Great Books Foundation
War Is Kind
Ponder the complexities of war, peace, and country with Stephen Crane's "War is Kind." After reading the poem, learners answer six questions in a class discussion or as an individual assessment.
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Adding the Sines
It's a sign! Scholars analyze sine functions for patterns in their periods. The exploration advances beyond a simple function to the combination of two functions with even and odd coefficients. Their goal is to find a pattern between the...
CCSS Math Activities
Patchwork
Patch up any misconceptions about writing functions. Scholars undertake a performance task that has them first examine a pattern in patchwork cushions. They represent the patterns in triangular and rectangular blocks using a table and as...
CCSS Math Activities
Golf Balls
Land on the green with a fun resource. A short performance task asks pupils to consider the volume of containers that hold golf balls. They determine the percentage of empty space of the container for different numbers of golf balls.
CCSS Math Activities
Ferris Wheel
Wheel the resource right into your classroom. Young mathematicians use given dimensions of a Ferris wheel to write a height versus time function. They use their functions to answer a set of questions about the Ferris wheel.
CCSS Math Activities
Rolling for the Big One
Knowing math helps you win games. Learners apply conditional probability concepts in an engaging performance task. After playing a game in which players roll a 10-sided polyhedron and then try to place the digits to get the highest...
CCSS Math Activities
Satellite
This isn't rocket science, you know. A performance task has learners use right triangle trigonometry to calculate distances from stations on Earth to a satellite. It also requires finding the distance between two stations along the...
CCSS Math Activities
Social Security Trust Fund
Will Social Security still be around when you retire? Given data on the predicted balance of the social security fund over time, scholars plot the points on a coordinate grid and determine if a quadratic regression fits the data. They...
CCSS Math Activities
Sandwich Shop
Eat up the task on systems of equations. Given information on the total number of sandwiches and the total income, learners write and solve a linear system of equations to find the number of each type of sandwich sold at a shop. They...
CCSS Math Activities
Out of the Swimming Pool
Out of the swimming pool and into the math classroom! Young mathematicians analyze two linear functions representing the number of liters of water in a pool as it drains over time. They must evaluate functions, interpret function...
Serendip
Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration
How does energy from the sun make plants grow? Scholars move step by step through the processes that promote plant propagation during a detailed lesson. The resource illustrates ADP production and hydrolysis, then allows learners to...
Concord Consortium
Area Upgrade
Imagine a world built of triangles. A performance task asks scholars to consider just that. They use their knowledge of special segments of a triangle to make decisions about the area of triangular plots of land.
Concord Consortium
An Algebraic Oversight
Tackle a common misconception using a performance task. Dividing by a variable to eliminate a variable may seem like a good idea, but simplifying the variable eliminates solutions as well. Learners develop algebraic and graphical support...
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All-in-All Problems
Graphs, functions, symbols, and more! Use these strategies to model everything from the flow of a river to the number of cars passing a toll booth. Presented differently but solved similarly, learners consider five different scenarios...
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Acid Test
This isn't your typical basic lesson—it's more acidic! Learners use pH information to determine the hydroxide ion concentration of different substances and then use these values to analyze information. The calculations require...
Concord Consortium
A Linear System
Young mathematicians have the hang of graphing with integer coefficients now. Can they generalize what they've learned to equations with variable coefficients? The task asks individuals to verify the solution to the system is (x,y) and...
Concord Consortium
Betweenness V
Take a unique approach to study the graphing of trigonometric functions. Young scholars consider two sine functions and write three functions that will lie between the two given. They use a graphing utility to assist in their explorations.
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Betweenness IV
Challenge your classes to think between the curves. Given two function formed by the combination of two exponential functions, individuals must write three functions in which all values would lie between the given. The question is...
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Betweenness III
Don't let a little challenge get between your pupils and their learning! Scholars compare two absolute value functions to recognize patterns and use them to build their own functions with outputs that are between the given. They then...
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Betweenness II
Read between the curves ... quadratic curves! Young scholars analyze the graphs of two quadratic functions by writing their own function whose outputs are between the two given. They then consider intersecting quadratic functions and...
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Betweenness I
Just between us, this is a pretty cool lesson! Given two functions with the same slope, learners write three new functions whose outputs are all between the given functions. The question is open-ended, allowing pupils to explore the...
Concord Consortium
Be Well
How much do you spend on healthcare each year? Data shows the expenditures in the US rise significantly each year. Young scholars use the data to calculate a rate of change over a 30-year period and look for—as well as provide— possible...
Concord Consortium
Always, Sometimes, Never
Do your learners always, sometimes, or never remember the properties of the segments in triangles? Get that number closer to always with a creative lesson analyzing all four segments. Scholars consider a statement about one of the...
Concord Consortium
A Monosignic Function
Complex fractions and trigonometric expressions combine to create a challenging task ... as if they aren't challenging enough on their own! The task challenges individuals to consider the range of possible values when substituting in the...