Noyce Foundation
The Wheel Shop
Teach solving for unknowns through a problem-solving approach. The grouping of five lessons progresses from finding an unknown through simple reasoning to solving simultaneous equations involving three and four variables. Each lesson...
NASA
Resolving 3-Plane Traffic Conflicts by Changing Route—Problem Set C
Keep the planes from crashing. Pupils work with three airplanes and change their flight paths to keep them at a safe distance from each other. Individuals work through three problems in the third interactive in a set of six with...
Teach Engineering
Solving Energy Problems
Here's your chance to save the world. The eighth lesson in a 25-part Energy Systems and Solutions unit has young scientists come up with ideas for individual or group projects. They identify ways to solve the energy crisis. Hope they...
Noyce Foundation
Movin 'n Groovin
Examine the consequences of varying speed. An engaging set of five problem sets challenges young mathematicians by targeting a different grade level from K-12. In the initial lesson, scholars make conclusions about the time it takes two...
NASA
Resolving 2-Plane Traffic Conflicts by Changing Route—Problem Set B
Do pilots create appropriate spacing between aircraft by traveling a longer or shorter path? An interactive presents two airplanes that violate safety protocols. Pupils must determine how to change the path of one plane to create the...
Super Teacher Worksheets
Spelling Test Nightmare
What do you do when faced with a bully? Scholars answer this question when presented with a scenario regarding two learners and their spelling test grades. They take part in a grand conversation that leads to problem solving and sorting...
101 Questions
Boat in the River
Ever feel like you're headed up the down escalator? Don't let your pupils get stuck in that rut! Practice writing equations to solve a problem using an engaging lesson. A video presents information that allows learners to determine how...
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Cash or Gas?
Which option provides the best payout? Pupils predict which lottery prize to take. They devise a method to calculate which prize would likely provide the greatest monetary value.
Novelinks
The Lightning Thief: Problematic Situation Strategy
In the novel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Percy is faced with a major decision. After reading, chapter 19, discuss the decision-making process Percy took, what he decided to do, and what your...
Illustrative Mathematics
Many Ways to Do Addition
A great aspect of teaching math is that children have the freedom to solve problems using a variety of different strategies. The focus of this lesson is for young mathematicians to become aware of many ways of answering addition...
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
Role Playing Relating to Big Decisions
While most high schoolers are too young to vote, they still need to learn the skills needed to solve problems. The ninth resource in a 10-part civics series presents class members with four "What Would You Do?" scenarios that have them...
Lions Clubs International Foundation
Mindful Self-Management Exercise: Responding Using S.T.O.P.
Respond rather than react! A self-management exercise teaches pupils a Mindful S.T.O.P. activity. Participants Stop their thoughts or actions, Take deep breaths, Observe how they are feeling, then Proceed with a response that will help...
101 Questions
Tether Ball
All work and no play makes for a boring classroom! Bring back memories by analyzing the patterns of a tether ball. Given the dimensions of the ball, pole, and rope, young scholars must determine how many times the ball will wrap around...
Curated OER
St. Patrick’s Day
Combine math, creative writing, and leprechauns in a fun St. Patrick's Day activity! Using a bag of gold coins and marshmallows, kids write a math story about a leprechaun that includes a multi-step equation to solve.
5280 Math
Capture the Points
Play a game of capture the points. Young scholars receive a number line with specific points graphed and must write an inequality that captures all the points. The second task of the algebra project is to write an inequality with...
101 Questions
Nana's Chocolate Milk
Nobody wants to make Nana mad! Help Mr. Meyer fix the chocolate milk he prepared for his Nana using too many scoops of chocolate. Youngsters develop a problem-solving strategy that leads to the solution using ratios and proportions.
Curated OER
The Old Man and the Sea: Questioning Strategies
Readers learn to ask questions about text with an activity based on Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. As they read, class members craft questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy and then find the answers themselves.
Noyce Foundation
Miles of Tiles
Create number sentences and equations to solve geometric problems. Each activity in the series of five asks young mathematicians to consider different-sized tiles to build structures according to specific criteria. The first activities,...
Illustrative Mathematics
Building toward fluency
Here is a great learning task that focuses on the development of areas in computational fluency including strategies in mental math. Young learners are guided through a list of addition expressions that help them visually understand the...
Computer Science Unplugged
Tourist Town—Dominating Sets
As an introduction to using a network to determine the fewest number of nodes that meet a given condition, small groups work together to determine the fewest number of ice cream vans, and their locations, to be able to serve the people...
101 Questions
Bean Counting
Don't spill the beans ... before the end of the lesson! Learners must predict how long it takes two people working together to fill a glass with beans. A video presents the rate it takes each person independently, and another video...
Illustrative Mathematics
Listing Fractions in Increasing Size
Increase the depth of your class's fractional number sense with this number-ordering activity. Given four fractions, each with different numerators and denominators, young learners are asked to place them in order from smallest to...
Illustrative Mathematics
Field Day Scarcity
Introduce young mathematicians to concepts of financial literacy with this open-ended word problem. With seven dollars to spend during field day and given a list of available items and their prices, children must determine how they want...
Computer Science Unplugged
The Muddy City—Minimal Spanning Trees
What is the most efficient way to ensure everyone is connected? Individual pupils determine the least expensive route to pave roads in a fictional city. In doing so, they learn to find the minimal spanning tree for the situation. They...