Radford University
Rocket Quads
How high will it fly? Pairs build straw rockets and launch them at different angles and determine the height and horizontal distance of the flight path. Teams make conjectures about how the angle affects the measured distances and use...
Radford University
Projectile Motion and Quadratic Functions
Model the flight of a ball. Small groups collect time data for how long it takes to toss a ball between two people. The teacher leads a discussion about projectile motion to get the class thinking about how to calculate the equation of...
Livaudais-Baker English Classroom
Literacy Analysis for Lord of the Flies
Here's an assignment sheet that models for readers how to craft a literary analysis of William Golding's Lord of the Flies. The packet includes a graphic organizer, a model outline, a model essay, and a detailed rubric.
Livaudais-Baker English Classroom
Lord of the Flies Postcard Directions
Readers of Lord of the Flies take on the persona of one of the characters in William Golding's novel and craft a postcard to send home describing their adventures. On one side, they create an image of the island, and on the other, they...
Curated OER
The Odyssey: Hospitality or Divine Intervention Essay
Conclude a study of The Odyssey with a writing assignment that asks readers to investigate a central theme in Homer's tale. Scholars either provide positive and negative examples of hospitality or look for evidence of how the gods...
Curated OER
Creative God or Goddess
Who causes sinkholes? Or acid rain? High schoolers try their hand at myth-making as individuals create a god or goddess responsible for the modern-day phenomenon. They introduce their deity in an essay that reveals the name, parentage,...
Curated OER
The Odyssey: Narrative Writing
Help readers make a personal connection to Homer's The Odyssey with a narrative writing assignment. Scholars select one of three prompts and craft a first-person narrative rich in sensory details that describes an experience they had...
Livaudais-Baker English Classroom
Heart of Darkness Active Reading Journal Assignment
Avoid the horror of readers straining to recall details of Joseph Conrad's complex Heart of Darkness. Instead provide scholars with a frame for their note taking. As they read, class members record evidence to support their responses to...
Health Smart Virginia
Surviving High School Awareness Campaign
To demonstrate what they have learned in the Health Smart unit, sophomores design a resource for incoming ninth-graders that includes what they consider the most important information they gleaned from one of the eight topics studied.Â
Health Smart Virginia
Shark Tank - Mental Illnesses
Young entrepreneurs research and develop a Shark Tank-style pitch for a solution to help people who have a mental illness. After the presentations, research groups complete a rubric for each product and vote for the one product they feel...
Bowland
Tuck Shop
Correct a misleading conclusion. Individuals review a set of data and a conclusion to determine what is wrong with the conclusion. Pupils then represent the data with an appropriate display. Finally, learners develop a correct conclusion...
Bowland
Taxi Cabs
Determine the cheapest way to the airport. Pupils read a scenario about trying to get 75 people to the airport using two different sizes of taxis. Learners calculate the number of smaller taxis needed given a number of large taxis and...
Bowland
Sports Bag
Lay it out using the least amount of material. Learners use the dimensions of a cylindrical sports bag to find out the size of pieces of material needed to sew them. The pupils find the best placement of the pieces to use the least...
Bowland
Spinner Bingo
Create a winning card. Given a description of a bingo game using two spinners, pupils determine which of three cards has the greatest chance of winning. Scholars then determine which are the best numbers to put on their own cards to give...
Bowland
Security Camera
Take an overall view of percentages. Pupils determine whether a shop owner's claim is correct about what percent of his shop is viewable from the installed security camera. Learners try to find whether there is a better location for the...
Bowland
Patchwork Cushions
Find out if there are enough squares. Given diagrams for the first four figures in a sequence, pupils try to determine the next figure. Individuals find the number of square and triangle pieces of fabric that are required to make...
Bowland
Ice Cream
Make sure there is enough ice cream on hand. Learners try to find out how much ice cream to buy for a sports event. Scholars use a pie chart showing the percent of a sample of people who like different flavors of ice cream. Using the...
Bowland
Hot Under the Collar
It is close enough for all practical purposes. Pupils see two methods to convert degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit, one with exact numbers and another using estimation. Learners review both methods and determine when the estimation...
Bowland
Counting Trees
Let's find a way to determine how many there are. Given a diagram of trees on a plantation, pupils devise a way to estimate the number of old and new trees. Using their methods, learners create estimates for the number of the two types...
Bowland
Smoothie Box
Make it a tight fit. Given drawings of a smoothie bottle, pupils need to determine the size of a box to hold 12 bottles. Scholars draw a net to show the dimensions needed to create a closed box that would not allow the bottles to move...
Bowland
Lottery
Take a chance on raising money. Learners calculate probabilities to determine whether a lottery is a good way to raise money. Pupils determine the number of combinations of choosing two numbers between one and six. Using the sample...
Bowland
Candle Box
Shine some light on nets. Using a creative assessment task, pupils create a net that would fold up into a hexagonal box and include the tabs needed for gluing the box together. Scholars then draw candles on each of the sides and the top...
Teaching Tolerance
Voting in Your Town
A socially important resource focuses on voter turnout and roadblocks to voting. Scholars review resources on voting stats, watch a documentary, and participate in group discussion regarding voting in their local communities. Academics...
Teaching Tolerance
Tweeting for Change
Do some good with social media. Secondary scholars participate in a live Twitter chat focusing on social justice issues. The thought-provoking activity allows academics to set up a live chat, create responses, and express their personal...