Students read "Public Is Wary but Supportive on Rights Curbs," at the New York Times online. They explore how opinion polls are created and conducted, focusing on the wording of questions and the methods of sampling a population.

In this renewable energy instructional activity, learners put an X on their opinion on the energy source that will help the Earth's problems. Students have 5 energy sources to choose from and then complete math problems based on the...

A different way to look at integers is on this number line with variables in place of numbers. Learners are to look at different expressions and describe why they think the answer would be positive or negative, depending on the location...

Take some intellectual fun and apply it to the concept of multiplying expressions together. A guide models how to break two numbers into an area model to multiply together in pieces similar to FOILing. The rest of the puzzles consist of...

Is a college education necessary for success in today's world? The class investigates the question, along with others at the end of the sixth workshop in a 15-part series. The lesson has four parts with multiple activities and...

Students share opinions about the factors that contribute to or detract from their happiness. They create survey to determine how people in their community measure happiness, and write reflections on the relationship between money and...

Students explore the concept of budgeting. In this budgeting instructional activity, students pretend to have $120 to spend on camping gear for a camping trip. Students decide which items are absolutely necessary. Students calculate the...

Learners discuss Sol LeWitt and conceptual art, then analyze the differences in expressing a concept through model-based inquiry and aesthetic art criticism. They develop a geometric, scientific, or mathematical concept, then create an...

Collaboration is the key for this equation-solving lesson. Learners solve a multi-step linear equation that requires using the distributive property. Within collaborative groups, scholars discuss multiple methods and troubleshoot mistakes.

Within collaborative groups, scholars factor a degree six polynomial. They can factor the polynomial using many different strategies — a great way to prompt mathematical discussion.

Explore a basic pattern to practice writing expressions. In collaborative groups, learners examine a contextual pattern and write an expression to model it. The task encourages groups to describe the pattern in multiple ways.

Dig into a classic math problem with your classes. Through an engaging task, learners work with rate and distance information to make conclusions. In the task, two people walk at different rates; one leaves first, and scholars...

It seems the post office has run out of stamps! Learners build all the values of postage available if the post office only sells five- and seven-cent stamps. The task provides an opportunity to create an expression in two variables and...

Explore the measures of central tendency through a challenging task. Given values for the mean, median, mode, and range, collaborative groups create a set of data that would produce those values. They then critique other answers and...

Explore the effect of outliers through an analysis of mean, median, and standard deviation. Your classes examine and compare these measures for two groups. They must make sense of a group that has a higher mean but lower median compared...

Discover relationships between linear and nonlinear functions. Initially, a set of data seems linear, but upon further exploration, pupils realize the data can model an infinite number of functions. Scholars use multiple representations...

Number patterns can seem mysterious. Help your learners unravel these mysteries as they complete an intriguing task. Through examination, collaborative groups determine that they are able to produce all integers above a certain...

Is it possible for a rectangle to have the same area and perimeter? If you disregard units, it happens! In a challenging task, groups work to determine the rectangles that meet these criterion. The hope is that learners will naturally...

Model geometric concepts through a hands-on approach. Learners apply similar triangle relationships to solve for an unknown side length. Before they find the solution, they describe the transformation to help identify corresponding sides.

Evaluate patterns of numbers through an engaging task. Scholars work collaboratively to determine a general rule reflecting the sum of consecutive positive integers. Multiple patterns emerge as learners explore different arrangements.

What makes a good sample? Your classes collaborate to answer this question through a task involving areas of rectangles. Given a set of 100 rectangles, they sample a set of five rectangles to estimate the average area of the figures. The...

Teach solving absolute value inequalities through inquiry. Groups use their knowledge of absolute value and solving inequalities to find a solution set to an absolute value inequality. Working collaboratively encourages discussion,...

Where in the world (or at least in the coordinate plane) is the third vertex? Given two coordinate points for the vertices of a triangle, individuals find the location of the third vertex. They read an account of fictional...

Geometric figures are perfect to use for proofs. Scholars prove conjectures about whether given points lie on a triangle and about midpoints. They use a provided dialogue among fictional students to frame their responses.