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.
University of Alaska
Clay Model Earth
What a great way to incorporate hands-on learning while teaching about the earth's layers. The class observes an overhead transparency (linked in Included Materials) as they create their own model Earth using different colors of clay....
Virginia Department of Education
Pick and Choose
Properly teach properties with three activities that allow learners to investigate properties of real numbers. The resource covers the identity properties for addition and multiplication, the inverse property for multiplication, and the...
EngageNY
Multi-Step Problems—All Operations
Harness the power of algebra to solve problems. Young mathematicians learn to work out multi-step problems by applying algebraic techniques, such as solving equations and proportions. They use tape diagrams to model the problem to finish...
EngageNY
The Relationship of Division and Subtraction
See how division and subtraction go hand-in-hand. The fourth installment of a 36-part module has scholars investigate the relationship between subtraction and division. They learn using tape diagrams to see that they can use repeated...
Voice of America
Henry Ford, 1863-1947: He Revolutionized the Auto Industry
How did Henry Ford change the world? One word: automobile. After reading a two-page passage about Henry Ford's contributions to society with the invention of the automobile, readers respond to a series of 10 reading comprehension...
American Physiological Society
Why is Kettle Corn Cooked in Copper Pots?
The kitchen — it's not just for eating anymore! Specific heat is often a difficult concept to grasp, so give it context by relating it to cooking. Learners gain experience in the principles of thermal energy transfer by designing an...
American Physiological Society
How Does the Density of a Liquid Affect the Buoyancy of an Object?
Here's a lesson plan that will really float your boat! Introduce physical science scholars to the relationship between buoyancy and density through an assortment of individual and collaborative exercises. Lab groups work together to...
American Physiological Society
What Environmental Conditions Lead to the Hatching of Brine Shrimp?
Will changing the environment in which brine shrimp live impact their reproductive success? Young scientists get hands-on experience studying the habitat of brine shrimp in a two-week immersion instructional activity. The teacher's guide...
American Physiological Society
Did I Observe it or Infer it?
Take the mystery out of inquiry! When young scientists learn to use their keen powers of observation to make smart inferences about a situation, they are well on their way to understanding what the scientific method is all about. Using...
EngageNY
Summarizing a Distribution Using a Box Plot
Place the data in a box. Pupils experiment with placing dividers within a data set and discover a need for a systematic method to group the data. The 14th lesson in a series of 22 outlines the procedure for making a box plot based upon...
EngageNY
Describing the Center of a Distribution Using the Median
Find the point that splits the data. The lesson presents to scholars the definition of the median through a teacher-led discussion. The pupils use data lists and dot plots to determine the median in sets with even and odd number of data...
EngageNY
The Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD)
Is there a way to measure variability? The ninth resource in a series of 22 introduces mean absolute deviation, a measure of variability. Pupils learn how to determine the measure based upon its name, then they use the mean absolute...
Virginia Department of Education
Give or Take a Few
Young mathematicians extend their knowledge of rational numbers on a number line to graph inequalities by first using number cards to compare rational numbers. They finish by using similar reasoning to graph inequalities on a number line.
Virginia Department of Education
Balanced
Bring balance to your lesson plans with an activity that asks individuals to solve one-step linear equations with inverse operations. Balance scales help learners understand the concept of isolating the variable.
Virginia Department of Education
Equation Vocabulary
You'd feel bad if someone called you by the wrong name — and equations are no different. Young mathematicians learn the vocabulary associated with equations and expressions identifying these components in sample equations.
Virginia Department of Education
It Could Happen
Understanding of probability will probably increase with the use of a refined resource. Pupils learn to distinguish between dependent and independent events as they calculate the probabilities of these types of events in various situations.
Virginia Department of Education
May I Have Fries with That?
Not all pie graphs are about pies. The class conducts a survey on favorite fast food categories in a lesson on data representation. Pupils use the results to create a circle graph.
Virginia Department of Education
Exploring Quadrilaterals
Sort this resource into the Use pile. Scholars investigate attributes of quadrilaterals and then use the results to sort and classify the shapes labeling each figure with their properties to justify the classifications.
Virginia Department of Education
Side to Side
Congruent figures: two figures that want to be just like each other. Individuals learn to distinguish between figures that are congruent and those that are not. Measuring the lengths of line segments and angles helps in this endeavor.
Virginia Department of Education
Out of the Box
There's no need to think outside the box for this one! Scholars measure the length, width, and height of various boxes. Results help develop the formulas for the surface area and volume of rectangular prisms.
Virginia Department of Education
Going the Distance
Estimate the value of one of the most famous irrational numbers. The hands-on lesson instructs classmates to measure the circumference and diameters of circles using yarn. The ratio of these quantities defines pi.
Virginia Department of Education
Measuring Mania
Conversion immersion — it's measuring mania! A set of four activities teaches scholars to convert between customary and metric units. Resource covers unit conversions in length, temperature, weight/mass, and volume.
Virginia Department of Education
Perfecting Squares
Here's a perfect way to introduce perfect squares. Individuals color in the diagonals of squares and record observations about patterns. They connect their diagrams to exponents of two and perfect squares.