Kenan Fellows
A Farmer’s Challenge to Breed to the Greatest of Grapes
What does your class know about GMOs? Are they savvy to selective breeding? Challenge young minds to engineer the greatest crop of all time using a hands-on genetics unit. Learners discover the good and bad details of selective breeding,...
Curated OER
Finding the Area of Shapes
In this area of shapes unit, upper graders participate in hands-on problem solving activities to find the formulas for the area of a parallelogram, a triangle, and a trapezoid. They manipulate the geoboard to explore relationships among...
Curated OER
Basketball Rebounds
Your young basketball players will build a table and develop a general formula for a decaying exponential scenario involving the rebound distance of a bouncing ball. Using a CBR and graphing calculator can make this even more hands-on...
EngageNY
Estimating Probability Distributions Empirically 2
Develop probability distributions from simulations. Young mathematicians use simulations to collect data. They use the data to draw graphs of probability distributions for the random variable in question.
Improving Measurement and Geometry in Elementary Schools
Rep Tiles
In addition to the catchy title, this lesson plan provides upper graders an opportunity to more closely scrutinize the attributes of plane figures. In particular, they focus on the similarity of different shapes. Both whole-class and...
National Security Agency
Money Maters: Integers are Integral!
A thoroughly-written lesson plan and a plethora of worksheets about integers comprise this resource. Neophyte number crunchers learn to recognize integers, add and subtract them, and apply the concepts to the designing of a personal...
Curated OER
Interesting Integers and Exciting Equations
An 80-page resource provides four lessons and all associated worksheets to teach middle schoolers about expressions and equations. The lessons are hands-on, using games, "integer chips," a balance and cubes, and cut and paste activities....
US Department of Commerce
Diversity: Census Questions Over Time
The story of race in the United States continues to evolve, and the numbers show it. Using data from the last two census counts, learners consider recent demographic shifts. They then analyze the information to hypothesize: What could...
Curated OER
Water Down the Drain
Did you know that leaky faucets waste $10 million worth of water? Conservationists perform an experiment and draw best-fit lines to explore how the US Geological Society determined this value.
Curated OER
Swing in Time
Students examine the motion of pendulums and come to understand that the longer the string of the pendulum, the fewer the number of swings in a given time interval. They see that changing the weight on the pendulum does not have an...
Curated OER
TE Activity: You're in Hot Water
Students study different ways of using solar energy. They design a solar water heater and determine how much water it can heat in a set amount of time. They examine how the heaters work by solar radiation and convection.
Curated OER
How to Make Multiplying Fractions Exciting
Make sure your pupils understand the algorithm by using this hands-on lesson using modeling clay.
Captain Planet Foundation
Fall into Healthy Shapes
Kindergartners identify geometric shapes by planting a fall garden. They start their seeds in containers that have different shapes, and keep track of their plants based on those shapes. This brilliantly designed and incredibly thorough...
Beyond Benign
Plastic Bags
Paper or plastic? Explore the environmental effects of using plastic bags through mathematics. Learners manipulate worldwide data on plastic bag consumption to draw conclusions.
University of California
Student Workbook: Algebra I
Need a helping hand in Algebra I? How about a giant, super-sized worksheet packet? Here is a resource that has worksheets for virtually every concept with some accompanying examples.
Curated OER
Math Magic
Learners work in pairs, and take turns pretending to be a magician. There are a set of instructions for the magician to follow. A penny and a dime are used, and odd and even numbers are employed for multiplying. There is also a nifty...
Curated OER
Popcorn Math
Everyone loves popcorn! Use this treat to teach math concepts including place value, estimating, graphing, and volume. Eight possible activities are included, and they can be modified to fit all grade levels.
Curated OER
Measurement: Measuring Hand and Feet
Here is a good lesson which invites learners to practice measurement using standard and nonstandard measuring tools. In this measurement lesson, learners work with length, width, height, and area. They use standard and nonstandard...
Teach Engineering
Discovering Phi: The Golden Ratio
Fe, phi, fo, fum. This activity leads pairs to find the ratio of consecutive terms of the Fibonacci sequence. The pairs find that the Fibonacci sequence can be found in many places. A discussion with the class shows that the ratios found...
Curated OER
Paws in Jobland Number Crunch
Learners analyze real life jobs that involve math. They discuss jobs where math is used, and explore how math is important in many areas and research some of these jobs in the book "Paws in Jobland." They complete a worksheet with four...
Curated OER
What Wavelength Was That?
A combination of informative text, photos, and graphics comprise this sharp show on electromagnetic radiation. Some slides mention hands-on activities for demonstrating concepts, so if you want to include them you will need to figure out...
Curated OER
Math Series: Number Patterns
The focus of this math lesson is representing numbers in different ways. Young mathematicians practice putting numbers into sets, and arriving at answers in new ways. For example, they are asked to, "Show me how to get 7 eyes." A...
Curated OER
Math Facts Game
Students practice math skills while playing a flash cards game. When the teacher displays a flash card with a multiplication fact on it, students try to be the first to call out the correct answer.
Curated OER
The Crash Scene
Fifth graders explore geography by participating in a mapping activity. In this engineering lesson plan, 5th graders identify the differences between latitude and longitude and practice locating precise points on a globe or map. Students...