Roads to Success
Introduction to Team Building
What can working in a group trying to build the tallest tower possible using only tape and drinking straws get you? A great opportunity for developing collaborative team-building skills!
Skyscraper Museum
Building a Skyscraper
Creating buildings that reach hundreds of feet into the sky is no easy task. The third instructional activity in this series begins with four activities that engage young architects in exploring the major challenges that are faced when...
Virginia Department of Education
Work and Power
Assist your class with correctly calculating the values for force, work, and power as they determine the amount various activities require. They gather data and participate in a group discussion to compare results upon conclusion of the...
August House
The Great Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog
Read the story The Great Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog: A Folktale from Great Britain by Margaret Read MacDonald and choose from multiple activities to learn about the tale's theme—kindness. With so many options, your kind kids will...
Art Institute of Chicago
African Myths and Stories
Young historians discover African stories associated with a royal altar tusk from the Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria, read myths illustrated on the tusk, and write a story about the life of an oba using figures depicted on the tusk.
Chicago Children's Museum
Simple Machines: Force and Motion
Get things moving with this elementary science unit on simple machines. Through a series of nine lessons including teacher demonstrations, hands-on activities, and science experiments, young scientists learn about forces, motion, and...
Exploratorium
Oil Spot Photometer
Are these two light sources the same? Groups use a white card and a little cooking oil to create a photometer that allows for the comparison of two lights. The Inverse Square Law provides a way to calculate the actual difference in...
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Growing Up With A Mission
New Horizons began its journey to Pluto in 2006. Ten years later, it continues its mission. In that time, scholars have surely grown, but how much more will they grow by the time New Horizons reaches its destination? Find out with an...
Virginia Department of Education
The Ratio of Surface Area to Volume
Demonstrate the ratio of surface area to volume in your high school class by using phenolphthalein, gelatin, and an onion. Intrigue the class by leading a discussion on osmosis and diffusion, then making "scientific jello." Participants...
University of Colorado
Can Photosynthesis Occur at Saturn?
In the 19th activity of 22, learners determine if distance from a light source affects photosynthesis. Participants capture oxygen in straws and find that the amount of water the gas displaces is proportional to the rate of photosynthesis.
University of Georgia
Splat!
What does viscosity have to do with splatter? An activity shows that the viscosity of a substance is inversely proportional to the distance of its splatter. Learners conduct the experiment by collecting data, graphing, and analyzing the...
NASA
Lunar Rover
What is the shortest distance/time needed to complete a mission? Groups devise a strategy in order to determine the shortest distance and time connecting two points and a segment. They then use graphing, the distance formula, and a...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Arcs and Angles
Noah didn't construct this kind of arc. High school scholars first explore how angles can be formed in circles. They then learn relationships between angles and arcs by conducting an exploratory activity where they position and draw arcs...
101 Questions
Trashketball
Take a shot using a lesson on volume! Young learners watch a video showing a trashcan filling with paper balls. The task is to calculate the number of paper balls that will fit in the can. Pupils use volume calculations to make a...
Bowland
Rods and Triangles
Scholars explore triangles with rods of different lengths. Using rods of 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 cm class members build as many different types of triangles as they can. They also describe properties of these triangles and determine...
Mathed Up!
Tree Diagrams
Explore how to visually represent probability problems. Scholars watch a video to refresh their memories on tree diagrams. To finish the activity, they complete a worksheet of questions on this topic.
Curated OER
Measuring angles and segments
In this middle school geometry worksheet, students use a ruler and a protractor to measure segment length and angle size. The one page worksheet contains six problems. Answers are not provided.
Curated OER
Value Study Marker -- Using Chuck Close as a Catalyst
Sixth graders examine the work of artist Chuck Close. They create their own image using markers that show a range of values. They develop a grid to replicate those values.
Curated OER
Value Study Pencil -- Using Chuck Close as a Catalyst
Seventh graders examine the life of artist Chuck Close. They use markers to create an image to show a range of values. They develop a grid to represent these values.
Curated OER
Solving Problems Using Triangle Inequality Theorem
Sixth graders investigate triangles and the inequality theorem. They will collaborate in groups to determine the length of a longest side of a triangle. Then relate the size of the triangle to its angles using protractors, yard sticks,...
Curated OER
Lighting The Way - Activity 1
Students discover the "rule of thirds" technique used in photography through the investigation of magazine and newspaper pictures and an in-class discussion. The work of photojournalist Jeff Bizzel is emphasized.
Curated OER
Measuring Activities
Young scholars measure using both metric and standard measures. They convert from one standard to the next while measuring distances in their home or classroom.
Curated OER
Volume and Surface Area, A Sweet Activity
Geometry.... sweet! Using sugar cubes, learners build rectangular prisms of different sizes and shapes. They glue them together and assess volume. Then they color the outer sides to visualize and compute surface area. To make a visceral...
Curated OER
Mapping a Site Using a Coordinate Plane
Learners map their playground as if it were an archeological site. They locate objects on the playground and determine their location using coordinate points. A related instructional activity is Coordinate Grid: Mapping an Archeological...