Curated OER
Problem Solving/ Holistic Lesson Plan: Paper Structure
Students observe geometric relationships in buildings and structures. They reason why structures are constructed in a specific way by applying geometric concepts. They construct a shelter using their geometric knowledge.
Curated OER
Gingerbread Architecture: An Exploration and Engineering
Eighth graders design and build a gingerbread house. In this technology instructional activity, 8th graders research the important components of a house. They evaluate the strength of their design and suggest modifications when necessary.
Curated OER
Banana Man Glider
Students incorporate technology into the classroom as they investigate force and motion. In this science lesson, students construct a glider to be able to safely take a banana to the ground without dropping it. They investigate flight,...
Curated OER
Castle/Fort Unit
Young scholars compare and contrast castles and forts. They observe buildings in their community and consider how castles and forts are similar. They design their own castle or fort and brainstorm materials to build with, discuss how the...
Curated OER
Cookie Topography
Students construct a cross section diagram showing elevation changes on a "cookie island." Using a chocolate chip cookie for an island, they locate the highest point in centimeters on the cookie and create a scale in feet. After tracing...
Curated OER
Archeologist Frieze Patterns
Learners construct frieze patterns using translations and rotations. They will discuss how frieze patterns are similar to jigsaw puzzles and use Cabri Jr. to build a triangle frieze pattern using rotations, translations, and reflections.
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Create-A-Town Simulation
Students design and construct a model town. For this community lesson, students will collaboratively build a small town from construction paper and toys.
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Jr. Chef Club
Students examine the food pyramid. In this health/math lesson students make biscuits. Students are assigned a group to measure out ingredients. Students also discuss which part of the food pyramid biscuits fall into and the nutritional...
Curated OER
A Fraction of the Possibilities
Students review the conversion of fractions to decimals, develop strategies to compare fractions perform complex calculations using ratio techniques similar to the construction of fractions.
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A "Capital" Idea
Eighth graders prepare for a field trip to Washington, DC by researching landmark, monument, or building in Washington. They use the information in small groups to design a multimedia presentation. They include a spreadsheet that shows...
Curated OER
Design Your Own Rube Goldberg Machine
Middle schoolers design and construct a Rube Goldberg machine that accomplishes a simple task in at least ten steps. They view and discuss various Rube Goldberg designs, identify types of simple machines, and in small groups produce a...
Curated OER
Could a Tiny Home be the Home for You?
Students read an article about tiny homes and use the article as a springboard for discussion. In this current events lesson plan, students evaluate the merits of tiny homes, then create a chart comparing their needs with the things they...
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Blast Off with Model Rockets
Students investigate science and math by building a rocket. In this geometry activity, students build a rocket using paper towel tubes while investigating questions about launching a rocket. They discuss balance and unique structure as...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Clipper Creations
Students create their own model of a nail clipper. They practice using engineering design and model building. They also identify different kinds of small levers.
Curated OER
Balobbyland City Planners
Students create a mini city using proportions that fit a model human they construct using tin foil. They plan the city including a library, sports arena, living spaces, parks and businesses. When constructing the paper buildings, they...
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Raising Plants
Students investigate the life cycle of plants by growing their own in class. In this botany lesson, students practice using plant vocabulary while they grow their own Wisconsin Fast Plants. Students collaboratively build a light box...
Curated OER
Object Graphs
Students identify geometric shapes, demonstrate construction of an object graph, compare sets of objects, estimate which student has the most geometric shapes in his or her bag, and play computer game Jump Start Kindergarten.
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Special Effects-Titanic and Beyond
Students view a video clip about special effects. They use geometry to determine how it changes one's perspective. They work together to construct their own room and comparing their room with other groups, noting the type of...
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Geoboard Area
Students explore the basic geometric shapes and geometric shape vocabulary through the use of geoboards and virtual geoboards. They create a variety of shapes with a partner, build ten different rectangles on their geoboards, and...
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Network This
Students determine the number of paths in a network with up to six vertices. They construct a network to solve a problem situation. They describe and defend the solution to a network problem.
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Frequency Tables
Seventh graders construct frequency tables and box-and-whisker plots. After constructing tables and plots, they take a quiz on mean, median, mode, range, scientific notation, and number properties.
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The "Art" of Baseball
Students investigate the art of baseball. In this sports lesson plan, students discuss their thoughts about the sport of baseball and create a baseball word list. Students use pattern blocks and drawing paper to create a simulated...
Curated OER
Cardboard Boat Challenge
Students build a boat out of cardboard and tape. They apply Archimedes' Principle to their design.
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Robots All Around Us
Student work in design teams to research robots, create a drawing of a robot they want to make, build a prototype of their robot, present their prototype and research, and write a descriptive paragraph about their creation.