Oklahoma State Department of Education
Narrative Prompt
Reading about history is nothing like experiencing it firsthand. Encourage your eighth graders to do the next best thing with a historical narrative prompt, in which they describe the experience of a first-time traveler on the...
Curated OER
Hanal Pixan
Students research the culture of Mexico. In this Mexican culture lesson, students view a PowerPoint presentation about the culture of Mexico and the students take notes. Students write an essay about what they have learned.
EngageNY
Polynomial, Rational, and Radical Relationships
This assessment pair goes way beyond simple graphing, factoring and solving polynomial equations, really forcing learners to investigate the math ideas behind the calculations. Short and to-the-point questions build on one another,...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Solving Radical Equations
How can you make solving radical equations more engaging? Provide your math class with a hands-on activity that focuses on solving radical equations with flash cards. A warm-up and exit ticket flank direct instruction of the steps...
Inside Mathematics
Magic Squares
Prompt scholars to complete a magic square using only variables. Then they can attempt to solve a numerical magic square using algebra.
Inside Mathematics
Quadratic (2009)
Functions require an input in order to get an output, which explains why the answer always has at least two parts. After only three multi-part questions, the teacher can analyze pupils' strengths and weaknesses when it comes to...
EngageNY
Writing and Solving Linear Equations
Incorporate geometry into the solving linear equations lesson. Pupils use their knowledge of geometry to write linear equations which reinforces geometry measurement concepts while at the same time providing a familiar context for...
Curated OER
Buying Cars/Financing Cars Compound Interest
Provide a real world context in which exponential functions are used to determine a eal world phenomena such as compound interest and exponential growth. This lesson should be taught after students have mastered the laws of exponents and...
Curated OER
Smaller Than One
Students examine how to convert fractions into decimals and percents. They work with base ten blocks and a worksheet to color in parts of 100 and renaming the parts as decimals and fractions.
Curated OER
The Study of Theme and Figurative Language in Poetry and/or Prose
Identify and analyze the use of figurative language used in select pieces of writing. These pieces of literature will represent at least two pieces by one writer and at least two pieces by different writers. This lesson would be a great...
Curated OER
Self-Promotion
Students create "assemblage boxes" displaying representations of themselves and the importance they see in their own lives. This middle school level lesson emphasizes the art of American artist Sarah Goodridge who has success in the...
Curated OER
Measuring Volume/Capacity Using the Metric System
There is more than one way to measure an amount, as learners discover by applying multiple measurement tools in these activities. Centimeter cubes, cylinders, beakers, and measuring cups are used to find the volume of regular and...
Curated OER
Volume, Mass, and Weight
Study the difference between mass and weight. Your math group will compare the weight of an item to the amount of space that it uses. They'll then use conversion factors to find the difference between kilograms and pounds. Essential...
Curated OER
Map It Out
Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...
Curated OER
Matchstick Math: Using Manipulatives to Model Linear, Quadratic, and Exponential Functions
Playing with matches (unlit, of course) becomes an engaging learning experience in this fun instructional unit. Teach pupils how to apply properties of exponential functions to solve problems. They differentiate between quadratic and...
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....
Curated OER
Problem Solving
Give kids a few strategies to help them become amazing problem solvers. This presentation is intended to be used over a two-day period and presents several techniques or ways to solve word problems or multiplication problems by...
Illustrative Mathematics
Finding Common Denominators to Add
Finding common denominators is an important strategy when adding fractions with unlike denominators. In the first two questions in this three-question task, fifth graders are asked to combine fractions and draw a picture to show their...
Sargent Art
Color Value Study
I love geometric art because it applies mathematical reasoning to an artistic endeavor. Creative kids use scale values to highlight their complex, repetitive, geometric designs. Symmetry, angles, and congruence are three concepts...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 11: The Historical/Biographical Approach to Literature
How affected is Thinks Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe's personal biography? Using a four corners strategy, and evidence from their readings, class members debate the degree of biographical influence in Achebe's novel.
Code.org
Text Compression
The second lesson in a unit of 15 introduces pupils to text compression. The class begins with discussing how they already use text compression when sending text messages. Pairs learn more about the subject as they work to compress a...
Inside Mathematics
Conference Tables
Pupils analyze a pattern of conference tables to determine the number of tables needed and the number of people that can be seated for a given size. Individuals develop general formulas for the two growing number patterns and...
Noyce Foundation
Truffles
Knowing how to scale a recipe is an important skill. Young mathematicians determine the amount of ingredients they need to make a certain number of truffles when given a recipe. They determine a relationship between ingredients given a...
Inside Mathematics
Squares and Circles
It's all about lines when going around. Pupils graph the relationship between the length of a side of a square and its perimeter. Class members explain the origin in context of the side length and perimeter. They compare the graph to the...