Illustrative Mathematics
Solar Eclipse
Learners take on the role of astronomers, calculating conditions necessary for a total solar eclipse. Concepts of similar triangles and properties of circles come together as pupils create ratios and use real measurements in determining...
101 Questions
Bean Counting
Don't spill the beans ... before the end of the lesson! Learners must predict how long it takes two people working together to fill a glass with beans. A video presents the rate it takes each person independently, and another video...
101 Questions
Penny Circle
Watch as your classes buy into a rich lesson full of information. A video opener challenges individuals to determine the number of pennies that fit in a circle with a 22-inch diameter. Using lesson materials, scholars collect data and...
Curated OER
Balancing the Scales: Understanding Ratios
Students are introduced to the concept of ratios. In groups, they convert sets of numbers into a ratio. After practicing, they use the ratios and proportions to solve story problems. They also calculate map distances and discover map...
Curated OER
Shots, Standings, and Shopping
Rates and ratios can easily be applied to real-world situations. Learners explore a series of websites in order to procure comparable data. They define ratios and rates, view videos, and use the internet to explore how ratios and rates...
Curated OER
The Attack of the Manhole Monsters
Students explore the concept of similarity. They examine such topics as ratio of corresponding sides, internal ratios and scaling factors. After watching a video, student groups perform experiments outside the school building.
Curated OER
Class of Gold
How can you see a number in nature? Here, learners discover both Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio by exploring a number of different resources. Note: Some of the resources are older and may be missing some of the links, but the...
101 Questions
Binder Clips: Large, Medium, Small
Ever wondered how many pieces of paper a binder clip can hold? Viewers of a short video are about to find out! Given measurement data for three different sized binder clips, learners must develop a method for figuring out how many pieces...
101 Questions
Gas Station Ripoff
Ever wonder if you can trust the pump that pumps your gas? Budding mathematicians use video evidence to analyze the cost-per-gallon ratio at different intervals for three different pumps. Their goal is to identify the pump that is...
101 Questions
Print Job
A watched printer never finishes—or does it? Engage your classes in a ratio and proportion task that asks them to predict how long it takes to print the numbers one through 88 on 88 sheets of paper. They use video to determine the rate...
101 Questions
Shower v. Bath
Which requires more water--a bath or a shower? Given some specific criteria, learners attempt to answer the question. A video shows how long it takes to fill a gallon container using a faucet and a shower head. Using that information and...
Purdue University
Plastic Water Bottle Design – What’s the Best Shape?
Join the fight to reduce plastic waste. A hands-on STEM activity first teaches scholars about the scourge of plastic waste. They then measure the dimensions of water bottles to calculate surface areas and volumes before using the surface...
Radford University
Green Acres is the Place to Be!
Nurture a love of math and farming at the same time. Pupils apply geometry concepts, such as surface area and volume of three-dimensional shapes and similarity ratios, to farming contexts. They consider the dimensions of bales of hay,...
101 Questions
Popcorn Picker
A video and popcorn, just like being at the movies! Given the dimensions of two different cylinders, scholars decide which will hold the most popcorn. They find out if their calculations are correct with the provided solution video.
Gfletchy
Thumbs on Fire
How fast are those thumbs? Pupils view a short video showing a person typing out a text message in a speed challenge. They use the information they can glean from the video to estimate the number of seconds it will take to completely...
101 Questions
A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned
How many pennies can you save in a lifetime? One individual knows the answer! A video presentation of a question asks scholars to determine how many pennies a bank customer has saved since he was a teenager. They know the total weight of...
Gfletchy
The Clapper
Give a round of applause for completing the task. Scholars watch a video that shows an extremely fast clapper and a timer. The activity requires applying concepts of rates and proportional reasoning to estimate the number of claps in one...
Under the Dome
Sphero Draw and Drive
Determine how far the ball rolled. The class watches a video of a person controlling a sphere rolling on the floor. Pupils develop some questions about the video and make estimates to the solutions of the questions. The teacher provides...
101 Questions
Ants Marching
Your classroom will be rockin' during an toe-tapping lesson! Dave Matthews inspires a lesson on proportions as youth listen to a song and predict its length. Lesson materials provide learners with ordered pairs that mark the time slider...
Curated OER
Lunch Food? Mmmm! Mmmm! Good!
Examine how nutrition plays an important role in our lives by conducting online research and developing lunch menus that satisfy nutritional requirements set up by the United States Department of Agriculture. Students download recipes,...
101 Questions
Banana Bread Baker
You don't want to be short bananas when making bread. Scholars use their math skills to make sure there are enough bananas to go around. Using measurements given in a recipe, they must determine how many bananas they need to increase the...
101 Questions
Nana's Chocolate Milk
Nobody wants to make Nana mad! Help Mr. Meyer fix the chocolate milk he prepared for his Nana using too many scoops of chocolate. Youngsters develop a problem-solving strategy that leads to the solution using ratios and proportions.
101 Questions
Stealing Bases
And he's ... safe? ... out? It's up to your scholars to decide! Provided with the speed of the runner and ball, learners develop a plan to determine which reaches the base first, the ball or the runner. While the distance from home to...
Mascil Project
Building a Safe Staircase
Climb up the staircase of engineering knowledge. After watching a video of a carpenter measuring out steps for a set of stairs, pupils learn about the terminology and regulations involving stairs. They see how to use a rule of thumb when...