Education Development Center
Rectangles with the Same Numerical Area and Perimeter
Is it possible for a rectangle to have the same area and perimeter? If you disregard units, it happens! In a challenging task, groups work to determine the rectangles that meet these criterion. The hope is that learners will naturally...
Education Development Center
Integer Combinations—Postage Stamps Problem (HS Version)
It seems the post office has run out of stamps! Learners build all the values of postage available if the post office only sells five- and seven-cent stamps. The task provides an opportunity to create an expression in two variables and...
Education Development Center
Writing Numerical Expressions—Hexagon Tables
Explore a basic pattern to practice writing expressions. In collaborative groups, learners examine a contextual pattern and write an expression to model it. The task encourages groups to describe the pattern in multiple ways.
Education Development Center
Creating Data Sets from Statistical Measures
Explore the measures of central tendency through a challenging task. Given values for the mean, median, mode, and range, collaborative groups create a set of data that would produce those values. They then critique other answers and...
Education Development Center
Consecutive Sums
Evaluate patterns of numbers through an engaging task. Scholars work collaboratively to determine a general rule reflecting the sum of consecutive positive integers. Multiple patterns emerge as learners explore different arrangements.
Education Development Center
Absolute Value Reasoning
Teach solving absolute value inequalities through inquiry. Groups use their knowledge of absolute value and solving inequalities to find a solution set to an absolute value inequality. Working collaboratively encourages discussion,...
Education Development Center
Making Sense of Unusual Results
Collaboration is the key for this equation-solving lesson. Learners solve a multi-step linear equation that requires using the distributive property. Within collaborative groups, scholars discuss multiple methods and troubleshoot mistakes.
Education Development Center
Choosing Samples
What makes a good sample? Your classes collaborate to answer this question through a task involving areas of rectangles. Given a set of 100 rectangles, they sample a set of five rectangles to estimate the average area of the figures. The...
ThoughtCo
Back to School Means...(Concept Web)
Going back to school doesn't have to be scary! Brainstorm what Back to School means with a concept web graphic organizer.
ThoughtCo
When My Work is Finished
The most chaotic time in the classroom can be when some people are finished with their work, but others aren't. A checklist and reflection worksheet reminds learners what their options are after finishing their work, including reading,...
ThoughtCo
Interview Somebody New!
The best way to get to know someone is by interviewing them. Use a interviewing worksheet that has individuals asking a new person questions like where they were born, what they did over the summer, goals for the year, and how many...
ThoughtCo
Compare and Contrast
How was your summer vacation? Encourage class members to meet their new friends with a back-to-school activity that compares summer vacations using a Venn diagram.
Illustrative Mathematics
Daisies in Vases
Have your first graders master word problems with an activity that prompts them to find as many combinations for daisies in vases, with the most in the large vase and the least in the small vase. Pupils must also explain their reasoning...
Illustrative Mathematics
Sharing Markers
Let your first graders translate these word problems into subtraction sentences. Some of the equations involve finding the answer after Char gives some of her markers away, while others require finding the amount of markers Char started...
Illustrative Mathematics
Maria’s Marbles
Ali has more marbles than Maria in some of these word problems, while in others Maria has more marbles than Ali. First graders are tasked to read each word problem and solve how many marbles each girl has.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Physics at the Art Museum: Kinetic Energy, Potential Energy, and Work
Connect science, math, and art for a true interdisciplinary lesson! Learners explore simple machines in art. Through analysis with a physics app, they identify positions of kinetic and potential energy and make conclusions about work.
Illustrative Mathematics
School Supplies
First graders are tasked to find the amount of money in dollars Pia came to the store with, after she bought five dollars worth of school supplies.
Illustrative Mathematics
Valid Equalities?
True or false: 20 = 10 + 10. The statement is true because two 10s make a 20. These are the types of equations learners must label or false. They must also explain in mathematical terms how they know.
Illustrative Mathematics
Find the Missing Number
First graders are asked to find the missing numbers in subtraction and addition equations. Each missing number is represented with a box and appears as an addend, subtrahend, sum, or difference.
George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
Teaching Primary and Secondary Sources
What makes a source primary or secondary? Middle schoolers read a definition of each term before exploring different examples and applying their knowledge to a research project.
K5 Learning
Susy Brown
Susy is always at home taking care of her baby sibling. Even when mom is home, Susy has to take care of the baby. Luckily for Susy, she has good friends. After reading about Susy's duties, learners respond to four questions that require...
K5 Learning
Here Ponto
Pronto is a good dog. He saves the narrator's dolls that got into the water and brings them back to the pond's edge. Readers respond to four comprehension questions after reading about Pronto.
K5 Learning
O John!
As the sun sets, what does the narrator see? After reading brief passage, first graders answer four comprehension questions about what they read.
K5 Learning
Here Comes the Band
Can you hear the men playing in the band? What are they playing and where are they going? These are the main ideas of a brief fictional passage.