Function machines are a great way to introduce the topic of functions to your class. Here, you will explore the input and output to functions both using numerical and non-numerical data. Learners are encouraged to play with different...

Humans are so used to gravity as a force that we don't tend to pay much attention to it on a daily basis. Through a couple simple activities, learners experience changes to their center of gravity and come to the understanding that...

This is a fantastic activity that prompts learners to think like educators and consider the value of a historically based film beyond just the accuracy of information. Your young historians will work in groups to do a close reading and...

Looking for a way to keep AP learners engaged after the exam? AP Psychology class members engage in self-analysis and present themselves to their colleagues by choosing one of two interesting project choices. Individuals may prepare a CD...

Your algebra learners discover that exponential functions, with a base larger than one, outgrow linear functions when the inputs increase sufficiently. Their analysis includes using a graphing calculator to produce tables.

Invite your learners to take a look at life during the term of United States president George Washington through analysis of an interesting primary source. The document summarizes American manufacturing capacities, as detailed...

Readers of O! Pioneers are asked to cite evidence from a paragraph of Willa Cather's novel to support an analysis of Alexandra Bergson, the personal qualities she possesses, and how these qualities will help the Bergson family after her...

Movie preferences will get your classes talking! Individuals read a pie graph and construct a bar graph using the same information. They then answer questions specific to the data and sample size.

What does an ad reveal about a culture, or about the values of its intended audience? Class members examine a series of runaway slave ads—one of which was written by Thomas Jefferson—and consider what these primary source documents...

At what point does data switch from being an outlier to part of the average? Scholars view conflicting news articles about protesters. They must decide which, if any, side is using the correct sample to draw their conclusions. It's a...

Gain a little interest in functions with a real-life task. Young scholars analyze home loan data with a geometric sequence and series. They use the models to make predictions about the total loan payments at certain intervals in a...

How many ways can you stock a shelf? It's probably more than you think! Young scholars use data in a frequency table to determine how many ways to stock a shelf given a specific constraint for types of groups. They then repeat the task...

Trigonometry teachers often go off on a tangent, and here's a instructional activity that proves it! First, young mathematicians use a formula with tangent to prove a formula correct for area. Then, they draw conclusions about the area...

Agriculture was more revolutionary than some might think. Using a primary source set—including photos of artifacts from Mesopotamia and an amusing comic—learners consider the impacts of the neolithic, agricultural, and green revolutions....

White reformers thought they were "killing the Indian" to "save the man." Native children were taken from their parents and placed at boarding schools, such as the Carlisle School. Using a comparative photo analysis of children before...

Walt Whitman's poem "As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days" offers scholars an opportunity to practice their noticing skills. They first examine a postcard of the Newport News Shipyard listing things they notice about the image and how...

E. E. Cummings' "Spring is like a perhaps hand" offers young scholars an opportunity to try their hands at analyzing a simile. After a warm-up activity and a close reading of the poem, class members discuss what they think the poem is...

While many think the United States was neatly divided between Northern and Southern states during the Civil War, border states like Maryland are more complicated. Using hands-on activities to measure distance and primary sources,...

Are you thinking about incorporating a film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel in a study of The Great Gatsby? Check out a guide loaded with suggestions for how to supplement a reading of the novel with scenes from three film...

Great Expectations can prove to be a challenge for instructors who choose to use Dickens's novel as required reading. Here's a curriculum guide that includes lessons that address some of these challenges. The first lesson in critical...

Here's the perfect instructional activity for those who think the world needs faster pumps. Building on the previous activity, scholars work to make the pumps function faster in transferring water between containers. They try adding an...

Introduce ELA scholars to the basics of literary criticism with a 41-slide presentation that identifies eight different approaches to critical analysis. Each approach is defined, and advantages and disadvantages are listed. Also included...

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man tops the reading list for the AP Literature exam. A five-page guide offers instructors and book clubs discussion questions designed to get readers to think deeply and critically about the inspection of...

Panel 58 from Jacob Lawrence's "Migration Series" of paintings provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to sharpen their observation and analytical skills. After engaging in a warm-up activity that introduces the concepts of...