Curated OER
Watch What You Say!
Explore how to use appropriate language for a variety of real-world settings. Here, middle schoolers determine the audience for various types of magazines, and identify words that are appropriate for various friends and family members....
NTTI
Vectors: Traveling, But in What Direction
High schoolers watch a video of real-world situations regarding speed, direction, velocity, force, etc. and answer questions while viewing. They then practice drawing and using vectors to solve more real-world problems.
Code.org
While Loops
Bring your pupils in the loop with while loops. Scholars learn how to modify conditional statements to produce while loops in the 14th lesson of the series. They use flowcharts to understand loops and then program some examples of loops.
Curated OER
Nuclear Chemistry Project
Radiation has numerous real-world applications, some of which are relatively safe while others can be extremely hazardous. In this nuclear chemistry project, young scientists choose a practical use of nuclear reactions to research in...
Curated OER
Escape Velocity
Sixth graders create/use spreadsheets to solve real-world problems, explore patterns, make predictions, select/explain most appropriate types of graph to display data, use information to create product, and have basic understanding of...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Creating and Testing Silver-Nanoparticle Socks
Antibacterial socks are a product of nanotechnology. An inquiry-based instructional activity asks collaborative groups to create their own antibacterial socks and then test them against other products on the market. The sock with the...
NASA
Rover Races
Operating a vehicle remotely can be difficult, especially when the vehicle is on another planet. Young engineers get a feel for some of the real-world challenges as they work to program their rovers (blindfolded group members) through an...
EngageNY
Revisiting the Graphs of the Trigonometric Functions
Use the graphs of the trigonometric functions to set the stage to inverse functions. The lesson reviews the graphs of the basic trigonometric functions and their transformations. Pupils use their knowledge of graphing functions to model...
Giraffe Heroes Project
It’s Up to Us
The Giraffe Heroes Program is designed for teens willing to stick their necks out to make a difference, and to create community service projects that tackle real world problems. The resource guides teens to choose an issue, design a...
Newspaper Association of America
By the Numbers: Mathematical Connections in Newspapers for Middle-Grade Students
A cross-curricular resource teaches and reinforces mathematical concepts with several activities that use parts of a newspaper. Scholars use scavenger hunts to find the different ways math is used in the paper along with using data...
Curated OER
Adding and Subtracting Decimals With Excel
What a great way to have pupils apply classroom learning to real-world skills! They complete problems involving the addition and subtraction of decimals related to banking-type questions, and then use a spreadsheet to display their results.
US Environmental Protection Agency
Mapping Greenhouse Gas Emissions Where You Live
After investigating the US Environmental Protection Agency's climate change website, your environmental studies students discuss greenhouse gas emissions. They use an online interactive tool to look at data from power production...
National Gallery of Canada
The Tools of Perspective
Make a study of perspective in the real world. Learners examine and discuss works of art that show examples of perspective before trying their own hands at it. Using a grid drawn on transparent paper, class members transfer a view from a...
National Research Center for Career and Technical Education
Salads
Lettuce talk for a moment about your culinary scholars; do they have what it takes to create a great salad? Show them the finer points of salad preparation with a career and technology lesson that combines direct instruction, creativity,...
Curated OER
Geometry in the Real World
Eighth graders complete a unit of lessons on basic geometry concepts. They participate in a variety of activities, culminating in a project that involves publishing a booklet or a poster that presents the major geometry concepts from the...
Teach Engineering
Racing With the Sun - Creating a Solar Car
Here's an exciting and innovative lesson that's sure to get your charges fired up! In it, they use engineering design principles to construct and test a fully solar powered car. One caveat: the kits that each group needs to make their...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Statue Display Tower
Sometimes engineering problems that seem easy prove to be more challenging than imagined. Present your class with the challenge to build a functional display tower to support a statue using only the supplies available in class while...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Water Tower Challenge
Providing clean water to a town is quite a feat... is your class up for the challenge? After a short reading about water towers, groups work together to design a working water delivery system. The water flow must be adjustable (able to...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Popsicle Bridge
Using popsicle sticks and glue, groups must work together to design and build a bridge that can support weight and is aesthetically pleasing. The instructional activity begins by learners reading about different features of bridge...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Interactive Gumball Machine
Sure, you may be able to build a better mousetrap, but what about a gum dispenser? In a fun engineering challenge, teams must design and build a working interactive gumball machine with specific constraints and criteria.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Dispenser Designs
After reading about the history of tape dispensers, learners compare and contrast different dispenser designs. Next, teams work within budgetary and time constraints to design a better dispenser. When finished, each engineer reflects on...
Curated OER
The War of the Worlds
Young scholars discover the concept of media based on literature. In this War of the Worlds lesson, students read the novel The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells and listen to the 1938 radio broadcast adaptation by Orson Welles. Young...
Curated OER
Principles of Flight: Flying Paper Airplanes
Students investigate ways to enhance an object's flying ability. In this model construction lesson, students construct two paper airplanes, one of which is twice as big as the first. Students compare and contrast the two separate...
Curated OER
Oh! The Places I CAN See!
Students explore landmarks around the world. In this world geography and technology lesson, students view world landmarks using a webcam. Students take a virtual field trip during which they zoom in and manipulate three dimensional...