Fractals Teacher Resources

Students view a video to discover how patterns in nature relate to math. They explore the concept of exponential growth by observing and creating fractals. They solve and design word problems.

Roughness is everywhere, contributing to the incredible complexity of the world around us. This complexity, however, is not without it's own unique sense of order. Join world-renown mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot as he looks...

When you see a flower or a tree in nature do you see the math? This web resource contains many ideas for using fractals in a math class including Sierpinski’s triangle, Koch's Snowflake, and the Jurassic Park Fractal. Additionally, it...

Examine an exponential growth model. Using a fractal, learners calculate the perimeters of each stage. When comparing the consecutive perimeters, a pattern emerges. They use the pattern to build an equation and make conclusions.

Middle and high schoolers identify and analyze fractals and research information using the Internet to locate information about them. They look at fractals in relation to nature and other real world situations. Pupils create several...

Take your class on a field trip to Fractalland where they'll learn all about number and shape patterns. Based on Disney's movie Alice in Wonderland, this resource takes young mathematicians on an adventure as they explore patterns in...

This instructional activity introduces learners to the ideas involved in understanding fractals. They develop a sense of infinity, self-similarity and recursion and

Students define fractals and patterns. They explore how a seemingly random process can result in a pattern. Students practice probability and fractions skills by playing the chaos game online.

Viewers fill their minds with space-filling curves watching a video of animations that show examples of space-filling curves, such as the Peano curve and the "Flow Snake" curve. The video also illustrates how space-filling curves...

Students create fractals. In this lesson, students use a computer program to explore different types of fractals.

Students explore the concept of fractals. In this fractal lesson, students use applets to explore Koch's Snowflake, Sierpinski's Triangle, and other fractals. Students develop these concepts through exploration and teacher guided...

Learners construct the Sierpinski Triangle using Cabri Jr. They use a step-by-step guide to construct the Sierpinski Triangle on their graphing calculator and then discuss the formula for constructing a nth stage Sierpinski Triangle.

It's time to boldly go where your class has not gone before! The introductory lesson in a five-part series takes young oceanographers aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos to begin a study of ocean exploration. The lesson includes a comparison of...

Learners observe and discuss several different fractal drawings and relate them to patterns they see in nature. They use an online fractal tool to create and modify a fractal image and then create their own fractal image with paint.

Students use the Internet to answer lab questions about fractals, and then construct fractals using the initial stage and iteration rule. They complete tables and generate rules for the "nth" term and create their own fractals.

Young scholars discover patterns and sequences. They use a website to explore patterns and fractals. Students share their discovery of fractals and their patterns with the class. They develop a list of patterns used in everyday life.

Students explore the concept of fractals. In this fractals activity, students discuss Sierpinski's Triangle using an applet. Students discuss the patterns involved with fractals. Students discuss the area of Sierpinski's triangle as the...

Students use fractals to analyze nature. In this geometry lesson, students work in groups using technology and math to communicate. They identify where in the real world fractal can be seen.

Students explore the concept of fractals. In this fractals lesson, students play the "Chaos Game" via an applet. Students place dots on the screen to recognize that they have created Sierpinski's Triangle.

Measurements of Australia's coast line range from 12,500 km long to 25,700 km long. What causes the difference in these measurements? The video discusses the coastline paradox, fractals, and the importance of the size of a measuring stick.

Young scholars explore the concepts of Sierpinski's triangle, ratios, and concentrations. In this exploratory lesson, students are given three problems to solve. Young scholars learn about Sierpinski's triangle, how to calculate mpg for...

Create a personal tree. By visiting an exhibit at the National Museum of Mathematics, the resource introduces the idea of fractals. The exhibit takes an image of the person and creates a tree by repeating scaled images on the shoulders...

Look at dilations exponentially. Using a fractal from a museum exhibit, the installment from the Math at the Core: Ratios series introduces the term dilation. The presenter points out that dilations can make images either smaller or...

Students develop questions for their inquiries and plan their experiments. They are supported by a modeled case study of Max the Dog's Inquiry Planning Process, as well as supported by a planning template, The Inquiry Organizer.