Population density, it is not all that it is plotted to be. Pupils analyze a scatter plot of population versus area for some of the states in the US. The class members respond to eight questions about the graph, specific points and...

These abstract shapes are pointing in different directions and young scholars determine which ones are oriented the same way. For each of five starting shapes they examine a set of four identical figures pointing in various directions,...

Use some of these 80-word passages to practice reading fluency with your beginners. Project the text so all learners can see it, pointing to each word as scholars recite them one at a time. Warn readers of irregularly spelled words by...

The best way to get your scholars familiar with the alphabet is to expose them to each letter in multiple contexts. This strategy incorporates letter recognition, sound, word examples, and pronunciation, and emerging readers will feel...

Access the instructional counting level of your class by prompting them to recall consecutive numbers within a given number range. Working one-on-one with your students and starting with the number range of 1-10, and working toward the...

Roller coaster cars traveling along a graph create quite a story! The lesson analyzes both linear and non-linear graphs. Learners determine the intervals that a graph is increasing and/or decreasing and to locate maximum and/or...

There's no way around it—learners must use trigonometry to model the line of sight around a race track! Using the starting line as the origin, pupils model the straight line distance to any car using a trigonometric expression. The...

Did you know horsepower is actually based on the power of a horse? 60 horse power is the equivalent of being pulled by a team of 60 horses! Viewers will learn other interesting facts like this from a presentation that begins with the...

Take a trip back in time with this political cartoon analysis activity, which has scholars reading background information on the heated 2008 primary campaign to help them approach two political cartoons. Three talking points (or writing...

Introduce your fifth graders to the coordinate plane, ordered pairs, and plotting points on any of the four quadrants. This wonderful resource makes preparation for your math class quick and easy. It explains everything the class will...

Which shape is pointing the same way? There are five starting shapes here, all irregular. Learners examine a row of shapes following each and draw a circle around the one that is pointing the same way. Enforce directional vocabulary by...

Fifth graders need concrete experiences to introduce a unit on multiplying fractions by fractions. A strip of paper is used to create a number line and represent 5/6. It is folded first in half, and then in quarters. After unfolding,...

Fourth graders examine the depiction of North Carolina tobacco farms in several photographs. They work in small groups to prepare an argument for a class debate and create promotional signs to advertise their point of view about tobacco...

What is happening to our newspapers? In the context of the current trends of media and the ever-declining print news industry, this handout includes two political cartoons for pupils to analyze, both created by artists working for...

Political tensions have surrounded the Olympics for centuries; take a look back at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics with this political cartoon analysis worksheet. Background information gives learners context regarding Tibetan protests...

How many different interpretations of the mean are there? Scholars place numbers on a number line and determine the mean. They interpret the mean as the average value and as the balance point.

Touchdown is a tag game built around stealth and deception. One team is given a small object that fits inside the palm of a hand. Players start at one end of the field and try to get the hidden object across the field to the other...

When guess and check gets old, it's time to start graphing! An instructive lesson explains how to solve a system of linear equations using graphing. Equations are in both slope-intercepts and standard form. 

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)....

What is happening to print media? Use this political cartoon analysis handout to facilitate pupil exploration of the online-media takeover and the decline of newspapers. Background information gives them context, and 3 talking points...

What a fun way to practice segmenting words into syllables! Engage learners by using their own names, spoken by Mico the puppet (or one of your favorites). Mico announces names slowly, syllable by syllable. If scholars have a...

Shoot Out is a quick-paced practice for shooting baskets. Each team has six players, each with an assigned number. These numbers are used to assign roles during the activity. There are three roles: shooters, rebounders, and scorekeepers....

A band of brothers or the Devil's agents? Nobel warriors freeing the oppressed or mercenaries working for the military/industrial complex? Groups examine poems from the Civil War, World War I, and World War II to determine the poets'...

Is there such a thing as fate/luck? Can one fight destiny? As part of their study of Chinua Achebe's purpose in writing Things Fall Apart, class members answer these questions from Achebe's point of view and then from William...