Illustrative Mathematics
Two Wheels and a Belt
Geometry gets an engineering treatment in an exercise involving a belt wrapped around two wheels of different dimensions. Along with the wheels, this belt problem connects concepts of right triangles, tangent lines, arc length, and...
Curated OER
Long Day?
Middle schoolers become aware of the effects of tides on the Earth's rotation. In this tides lesson plan, students calculate the number of seconds lost over various periods of time.
Exploratorium
Rotating String Shapes
Here is a very interesting way of studying triangles and polygons. Pupils work together and use pieces of string to create a variety of shapes. Depending on how many kids are manipulating the string at any one time, the number of...
Willow Tree
Area of Common Geometric Figures
Scholars can use area formulas, but can they apply what they know about area? The activity challenges learners to think logically while practicing finding area of shapes such as rectangles, circles, parallelograms, triangles, and other...
Curated OER
Riding on a Pendulum
A comprehensive resource gets fourth grade physical scientists making observations about the period of a pendulum and then applying knowledge to a playground swing. Through seven different stations, they will record observations and...
Berkshire Museum
Where’s the Water?: Acting Out Science Cycles
Young scientists transform themselves into rivers, oceans, clouds, and drops of water in order to explore the water cycle. After assigning and explaining to students their different roles in the activity, the teacher reads aloud a...
Baylor College
Heart and Lungs
With a partner, youngsters measure their pulse and breathing rates, both at rest and after running in place for a minute. While this activity is not novel, the lesson plan includes a large-scale classroom graphing activity and other...
Curated OER
Frost Depth Study
Students complete activities to study the frost and frost depth. In this frost study lesson, students use frost tubes to study and measure the frost at their school. Students measure the frost in the tube and enter their data online to...
Curated OER
Who's On First?
Have you ever considered why the number 10 is so important to us? That's what learners do here. They explore patterns formed by powers of ten and by decimals, convert units of measure within the metric system, and express these in the...
Curated OER
Perimeter
Students study about perimeter and the units used to measure perimeter using a variety of materials including their hands, feet, rulers, and computer applets. They understand such attributes as length, area, weight, volume, and size of...
Shodor Education Foundation
Volume of Prisms
Explore the concept of volume of prisms using an applet to perform the calculations. The link to the interactive applet is embedded into the lesson plan as well as a link to associated data sheets. Get your math class to the computer lab...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Developing the Concept: Triangles and Quadrilaterals
Exact narrative and examples make this lesson on polygons easy to implement. Through it, your class will learn how to use a protractor and ruler to construct triangles and quadrilaterals according to your directions. Your class will be...
Curated OER
Pacing a Gunther Chain
Students pace a Gunther Chain, a measurement used by foresters to determine distance and area. They discuss that pacing is individualized depending on age, gender, etc. They practice to find an average pace. Teams estimate, pace and...
Curated OER
Exploring and Oregon Commodity
A fun (and delicious!) lesson teaches measurement to your third graders. They work in small groups to first predict, then to measure the weight, circumference, and number of seeds found in a watermelon. Everyone gets to eat watermelon...
Curated OER
Down The Line
Learnersinvestigate three-dimensional shapes. In this geometry lesson plan, pupils calculate the volume of cylinders using the given dimensions. They create a formula base don observation before using the real formula.
Curated OER
What's Your Average? What Do You Mean? I'm More Than Just Average
Upper grade and middle schoolers collect data, analyze and interpret the data. This three-part lesson should provide learners with a firm understanding about the differences between mean, median, and mode and how to perform the...
Shodor Education Foundation
Surface Area of Rectangular Prism
With this interactive lesson, learners compute the surface area of rectangular prisms. They visit an online investigation applet and record data on the provided handout. Pair this lesson with the volume lesson by the same publisher as an...
Curated OER
Introducing the Concept: Proportions
Students measure distances. In this proportions lesson, students use a map to find how far it is between different cities. Students use their knowledge of measurement, multiplication and fractions to find the distances.
Curated OER
One Hundred Things
Learners practice estimating by handling items in groups of ten. They visualize how much space 100 items, such as pennies, peas, or beans, will take up after holding 10 of them. Students measure the difference in volume between 10 and...
Curated OER
Triangle Inequality Theorems Investigation
Students estimate and measure triangles. In this geometry lesson, students identify the relationship between three sides and a triangle. They use the inequality theorem to decide if a triangle will be formed or not.
Curated OER
Splitting the Penstock
Students investigate the best way to calculate the measurements of an area. In this geometry instructional activity, students relate a large circle to a cylinder and its measurements. They use PVC pipes to gain hands on experience as...
Curated OER
Pumpkin Problems
Students participate in a lesson that has the intention of working on estimation skills. They use pumpkins to estimate the number of seeds are inside. They collect data for each pumpkin and compare it to the estimation. Students question...
Curated OER
Introduction to Statistics: Mean, Median, and Mode
Students explore the concepts of mean, median, and mode. They develop an understanding and familiarity with these concepts. Students explore mean and median in an efficient way. Students explore three different measures of center.
Curated OER
How Big Is Your Head?
Learners explore measurement by measuring classmates' heads. They record their measurements and they put the measurements in order from smallest to largest. Students figure the mean, median, mode, maximum, minimum, and range of their...