Just how big would it really be? Young mathematicians determine if different toys are proportional and if their scale is accurate. They solve problems relating scale along with volume and surface area using manipulatives. The...

With instructions to adapt the activities for any grade K-12, any teacher can incorporate the concept of scale into the classroom with a simple, yet effective lesson.

Make young mathematicians' dreams a reality with this fun drawing project. Given the task of designing their dream home, students create drawings and physical models that demonstrate their understanding of proportion and scale.

The harmonic minor scale, including the use of accidentals, is the focus of a one-page worksheet that includes instructional information and practice exercises.

Kids compare what printed text looks like with the naked eye and under magnification. They discuss the extremely small scale that must be used to measure the size. They learn about the micrometer unit, then draw scale models of a variety...

Inventor, astronomer, surveyor, mathematician, clock maker. Learners celebrate the life of Benjamin Banneker by building creative analog clocks, making scale models, and solving problems related to surveying. The activities model the...

Elementary learners listen to a story, then sort objects from largest to smallest at six different stations around the classroom. Adaptable for a large range of age and ability groups. 

Young scholars convert their physical models of a playground from a previous lesson into a map of the playground that includes a scale and key. They examine and discuss examples of maps, view an image to map photo essay, and create a map...

How can we locate places? Maps, of course! Expose second graders to the tools available in maps and discuss how these tools can help people find locations. Students also look at communities, including what makes a community and the...

Forget your ID number? Your pupils learn to use logarithms to determine the number of digits or characters necessary to create individual ID numbers for all members of a group. 

Take flight with a fun activity focused on graphing data on a coordinate plane. As learners study the data for Granny's hot-air balloon trip, including the time of day and the distance of the balloon from the ground, they practice...

Understanding how functions transform is a key concept in mathematics. This introductory lesson makes a strong connection between the function, table, and graph when exploring transformations. While the resource uses absolute value...

Win the war of the worlds! Scholars solve a variety of problems related to an alien invasion. They determine where spaceships have landed on a coordinate map, devise a plan to avoid the aliens, observe the aliens, and break a code to...

The Hopewell people of the central Ohio Valley used right triangles in the construction of earthworks. Pupils use the Pythagorean Theorem to determine missing dimensions of right triangles used by the Hopewell people. The assessment task...

Investigate the procedure for developing computer chips! Learners use solar print paper to create both positive and negative images. They observe the effects of single and multiple exposures and compare results.

Help the class visualize operations with complex numbers with a lesson that formally introduces complex numbers and reviews the visualization of complex numbers on the complex plane. The fifth installment of a 32-part series reviews...

How do you find the lengths of items that cannot be directly measured? The 13th installment in a series of 16 has pupils use the similarity content learned in an earlier resource to solve real-world problems. Class members determine...

Find out if it's possible to travel to the edge of the solar system. Learners use a piece of string to model the distance between planets in the solar system. They then use the distances to calculate how long it would take to travel to...

To begin the learning about dams, learners read (or are read to, depending on the age group) a passage about how dams work. Next, they work in groups to use the materials provided to build a small scale working dam. After the experience,...

Our teacher told us the formula had one-third, but why? Using manipulatives, classmates try to explain the volume formula for a pyramid. After constructing a cube with six congruent pyramids, pupils use scaling principles from...

Do flexible circuits change dimensions during fabrication? Groups use GeoGebra software to measure the length of pictures of flexible nano-circuits. To determine if the circuits change dimensions, future engineers use Microsoft...

Paired reading passages frequently appear on standardized exams, but finding text sets to use in the classroom is sometimes a challenge. A lesson plan on using paired texts includes a selection of passages and a graphic organizer for...

How do the products you use rate on a greeness scale? Scholars use a tool to analyze shampoos and cars for their sustainability. They consider factors that affect the environment, the economy, and equity. This is the ninth lesson in...

How do some viruses spread so quickly, and why do they make us feel terrible? Answer these (and many more) questions through a simple yet impactful lessons. Pupils observe demonstrations that show the two methods viruses use to escape...