Balanced Assessment
Solar Elements
Let your brilliance shine like the sun. Future mathematicians and scientists consider given data on the abundance of different elements in the sun. The assessment task requires consideration of how these different abundances relate to...
Balanced Assessment
County Concerns
Apply area concepts to help farmers and settle county disputes. Scholars use a given diagram and information about an insecticide spraying campaign to determine the monetary benefit to farmers. They then decide which of two counties has...
Balanced Assessment
Triangle in Circle
Even kindergartners can draw triangles in circles, but the assessment task requires a bit more geometric knowledge. Scholars investigate triangles that have a diameter of a circle as one of its sides. They must consider triangles that...
Balanced Assessment
Walkway
Evaluate different aspects of geometry with one task. An assessment activity prompts learners to determine the area of a pathway in the shape of a parallelogram. The Pythagorean Theorem and area formulas for various polygons provide the...
Balanced Assessment
Dot Patterns
Use geometric patterns to teach your class how to write functions. The assessment task has scholars consider a pattern of dots to draw the next picture of the pattern. Pupils then analyze the pattern, which helps them develop a function...
Balanced Assessment
Above Average
Raise the bar and strive to be above average. The assessment task requires budding mathematicians to think critically and evaluate given statements. What does it truly mean to be above average?
Balanced Assessment
Greater, Lesser, In-Between
Goldilocks and the Three Numbers? The pre-activity task involves finding digits to complete decimals or fractions that satisfy given constraints, such as finding a fractions that is in between two others. The main task involves a similar...
Balanced Assessment
At the Supermarket
Grocery managers and chefs sure use lots of math. Scholars first use ratios and unit rates to determine a price for a can of corn. Once individuals have the pricing, they determine the amount of ingredients necessary to make brownies...
Balanced Assessment
Fractured Subtraction
Can you spare a 10? Scholars determine digits that could complete a two-digit subtraction problem. They must find all possible combinations of digits and provide an explanation for their reasoning.
Balanced Assessment
Paving the Patio
Next time you need to repave your patio, have your scholars do all the math. They first calculate and answer questions using the area of patio blocks. Next, they determine the cheapest block to use to pave the patio.
Curated OER
Candy Bars
There is often more to data than meets the eye. Scholars learn that they need to analyze data before making conclusions as they look at data that describes the number of candy bars boys and girls eat. They disprove a given conclusion and...
Teach Engineering
Breaking the Mold
A little too much strain could cause a lot of stress. Groups conduct a strength test on clay. Using books as weights, pupils measure the compression of clay columns and calculate the associated strain and stress. Teams record their data...
Teach Engineering
Strength of Materials
Pupils examine a stress-strain diagram that compares the advantages and disadvantages of the two common bridge building materials, concrete and steel. The also consider the factors that influence the materials builders choose for their...
Teach Engineering
Load It Up!
See how a marshmallow can hold up a bridge load. Teams take a closer look at the design of bridge piers. They determine the types of loads that might affect a bridge, and, using that information, they calculate the needed cross-sectional...
Teach Engineering
Designing Bridges
Introduces your class to the types of loads experienced by a bridge. Groups calculate the ultimate load combinations to determine the maximum load requirement. Using this information, builders then determine the amount of material they...
Teach Engineering
Automatic Floor Cleaner Computer Program Challenge
Have your class use the engineering design process to program a vacuum robot. Using computer engineering concepts, teams program an automatic floor cleaner to traverse designated patterns.
Teach Engineering
Super Slinger Engineering Challenge
How well can you launch a ping-pong ball? Small groups design launchers that can launch a ping-pong ball 20 feet into a target. The teams follow the engineering design process as they develop a solution that meets the design...
LearnEnglishFeelGood.com
English Prefixes and Suffixes
Match prefixes and suffixes to their definition in a 10-problem grammar worksheet. Prefixes and suffixes in focus include muta-, pre-, aud-, post-, psych-, fid-, -ize, -dox, -urb, and anti-.
Yummy Math
US Holiday Candy Sales
Candy is a big business! Calculate the amount of money consumers spent on major holidays—Easter, Halloween, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Valentine's Day—based on the total amount of candy sales from 2011 and the percentage of each holiday's...
Yummy Math
Which is the Best Deal on Candy?
Buying enough candy for trick-or-treaters without spending a lot of money can be the ultimate Halloween trick. Middle schoolers solve two holiday-themed word problems to determine which brand of candy is the better deal, based on cost...
Balanced Assessment
Confetti Crush
In the first part of a middle school assessment task, learners analyze a given statement about the amount of confetti revelers throw at Times Square on New Year's Eve. The second part of the task requires learners to identify objects...
Balanced Assessment
A Fishy Story
There's nothing fishy about this resource. In the task, learners use given information about fish prices to create a scatter plot and line of best-fit. Later, they use the information to answer questions about the profit from fish sales.
Balanced Assessment
Fractured Multiplication
When would you do multiplication on the floor? When you have no tables. Scholars determine a possible set of digits that would complete a 2-digit by 1-digit multiplication problem. They then determine all possible sets of digits and...
Teach Engineering
Show Me the Money
Class members learn how to estimate the total costs involved to design and build a bridge by including design, material, equipment, and labor costs. The activity includes a discussion about the trade-off between cost and aesthetics.