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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: Make 9

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
Students will make 9 in as many ways as they can by adding two numbers between 0 and 9. This is a good introduction to the commutative property.
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: Christina's Candies

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
The teacher will pose a sequence of questions for students to solve using objects, pictures, or equations. Students will develop a sense of quantities and how they are related to a problem situation.
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: Which Is Heavier?

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
Learners will learn the concept of weight by practicing weighing items on a balance scale and recording their results. Students can record their answers on the black line masters included in the Illustrated Mathematics lesson "How Heavy?".
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: Which Is Longer?

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
Students are introduced to the concept of length with this hands-on activity. Each student will choose two objects to compare by laying them next to each other and comparing which is longer. Students will record and discuss their findings.
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: Many Ways to Do Addition 1

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
Students will learn that there are multiple ways to solve math problems, such as drawing a picture, using counters, using fingers, using a number line, and memorizing facts. The teacher writes a simple addition problem on the whiteboard...
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: Longer and Shorter

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
Students will use their shoe as a measuring item to learn about length. Students will compare classroom items by holding their shoe against the item and deciding if it is longer or shorter than their shoe. Students will record their...
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: G C Similar Circles

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
In this task, students are asked to show that all circles are similar using two different methods, a visual one and an algebraic one. Includes a GeoGebra worksheet that can be used by the instructor to demonstrate the material. Aligns...
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: G Srt Shortest Line Segment From a Point P to a Line L

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
In this task, students develop an understanding that the shortest path from a point to a line always meets the line at a right angle. Aligns with G-SRT.C.8.
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: G Srt Tangent Line to Two Circles

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
The purpose of this task is to use similar triangles and setting up a proportion in order to calculate a side length. Aligns with G-SRT.B.5.
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: G Srt, G Mg Coins in a Circular Pattern

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
In this task, students investigate how many coins will fit around a central coin when they are all of the same denomination, and if there is room left over. The teacher is given a chart of four coin denominations and their diameters, but...
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: G Srt, G Mg Seven Circles Iii

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
In this task, students are shown circle formations where an inner circle is surrounded by a set of circles and all circles are touching. In the first situation, all circles have the same diameter. In the second, the inner circle is...
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: G Srt Pythagorean Theorem

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
The purpose of this task is to prove the Pythagorean Theorem using similar triangles. Aligns with G-SRT.B.4.
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: G Srt, G Mg How Far Is the Horizon?

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Some friends are at the beach looking out onto the ocean on a clear day and they wonder how far away the horizon is. A second problem asks how far the horizon would be from the top of a mountain. Students must also answer a question...
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: G Srt Similar Triangles

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
This task works toward establishing the AA criterion for similarity of triangles. Students are asked to provide a detailed sequence of transformations that moves one of the given triangles onto the other. Aligns with G-SRT.A.3.
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: G Srt Ask the Pilot

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
In the July 2013 issue of United Airlines' Hemisphere Magazine, a pilot responded to a question about how far in the distance he could see at different altitudes. The solution involved right triangles, lines of tangency to a circle, and...
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: G Srt Mt. Whitney to Death Valley

For Teachers 9th - 10th
For this task, students are asked to make a mathematical model and determine if it is possible to see a point on the surface of the Earth that is 85 miles away, and well below sea level, from the top of a mountain. The curvature of the...
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: 6.sp4, 5c Puzzle Times

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
A performance task asking students to create a graph of provided information and then find the mean and the median of the data.
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: 7.ee Equivalent Expressions

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
A performance task asking young scholars to determine if two equations show an equivalent expression.
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: 7.ee Discounted Books

For Teachers 6th - 8th
A performance task asking middle schoolers to see two different ways to look at percentages, as an increase and as a decrease of an original amount.
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: G Srt Similar Triangles

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
The goal of this task is to examine similarity of triangles from the point of view of proportional sides, showing that this is sufficient to conclude that two triangles are similar. Aligns with HSG-SRT.A.2.
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: G Srt Folding a Square Into Thirds

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
The goal of this task is to apply knowledge about similar triangles in order to understand an origami construction: trisection of the side of a square. Aligns with G-SRT.B.5.
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: 6.sp.1 Identifying Statistical Questions

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
A task asking students to determine which of the seven questions listed are statistical questions and which are not.
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: G Srt Bank Shot

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
This task asks students to use similarity to solve a pool table problem. Students must use the fact from physics that when an object bounces off of a wall, the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. Aligns with G-SRT.B.5.
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: 6.rp, 7.rp.3 Climbing the Steps of El Castillo

For Teachers 5th - 8th
A performance task in which young scholars solve a problem involving a proportional relationship. The problem is: The temple at the top of the pyramid is approximately 24 meters above the ground, and there are 91 steps leading up to the...