Noyce Foundation
Miles of Tiles
Create number sentences and equations to solve geometric problems. Each activity in the series of five asks young mathematicians to consider different-sized tiles to build structures according to specific criteria. The first activities,...
Noyce Foundation
Cutting a Cube
Teach the ins and outs of the cube! A series of five K–12 level activities explore the make-up of the cube. The beginning lessons focus on the vocabulary related to the cube. Later lessons explore the possible nets that describe a cube....
Noyce Foundation
Cut It Out
Explore the mathematics of the paper snowflake! During the five lessons progressing in complexity from K through 12, pupils use spatial geometry to make predictions. Scholars consider a folded piece of paper with shapes cut out. They...
Noyce Foundation
Photographs
Scaling needs to be picture perfect. Pupils use proportional reasoning to find the missing dimension of a photo. Class members determine the sizes of paper needed for two configurations of pictures in the short assessment task.
Noyce Foundation
Parallelogram
Parallelograms are pairs of triangles all the way around. Pupils measure to determine the area and perimeter of a parallelogram. They then find the area of the tirangles formed by drawing a diagonal of the parallelogram and compare their...
Noyce Foundation
Mixing Paints
Let's paint the town equal parts yellow and violet, or simply brown. Pupils calculate the amount of blue and red paint needed to make six quarts of brown paint. Individuals then explain how they determined the percentage of the brown...
Noyce Foundation
Counters
For some, probability is a losing proposition. The assessment item requires an understanding of fraction operations, probability, and fair games. Pupils determine the fractional portions of an event. They continue to determine whether...
Noyce Foundation
Cereal
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...
Noyce Foundation
Truffles
Knowing how to scale a recipe is an important skill. Young mathematicians determine the amount of ingredients they need to make a certain number of truffles when given a recipe. They determine a relationship between ingredients given a...
Noyce Foundation
Sewing
Sew up your unit on operations with decimals using this assessment task. Young mathematicians use given rules to determine the amount of fabric they need to sew a pair of pants. They must also fill in a partially complete bill for...
Noyce Foundation
Rabbit Costumes
How many rabbit costumes can be made? This is the focus question of an activity that requires scholars to use multiplication and division of fractions to solve a real-world problem. They determine the amount of fabric necessary for eight...
Noyce Foundation
Percent Cards
Explore different representations of numbers. Scholars convert between fractions, decimals, and percents, and then use these conversions to plot the values on a horizontal number line.
Noyce Foundation
Gym
Give the class a mental work out with an assessment task in which young mathematicians compare several gym membership options. They use substitution to calculate the cost for given numbers of months.
Noyce Foundation
Building Blocks
Building blocks have more uses than simply entertaining children. Young mathematicians calculate the volume of a given cube, and then calculate the volume and surface area of a prism formed from multiple cubes.
Noyce Foundation
Boxes
Teach your class to think outside the box. Scholars use the concept of equality to solve a problem in the assessment task. They determine how to use a scale to identify the one box out of a set of nine boxes that is heavier than the others.
Noyce Foundation
Baseball Players
Baseball is all about statistics. Pupils solve problems related to mean, median, and range. They calculate the total weight of players given the mean weight, calculate the mean weight of reserve players given the mean weight of the...
Noyce Foundation
Which is Bigger?
To take the longest path, go around—or was that go over? Class members measure scale drawings of a cylindrical vase to find the height and diameter. They calculate the actual height and circumference and determine which is larger.
Noyce Foundation
Pizza Crusts
Enough stuffed crust to go around. Pupils calculate the area and perimeter of a variety of pizza shapes, including rectangular and circular. Individuals design rectangular pizzas with a given area to maximize the amount of crust and do...
Noyce Foundation
Lawn Mowing
This is how long we mow the lawn together. The assessment requires the class to work with combining ratios and proportional reasoning. Pupils determine the unit rate of mowers and calculate the time required to mow a lawn if they work...
Noyce Foundation
Ducklings
The class gets their mean and median all in a row with an assessment task that uses a population of ducklings to work with data displays and measures of central tendency. Pupils create a frequency chart and calculate the mean and median....
Noyce Foundation
Toy Trains
Scholars identify and continue the numerical pattern for the number of wheels on a train. Using the established pattern and its inverse, they determine whether a number of wheels is possible. Pupils finish by developing an algebraic...
Noyce Foundation
Fair Game?
The game should be fair at all costs. The mini-assessment revolves around the ability to use probabilities to determine whether a game is fair. Individuals determine compound events to calculate simple probabilities and make long-run...
Noyce Foundation
Cat Food
Determine the right mix of cans of cat food. The resource consists of an assessment task to determine the cost to feed two cats for a specific number of days and requires scholars to interpret remainders within a context. The resource...
Noyce Foundation
Granny’s Balloon Trip
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...