a new world of mathematics. Pupils learn to call trigonometric ratios by their given names: sine, cosine, and tangent. They find ratios and use known ratios to discover missing sides of similar...
EngageNY
Using Trigonometry to Determine Area
What do you do when you don't think you have enough information? You look for another way to do the problem! Pupils combine what they know about finding the area of a triangle and trigonometry to determine triangle area when they don't...
EngageNY
Comparing Rational Expressions
Introduce a new type of function through discovery. Math learners build an understanding of rational expressions by creating tables and graphing the result.
EngageNY
Awkward! Who Chose the Number 360, Anyway?
Don't give your classes the third degree. Use radians instead! While working with degrees, learners find that they are not efficient and explore radians as an alternative. They convert between the two measures and use radians with the...
EngageNY
Margin of Error When Estimating a Population Proportion (part 1)
Use the power of mathematics to find the number of red chips in a bag — it's a little like magic! The activity asks learners to collect data to determine the percentage of red chips in a bag. They calculate the margin of error and...
EngageNY
Exploiting the Connection to Cartesian Coordinates
Multiplication in polar form is nice and neat—that is not the case for coordinate representation. Multiplication by a complex number results in a dilation and a rotation in the plane. The formulas to show the dilation and rotation are...
Messenger Education
Exploring Solar Systems Across the Universe
Scientists have theorized that our solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago. In this pair of activities, learners first hypothesize how our solar system was formed. Using this information, groups then determine how scientists search for...
EngageNY
Converse of the Pythagorean Theorem
Discover a new application of the Pythagorean Theorem. Learners prove and apply the converse of the Pythagorean Theorem in the 17th instructional activity in a 25-part series. The examples ask learners to verify right triangles...
EngageNY
Generating Equivalent Expressions
Pupils develop expressions to describe the total number of sides on an unknown number of rectangles and triangles. Expressions contain multiplication, addition, and parentheses.
EngageNY
The Division Algorithm—Converting Decimal Division into Whole Number Division Using Fractions
Knowing the standard algorithm opens up a whole new world of division. Scholars learn how to convert division involving decimals to division involving whole numbers to use the standard algorithm. Knowing how to multiply with powers of...
Teacher.org
Christmas Around the World Part 1
A creative lesson shines a spotlight on Christmas celebrations throughout six different countries. Scholars read an informative text and share their new-found knowledge with their peers. After hearing about each country, pupils choose...
Curated OER
The Language of Surprise
Aspiring writers complete and discuss fill-in-the-blank cliché expressions, define cliché as a form of predictable writing, take cliché expressions and turn them into new, unpredictable ones, read poetry that illustrates writer's use of...
Scholastic
Connecting with Ruby Bridges
When Ruby Bridges entered an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960, she also entered history. Scholars consider what the experience must have been like for the young girl using two books that document her experience as well as a double...
Curated OER
M.C. Bard: Hip-Hop and Shakespeare
What is poetry? Does hip-hop qualify as poetry? Do Shakespeare's monologues qualify as poetry? Class members grapple with these questions as they examine the poetic elements and themes presented in different texts. Groups of four study...
NASA
Tools of the Trade
Did you know every state in the U.S. has at least one observatory? During the lesson, scholars research the cost of building and maintaining an observatory. They must present their information in a proposal to build a new observatory,...
Curated OER
Sincerely Yours
Learners write a friendly letter. They write a friendly letter to author, Cynthia Rylant, after reading a number of her books, and watch a presentation by the teacher that describes how to write the letter. They word process their...
Curated OER
A Tale of Two Quarters
Have your class use the life of a quarter to understand and design plot and flow charts. They read the book, The Go-Around Dollar, think about how their teacher got her quarters that day, then create a flow chart. They have to show how...
Curated OER
Flowers for Algernon: RAFT
Should Charlie undergo an operation to increase his intelligence? A mini-lesson for a unit on Daniel Keyes novel Flowers for Algernon uses a RAFT activity, which prompts students to write a letter to Charlie's doctors explaining why they...