Curated OER
Alexander And The Wind-Up Mouse
Use drama techniques to recreate the story, Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni. They engage in problem-solving as they identify the roles they will fufill in their groups for the performance. This is a motivating way to...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Properties of Multiplication
Unlock the keys to fluent multiplication with this upper-elementary math lesson. After an introduction to the five properties of multiplication, students match cards with different math problems to posters describing each...
NOAA
Journey to the Unknown
What's it like to be a deep-sea explorer? Tap into the imaginations of your fifth and sixth graders with a vivid lesson, the second part of a six-part adventure. Learners close their eyes and submerge themselves in an expedition aboard...
NASA
The Search for Critical Questions
A puzzle isn't about the individual pieces, but how they work together. Scholars assemble a puzzle and discover missing pieces. They write a description of what they expect these pieces to look like, including as many details as...
Virginia Department of Education
Integers: Multiplication and Division
Rules are meant to be broken ... but not integer multiplication and division rules. Learners use chips to model integer multiplication and division. The results of the activity help them develop integer rules for these operations.
Curated OER
Measuring Real Stuff
Looking for a good lesson plan on measurement? This one could be for ytou! Learners select and use appropriate nonstandard units to measure and compare lengths and weights of real-life objects. They use problem-solving skills to design a...
Curated OER
Masterpieces and the Mass-Produced
Students examine "masterpieces" and mass-produced objects as they discuss humankind's inventiveness and creativity. They also analyze the role of problem solving in the creation of masterpieces and mass-produced items.
Kenan Fellows
The Little Stuff Can Make a Big Difference
Great things come in small packages! What better way to illustrate this point than a week-long look at nanotechnology? Earth science scholars explore water quality issues through lab activities, then research new innovations in nanotech...
Virginia Department of Education
Exponential Modeling
Investigate exponential growth and decay. A set of six activities has pupils collecting and researching data in a variety of situations involving exponential relationships. They model these situations with exponential functions and solve...
Virginia Department of Education
Curve of Best Fit
Which function models the data best? Pupils work through several activities to model data with a variety of functions. Individuals begin by reviewing the shapes of the functions and finding functions that will fit plotted data points. By...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Imaginary Numbers? What Do You Mean Imaginary?
Don't worry, this resource actually exists. Scholars learn about imaginary numbers and work on problems simplifying square roots of negative numbers. As an extension, they research the history of imaginary numbers.
Statistics Education Web
First Day Statistics Activity—Grouping Qualitative Data
Making groups of groups can help to organize data. Classes use statistics to group themselves using descriptive adjectives. The objective is for learners to understand that grouping qualitative data is useful when the original groups are...
Curated OER
Roller Coasters
Twisting and turning through the sky, roller coasters are popular attractions at amusement parks around the world, but how exactly do they work? Explore the physics behind these thrilling rides with an engineering design activity....
Texas Woman’s University
Patterns, Patterns Everywhere!
Not only is pattern recognition an essential skill for young children to develop, it's also a lot of fun to teach! Over the course of this lesson, class members participate in shared readings, perform small group...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Introduction to Logarithms
Build on pupils' understanding of inverse functions by connecting logarithmic functions to exponential functions. This activity allows individuals to see graphically the inverse relationship between an exponential and logarithmic...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Representing and Combining Transformations
Transform your learners into master geometers with an activity that asks them to first complete an assessment task drawing the result after transformation of a given shape in the coordinate plane. They then use cards to...
Overcoming Obstacles
Being Assertive
Passive! Aggressive! Assertive!. The activities in the fourth lesson in the Communication module teach middle schoolers the difference among these behaviors and how to develop assertive communication skills. After defining and offering...
National Wildlife Federation
Who Is Faster?
Am I going to catch it? Individuals time how long it takes them to walk, jog, and run a given distance and calculate their speed. They then research two animals and find their speeds. Using a chart, pupils compare the speeds of the...
Curated OER
Using Words to Work Things Out
Students explore appropriate ways to communicate feelings. In this character development lesson, students listen to Hands are not for Hitting and several other books about expressing emotions appropriately. Students observe...
Curated OER
Using Modal Verbs to Problem Solve - Discussing a Difficult Situation
Students focus on the use of modal verbs of probability and advice in the past tense while discussing and solving a difficult problem.
Curated OER
Grocery Store Problem Solving
Sixth graders explore the effect of healthy diets and exercise on physical and mental wellness. In this health instructional activity, 6th graders compare food intake to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Students evaluate levels of...
Curated OER
Problem Solving In Genetic Disorders
Young scholars explore the causes and effects of genetic disorders. They examine the phenotype and genotype of individuals and predict the recurrenence risks. Students generate a Punnett square and construct pedigree charts.
Curated OER
Enhancing Students' Problem-Solving Abilities
Students analyze the results of a hypothetical cloning experiment using a restriction endonuclease map obtained from an on-line data source. They answer the question, "How can I tell if the DNA I have obtained from this hypothetical...
Curated OER
A Package of Pringle
Here is a problem-solving instructional activity that has learners take the role of a packaging expert to design an inexpensive means of packaging a potato chip. It could benefit from having more specific detail about the instructional...