Literacy Design Collaborative
Catching a Grenade: How Word Choice Impacts Meaning and Tone
Beyonce's "Halo" and Bruno Mars' "Grenade" provide eighth graders with an opportunity to consider how a writer's choice of words can create a very different tone even when the subject is the same. After a close reading of both lyrics,...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
Was that supposed to be funny? Scholars analyze The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County to determine if Mark Twain's story is indeed based on humor. Learners work through short response questions, vocabulary, and active reading to make a...
Radford University
Ping Pong Packing
Bounce off some ideas to reduce the amount of wasted space. Teams work together to determine the best size and shape of container to package a large order of ping pong balls. Groups are to design the container to reduce the amount of...
Radford University
The Wheels on the Bus
Find a cheaper way to keep buses going round and round. Small groups use their knowledge of ratios and proportions to find ways to save money on school transportation. The teams determine the number of miles buses currently travel by...
Radford University
How to Build a Happy Home
Build a complete house in just a few days. Learners create floor, roof, deck, and landscape plans for a two-story house. Scholars then use their knowledge of area formulas, trigonometric ratios, and the Pythagorean Theorem to determine...
Radford University
Subdivision Design and Quadrilaterals
They say real estate is location, it might be more about area. Learners work individually and in groups to design subdivisions by dividing the land up into lots. Scholars design floor plans to fit on the lots along with including a park....
Radford University
Surviving the Month
Pupils create budgets based upon family expenditures. They determine what the monthly payments will be for buying a car and a house based on compound interest for the total amount.
EngageNY
Performance Task: Readers Theater Performance
It's show time! Scholars finalize their learning by performing their Reader's Theater script of To Kill A Mockingbird. As groups of actors perform, the remaining pupils give feedback using a rubric. After all groups finish, each person...
Radford University
Tiling a Kitchen Floor
Cover the floor with math. Pupils work to determine the proper shape to cover a kitchen floor. They first determine the number of tiles to purchase and configure their placement to reduce the amount of waste. Teams finish by creating a...
Radford University
Marketing Mayhem: Advertising for Adolescents
You'll be sold on using the resource. Future consumers first conduct a sample survey on marketing strategies. They then consider how mass media influences their age groups and create presentations to display their findings.
Radford University
Parallel Lines Cut By a Transversal
Perhaps planning a city isn't so difficult after all. Scholars first perform geometric constructions and investigate how parallel lines are useful in real-world situations. They then work on a city design project, drawing street maps,...
Radford University
Build-a-Toy
Don't toy with using a fun lesson. Scholars design new toys and then create scale drawings. They determine the volume and surface area of the toys, and then research prices of raw materials to estimate the manufacturing costs.
Radford University
Ancient Aqueduct Analysis Project
Let the class' knowledge of geometry flow like water in an aqueduct. Future mathematicians research ancient Roman aqueducts and consider the geometric concepts necessary in their construction. They then use GeoGebra to create models of...
Radford University
Football Tackle Problem
Tackle a task on the gridiron. Scholars use geometric concepts to determine the distance on a coordinate plane that certain football players need to move for a play. They then design their own plays and create presentations where they...
Radford University
Pirate Attack
Arr ye matey, it's time for some trig. Learners first read up on the 2010 attack on the USS Nicholas by a group of pirates and the testimony of one of the witnesses. They use right triangle trigonometry to determine if the account is...
Radford University
Escape from the Zombie Apocalypse - Exploring Quadrilaterals through Google Maps and Google Earth
Prepare for the zombie apocalypse ... by studying quadrilaterals? Given a map of an imaginary town, scholars identify quadrilaterals created by streets. They then use Google Earth and Google Maps to find parallelograms, rectangles,...
Radford University
Swimming Pool Dilemma
Different shape, same volume—that's quite a challenge! Scholars design a pool for an imaginary client using three-dimensional figures. They must then create a second pool for another client with the same volume, but using different shapes.
Radford University
How do I Choose the Most Cost Efficient Scooter Rental Plan for My Family?
Pupils compare the cost of renting scooters for a family vacation from three different rental places. To help make their decision, scholars create tables, equations, and graphs of the pricing structure. Individuals then determine which...
Radford University
Fuel Efficient Function Activity
Pupils research the five most fuel efficient vehicles of the same type and come up with a way to display the mile per gallon for each vehicle. After choosing a vehicle, scholars create graphs to display miles traveled given the amount of...
Radford University
Shuffle or Nano?
Mix up your teaching playlist with a performance-based assessment task. Given iPod sales data for several years, scholars create a scatter plot and perform regression analysis. They determine the best fit curve for different domains.
Radford University
Modeling the Number of Starbucks Stores
Drink your coffee, then marvel over the rise of Starbucks. Scholars use provided data on the number of Starbucks stores from 1987 through 2014 to create scatter plots. They then determine the equation for the curve that best fits the...
Radford University
How Do Facebook Likes Accrue Likes?
Finally, a project pupils will instantly like! Young mathematicians collect data on the number of likes they receive for a social media post over time. During the first part of the project, they determine a curve of best fit and...
Radford University
Curve of Best Fit
Don't watch the resource go down the drain. Scholars perform an experiment where they measure the amount of water that flows from a funnel over time. They use the data to create graphs and find the curves of best fit.
Radford University
Modeling Statistical Data
Can people predict the number of future divorces? Scholars research and analyze data on the number of divorces and teenage pregnancies in Virginia over time. They use the data to create graphs, determine the best-fit equations, and make...