Which pulley system will give us a whale of a good time? Teams compare the theoretical and actual mechanical advantages of different pulley systems. They then form a recommendation for how to move a whale from an aquarium back to the ocean.

Building on young mathematicians' prior knowledge of three-sided shapes, this lesson series explores the defining characteristics of different types of triangles. Starting with a shared reading of the children's book The Greedy...

Young mathematicians put their skills to the test in the real world during this four-lesson consumer math unit. Whether they are learning how compound interest can make them millionaires, calculating the cost of remodeling...

See how design and geometry go hand in hand. The activity asks learners to use geometry to design a backyard garden given dimensions of each feature. Scholars work with ratios and scale to develop an accurate scale drawing that includes...

Forget your local meteorologist — build your own barometer and keep track of the weather with an activity that provides directions to build a barometer out of a narrow necked bottle, a glass, and some water. Using their barometer,...

Groups suspend objects within layers of liquids to determine the densities of different liquids and compare them to the densities of objects calculated in Part 1. The groups then carefully test their calculations by layering the...

How did the metric system come to be, and why does the US not use it very much? Your class can learn the answers to these questions with the reading passage included here and then respond to the five related questions.

It might be silly to determine the creep rate of putty but groups will enjoy making different formulations of silly putty and playing with them to understand how the different mixtures behave. The second part of the activity has groups...

With so many math standards to fit into a school year, it can be difficult keeping track of what you have and have not covered. This collection of Common Core checklists allows you to maintain a running record of when each...

Create the ultimate miniature golf course. The 93-page model curriculum unit from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education contains nine lessons on understanding similarity in terms of both Euclidean geometry...

Create an egg-citing study of energy. Pupils investigate the effect of height and mass on the overall amount of energy of a falling object. The fourth segment in a six-part series on energy uses a weighted egg falling from different...

Immerse your young marine biologists in the world of marine animals. The lesson includes several activities that are age-appropriate for preschoolers and kindergartners, including coloring pages, gluing feathers and sand onto paper...

Young meteorologists examine the four main types of weather fronts and how they appear on a weather map. Participants learn about the difference between the types of weather fronts along with their distinguishing features. A...

A little too much strain could cause a lot of stress. Groups conduct a strength test on clay. Using books as weights, pupils measure the compression of clay columns and calculate the associated strain and stress. Teams record their...

Ninth and tenth graders calculate the length, width, height, perimeter, area, volume, surface area, angle measures or sums of angle measures of common geometric figures. They solve problems involving scale drawings, models, maps or...

Model hardness testing with a self-designed hardness test. Young scholars rate the hardness of different types of aspirin using the Vicker's Hardness scale. They then relate hardness to the solubility of each aspirin tablet.

You can eat a solar cell? A unit on solar energy begins with a discussion about organic solar cells, followed by directions on how to build your own. After following the teacher's directions to build an anthocyanin...

Following detailed directions, teams collect the voltage and current outputs of a photovoltaic cell by adjusting the resistance. Using the collected data, they determine the highest power output. Implications for weather and a large...

Find the best protein-packed cereal. The short assessment task covers equivalent and comparing ratios within a context. Pupils determine the cereal with the highest ratio of protein. A rubric helps teachers with point allotments for...

Are the people on the other side of the world standing upside down? Pupils discuss the relationship between movement and position words. The unit explores the concept of reference points through animation, modeling, photography, and...

From their sweat to the water vapor in their breath, astronauts recycle every possible drop of water while in space. After watching a short video describing the different ways materials are recycled and reused in space...

What is the difference between weather and climate? This is the focus question of a lesson that takes a deeper look at how weather data helps determine climate in a region. Using weather and climate cards, students decide...

Heat things up in your physical science class with this interactive lesson series on thermodynamics. Through a series of class demonstrations and experiments, young scientists learn how heat is transferred through conduction,...

Looking for materials to accompany your study of Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes? Look no further! Included here is everything you need to go alongside your unit: worksheets, graphic organizers, writing assignments, an assessment,...