Students examine uses for estimating, and round purchase prices to estimate total purchases in a simulated school store setting. They discuss what it means for an item to be on sale, and observe the teacher work through the process of...

Observe and demonstrate how to calculate state sales taxes. Learners create a sales tax chart by calculating the sales tax amount and tax inclusive retail price for school store items, then calculate the subtotals, sales tax amounts, and...

Students critique their own school bag by sketching and writing a detailed description of it. In this creative design activity, students then design a more efficient carrier for their school supplies on paper. Students explain to their...

Students choose between the operations of addition or subtraction to solve a real life problem. In this addition and subtraction activity, students make a chart of items sold in the school store. Students then work in teams to apply...

Second graders practice counting money using nickels, dimes, and quarters. They review the value of nickels, dimes and quarters. They explore Penny Panda's Sticker Store, and talk a little about what the object of the activity is (save...

Third in a set of lessons regarding reservoirs, dams, and hydropower, this involves a two-day hydropower plant simulation. Collaborative groups build, maintain, and finance the plant. The transparency of the reservoir setup can be...

Learners operate a GPS unit to investigate the direction of glacier movement. They describe the motion of glacier movement by interpreting a graph. Students explain how scientists use glacier striations to determine glacier movement.

Learners understand the idea of a nonprofit organization, the service donated by others, and how it helps a community. In this philanthropic instructional activity, students explore the types of nonprofits that would be beneficial to a...

Students design a toy store, supply it with merchandise (on paper) and create advertisements. They also manage the store's debits and credits by using a spreadsheet. They consider how to promote the sale of their merchandise.

High schoolers explore a computer-aided design program. Students chart out roller coaster design, computer graphics and architecture. High schoolers focus on understanding the connections between mathematics, science, technology and...

Middle schoolers add, subtract, multiply, and divide rational numbers. They find the square and the cube of numbers. They create a game incorporating computation on rational numbers. Everyone works together to write and evaluate...

Apply the principles of geology to a series of collaborative, hands-on class activities. Young earth scientists learn more about igneous, metamorphic, and sedentary rocks before classifying and weathering rocks that they find....

Fourth graders prepare two spreadsheets each with an embedded line graph that displays data about the growth of the bitter rot fungus on apples and on petri dishes that were stored in the refrigerator and the classroom. They prepare a...

Learners explore operating equipment necessary for home and work. They view pictures of equipment and discuss the vocabulary terms. They use the terms more and less to describe pieces of equipment and visit the computer room to...

Fifth graders complete a series of graphs by gathering information and using Excel to graph the information.  For this graphing lesson, 5th graders graph favorite desserts of the class. Student put their results into the...

Fourth graders solve real life addition and subtraction decimal problems. In groups, they read a real life scenario. They use a newspaper to gather data to solve the situation. Students create a poster containing the justification for...

Young scholars recognize the purpose of the Michigan Avenue Bascule Trunnion Bridge. They examine photos of bridges and sing a song about Chicago's famous bascule trunnion bridge to investigate how moveable bridges work.

Young scholars explore the Microsoft paint program to examine artwork styles and recognize certain features. In this graphic art lesson, students incorporate computer technology with visual arts while acquiring basic computer knowledge....

Students examine candy preferences to create a plan in order to improve candy sales. In this technobiz lesson, students build spreadsheet and organizational skills by graphing and calculating data. Students are introduced to terminology...

Read the story Amelia the Pigeon and discuss perspective. Since Amelia is a pigeon with a bird's eye view, use aerial photography to enhance your learners' understanding. Have fun connecting art and literature while talking about...

Students collect data from their peers and store the information in a database. As students manage the information they realize the usefulness of a database as a tool to manage large amounts of information in an efficient and accurate...

A real-world scenario, Videobusters, a video rental store has just got to get organized. In small groups, the class works on organizing and analyzing data utilizing matrices. They need to use their skills in adding, subtracting and...

First graders use real coins or concrete models of coins to solve problems involving the purchase of items. They use cons and simulate going to a bargain store to purchase items. Students record the total cost of items. Pupils make a...

Students examine the importance of good quality safety gear. In this investigative lesson plan, students will tests various polymers, collect data, and analyze the data to determine which polymer is best for safety helmets. They will...