Illustrative Mathematics
Fruit Salad
Playing with values in this fruit salad problem allows learners to find out how many cherries were mixed in. Your middle schoolers can organize their thoughts in a chart before going into the equation. Eigth graders can skip the chart...
Curated OER
Animal Brains
Do big bodies make big brains? Let your learners decide whether there is an association between body weight and brain weight by putting the data from different animals into a scatterplot. They can remove any outliers and then make a line...
Curated OER
Greek Barbie or Action Figure
Young historians bring Greek mythology to the twenty-first century with this engaging research project. Hired to create a Barbie doll or action figure modeled after a Greek god or goddess, students gather the information necessary to...
Scholasic
The Magic School Bus and the Missing Tooth
We chew with our teeth every day, but how much do we really know about them? Allow Ms. Frizzle to teach your kids a thing or two about teeth. Kids complete a prereading exercise, read the book, and respond to several prompts about the...
Illustrative Mathematics
Satellite
Learners practice relating rules of trigonometry and properties of circles. With a few simplifying assumptions such as a perfectly round earth, young mathematicians calculate the lengths of various paths between satellite and stations....
Illustrative Mathematics
Bank Shot
Young geometers become pool sharks in this analysis of the angles and lengths of a trick shot. By using angles of incidence and reflection to develop similar triangles, learners plan the exact placement of balls to make the shot....
Curated OER
Susan's Choice
Young economists explore opportunity cost by counting how much money Susan has in her piggy bank. From here, they are challenged to help Susan make a choice about what she can buy with her money.
Illustrative Mathematics
Which Function?
Throw some logic into quadratics and see if learners can match a vague graph to multiple equations. Young mathematicians must look at quadrant location, vertices, and intercepts to best match the graph to one or more equations.
Illustrative Mathematics
Running Time
Ever wonder why that computer image takes so long to load? Well, math is involved and provides the algorithms needed to compute the measure in nanoseconds. Young mathematicians plug the image measures into the formulas and compare the...
Illustrative Mathematics
Springboard Dive
Quadratics and height application problems go hand in hand like teenagers and sleeping in. High schoolers must look at the equation of a diver's height and calculate such features as the height of dive board, time entering the water, and...
Illustrative Mathematics
Modeling London's Population
Looking at London's population from 1801–1961 in 20 year increments, high school mathematicians determine if the data can be modeled by a given logistic growth equation. They explain their thinking and determine the values of each...
Illustrative Mathematics
Party Favors
Pia is putting stickers into party bags. She starts by putting 10 stickers in each bag, and over the course of a week she adds several bundles of ten stickers to each bag, as well as making more bags. Second graders must find the number...
Illustrative Mathematics
Comparing Money Raised
How much money did Helen, Sandra, Nita, Luis, and Anthony raise? Compare their amounts with a task that asks learners to answer questions like how many times as much?
Illustrative Mathematics
Comparing Sums of Unit Fractions
First, add each set of fractions with unlike denominators. Then, compare their sums with the symbols <, >, or =.
Illustrative Mathematics
Peaches
Subtracting mixed numbers is easy when the fractions have the same denominator. Here, young mathematicians are prompted to find out how many pounds of peaches are left after Alfredo gives some pounds to his neighbor.
Illustrative Mathematics
Using Place Value
Learners count by tenths, hundredths, or tens in a task that uses decimal place value strategies. The young mathematicians then use <, >, or = to make correct comparisons between expanded decimal notations.
Illustrative Mathematics
Karl's Garden
Whose garden is bigger? Assess your class with the area task of finding out if Karl or Makenna's garden is bigger in area.
American Museum of Natural History
Silk Road Fables
Talk about rabbit holes! With just this one resource, learners can travel the Silk Road listening to fables, meet a scientist who studies poisons (and whose favorite book is Alice in Wonderland), and listen to a video interview of an...
Sargent Art
Symmetry: A Design Problem
As part of a study of design, young artists examine an example of a formal (symmetrical) design and then, following step-by-step directions, create their own.
Curated OER
A Multi-Media Approach to Teaching The Grapes of Wrath
Integrate history, math, and art into a study of The Grapes of Wrath with a series of activities that ask learners to investigate the social, political, economic, and environmental factors at play during the 1930s. Designed to be used...
Reed Novel Studies
Jake and Lily: Novel Study
Just how strong is a twins' bond? Jake and Lily, in a novel by the same name, have a powerful bond until they turn 11. Then, everything changes. As scholars read about twin trouble, they learn eight new vocabulary words, create...
Curated OER
Glaciers and Ice Wedging
Fourth graders observe and identify a variety of weathering and geological activities in the area in which they live. This focuses primarily on what happened during the Ice Age, and how, even today, glaciers are shaping and re-shaping...
Curated OER
Exploring the Sky: Reading Maria's Comet
Discover the science behind astronomy. After reading the book Maria's Comet, which is about a young woman who breaks new ground by becoming a female astronomer, young learners practice reading comprehension with worksheet questions about...
Mind Snacks
Learn Spanish - MindSnacks
Cómo se dice 'fun' en Español? After playing a few of these engaging, vocabulary-centered games, your young language learners will be able to tell you! This is sure to become a favorite app in any Spanish class.