NASA
What's the Frequency, Roy G. Biv?
While all light travels at the same speed, each color in the visible light spectrum contains a different wavelength and frequency. Scholars determine the relationship between frequency and wavelength as they complete the activity. They...
Bowland
DanceStar
Express dance moves mathematically. Scholars dissect dance routines and express them using mathematical notation, such as translations and rotations. They use video clips to investigate seven different dance genres.
Illustrative Mathematics
Ants Versus Humans
You would think that humans make up more mass than ants do on this planet, but think again, and this time by performing calculations. Middle schoolers use scientific notation to compute and compare the estimated total mass of all humans...
Curated OER
Mixing Candies
Mixture problems are a classic in first-year algebra. Unfortunately, many learners approach them in a formulaic fashion and don't truly understand the meaning of the algebraic expressions they are using. Here, the questions are not the...
Inside Mathematics
Expressions
Strive to think outside of the quadrilateral parallelogram. Worksheet includes two problems applying prior knowledge of area and perimeter to parallelograms and trapezoids. The focus is on finding and utilizing the proper formula and...
Noyce Foundation
Cut It Out
Explore the mathematics of the paper snowflake! During the five lessons progressing in complexity from K through 12, pupils use spatial geometry to make predictions. Scholars consider a folded piece of paper with shapes cut out. They...
Agile Mind
Rabbit populations
For this real-world problem about the rapid growth of rabbit populations, students must analyze two different scenarios and create mathematical models to represent them. They use their exponential models to answer questions about the...
Curated OER
It Counts
Students classify and compare plants using specific information, observations, and numbers. In this mathematical inquiry lesson, students use plant characteristics to describe, compare, and classify them. They attempt to develop a system...
Inside Mathematics
Two Solutions
Many problems in life have more than one possible solution, and the same is true for advanced mathematics. Scholars solve seven problems that all have at least two solutions. Then three higher-level thinking questions challenge them to...
Curated OER
Exploring Geometric Figures
Tenth graders explore mathematics by participating in hands-on daily activities. Learners identify a list of different shapes and classify them by shape, size, sides and vertices. They utilize tangrams and geometric pieces to gain an...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Modeling Motion: Rolling Cups
Connect the size of a rolling cup to the size of circle it makes. Pupils view videos of cups of different sizes rolling in a circle. Using the videos and additional data, they attempt to determine a relationship between cup measurements...
Illustrative Mathematics
How Thick Is a Soda Can II?
Science, technology, and math come together in this one combination exercise. Analyzing the common soda can from both a purely mathematical perspective and a scientific angle allows for a surprisingly sophisticated comparison of...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Sharing Costs Equitably: Traveling to School
Drive or take the school bus? Class members determine the amount each student would have to pay in a carpool situation. They then evaluate the cost in a set of provided examples. I think I'd rather take the school bus!
Education Development Center
Extending Patterns with Exponents
Don't think negatively about exponents. Young mathematicians dissect a fictional conversation between pupils trying to evaluate an expression with a negative exponent. This allows them to understand the meaning of negative exponents.
Curated OER
Algebra I: Linear Functions
Using rates from a rental car company, young mathematicians graph data, explore linear relationships, and discuss the role of slope and the y-intercept. This lesson plan allows for the discussion of independent and dependent variables,...
Illustrative Mathematics
Jim and Jesse's Money
Jim and Jesse started their road trip with the same amount of money. Your class must find the amount of money each one had given, the amount of money spent, and the ratio of money at the end. This is a comprehensive problem that takes...
Illustrative Mathematics
Seven Circles III
A basic set-up leads to a surprisingly complex analysis in this variation on the question of surrounding a central circle with a ring of touching circles. Useful for putting trigonometric functions in a physical context, as well as...
Mathematics Vision Project
Module 6: Connecting Algebra and Geometry
A geometry module connects algebraic reasoning to geometry. It challenges scholars to investigate the slope criteria for parallel and perpendicular lines, prove theorems involving coordinate geometry, and write equations for circles and...
Curated OER
Unit II: Worksheet 3 - Velocity
Future engineers analyze the motion of Robin, the roller skater, as he moves along a sidewalk. They graph the position versus time for three different occurrences. Questions are asked about the resulting graphs, reinforcing the concepts...
Illustrative Mathematics
Reasoning about Multiplication
In critiquing someone else's theory, learners share insight into their own understanding of mathematical concepts. Fifth graders will explore the notion that products are always larger than their factors. While this statement is true the...
Illustrative Mathematics
Operations on the Number Line
A different way to look at integers is on this number line with variables in place of numbers. Learners are to look at different expressions and describe why they think the answer would be positive or negative, depending on the location...
Bowland
Football, the Beautiful Game
Discover how to use mathematics to make a stronger soccer team. Young soccer enthusiasts use given data to make decisions about a soccer team. They decide which position to assign each player, consider what makes a good pass and...
Illustrative Mathematics
Red and Blue Tiles
Here, second graders are tasked to find the patterns that have an even number of tiles. They are asked to think about why these patterns are even or odd and explain how they know.
Curated OER
Patterns and Algebra - Modeling
Seventh grade math is so much fun! They solve 10 different problems that include using patterns to complete a table, describe the pattern, and identify the specific term in the pattern for each. Then they give a description of the...