Explore the difference between stochastic and deterministic modeling through programming. First have the class write algorithms for relatively simple tasks using pseudocode. Use the Python 2.7 program app to simulate Mendel's Pea Pod...

How many ways can you slice dice distribution? A short performance task asks pupils to consider different types of distributions. Given histograms showing a triangular distribution and a bimodal distribution, they create pairs of dice...

Learners identify and experiment with dendrochronology (the study of tree rings to answer ecological questions about the recent past) and come up with conclusions as to what possible climatic conditions might affect tree growth in their...

Use this political cartoon handout to help pupils understand the role the Blue Dog Coalition plays with regard to Health Care Reform. Football is used metaphorically to represent a player (Blue Dogs) tackling someone on his team (Obama)....

Roll the dice with this activity and teach young mathematicians about probability. Record outcomes for rolling two number cubes in order to determine what is most likely to happen. Graph the data and investigate patterns in the results,...

Third graders determine the outcome of each of the following situations and justify their findings: even number + even number = ?, even number + odd number = ?, odd number + odd number = ?, and odd number + even number = ?.

Maximizing resources is essential to productivity. Class members complete an activity to show how math can help in the process. Using a piece of construction paper, learners construct a box with the maximum volume. Ultimately, they...

How can you prove it? Guide classes through an exploration of two possible triangle congruence criteria: AAS and HL. Learners connect this criteria to those previous learned and also explore criteria that does not work. The lesson...

Your class will learn what it means to take a random sample of a population and to draw inferences from the information gained. In part a, of the exercise, you discuss with your class how students during a class election can be best...

Young scholars explore the properties of magnets by designing a device that can move as far as possible using only magnets to move it, and design a machine that will stay in motion for the greatest period of time.

Tenth graders investigate the carbon monoxide level at a fixed latitude. They determine if there is a relationship to population density. They download data sets and generate a graph. They determine a link between human activity and...

Students work in groups to prepare a brief broadcast or print news report from one of five possible viewpoints about an environmental contamination scenario. Students are given basic information about a chemical spill in a small town and...

Fourth graders make a detailed observations about non-native and native grasses. They define reasonable policies that they expect to follow while working in the CRWA. Students list, in small groups, two treatments that have been used in...

Nails can get really dirty really fast. Prepare your special education class for life on their own by introducing them to a regular nail care routine. They discuss why it is important to care for your nails and practice washing,...

The penny arcade gets the statistics treatment in this fun probability investigation. A non-standard game of chance is described and then the class is set loose to find missing probabilities, determine common outcomes, and evaluate...

It's time for your young artists to shine! Learners examine images to determine possible similarity transformations. They then provide a sequence of transformations that map one image to the next, or give an explanation why it is...

Get your young scientists excited about geology through the study of dinosaur tracks! They will use their power of observation to learn how tracks are made and use critical thinking strategies to suggest a scenario in which they were...

In this chemistry worksheet, students find the outcomes necessary for the oxidation reduction reactions. The sheet includes background information.

A link to a beautiful Animoto presentation is included, giving examples of primary sources that a student might want to contact when doing research. Using the Topaz Internment Camp in Utah as a sample topic, middle schoolers view a slide...

Explore concepts of audience, purpose and symbols in this lesson from Media Smarts that asks students to consider all the functions of music. Through a series of discussions and activities, your class will brainstorm possible functions...

Clearly written as an assignment for a higher-level education class, this formal lesson plan contains some fun and well-researched strategies for teaching the novel Tuck Everlasting  by Natalie Babbitt. Among the best ideas...

When do teams want a strike? When they are playing this fun math game modeled after bowling. First, class teams roll four dice to generate the numbers they will use in that round, called a frame, of the game. Next, pins numbered 1...

While Thirteen Days is a fantastic film to use in the classroom in reference to the Cold War and the Cuban missile crisis, it is important to take care to effectively and properly incorporate its contents into your curriculum. This...

A diameter is the longest chord possible, but that's not the only relationship between chords and diameters! Young geometry pupils construct perpendicular bisectors of chords to develop a conjecture about the relationships between chords...