Pingry School
Isotopes and Atomic Mass – Determination of the Average Atomic Mass of Pastium
Sometimes modeling is the best approach to working with microscopic particles. A lab investigation models a fictional element using pasta. The setup uses three different pasta types to represent three different isotopes. Learners...
Pingry School
Effect of Solutes on Boiling Point
Anyone that lives around snow knows that adding salts to water increases its melting point. Are there solutes that affect the boiling point as well? A scientific experiment has learners add different solutes to water and then monitor the...
Pingry School
Acid-Base Indicators
Acid-base indicators are an essential part of any chemistry classroom. Individuals explore the color-changing feature of the important indicators in a vibrant hands-on activity. Using serial dilution, learners create solutions ranging...
Mrs. Robbins' Social Studies Site
The Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade may not take up as much space in the history books as other events of the Cold War, but for the citizens of west Berlin in 1948—and the events to follow between the Soviet Union and the United Stattes—those 318 days...
Teach It History
Crisis in Berlin: Decisions Game!
The Cold War did not begin with a bang, but with a swift tactic that reflected the Soviet Union's growing distrust of its former Allies. High schoolers choose either the USA or the USSR in a role play activity as they analyze why each...
Concord Consortium
Orthogonal Circles
Here's some very interesting circles for your very interested pupils. A performance task requires scholars to sketch a pair of orthogonal circles so the centers are the endpoints of one side of a triangle. They draw an additional circle...
Concord Consortium
Looking through a Window
Here's a window into graphing calculators. Scholars use a graphing calculator to plot a quadratic function. They then adjust the window to make the graph look like that of a linear function and must recreate given graphs.
Reading Through History
Tulsa Race Riots
How did the 1921 riots in Tulsa start? Pupils read information about the riots that occurred in Tulsa. Following the reading, they answer multiple-choice questions and guided reading questions to help them along the way.
Reading Through History
Anti-Federalist Paper No. 47
The path to a more perfect union was rockier than most history books would lead you to believe. Young historians read “Antifederalist No. 47,” written by James Madison (under the pen name “Centinel”), which sharply criticizes the...
Reading Through History
Anti-Federalist Paper No. 3
Who were the Anti-Federalists and what do primary sources tell young historians about their beliefs? Learners read Paper No. 3 to understand their values in relation to government, such as their discussion on foreign policy and the pros...
Reading Through History
The Federalist Papers: Federalist Paper No. 51
How did Federalists feel about the federal government? Learners search for the answers in the Federalist Paper No. 51, which discusses the powers of the presidency. Then, they answer various questions to test for their comprehension of...
Concord Consortium
Keeping Pace
What came first, pedestrian one or pedestrian two? Scholars consider a problem scenario in which two people walk at different rates at different times. They must decide who reaches a checkpoint first. Their answers are likely to surprise...
Concord Consortium
Leap Years and Calendars
How many birthdays do leap year babies have in a lifetime? Learners explore the question among others in a lesson focused on different calendar systems. Given explanations of the Julian, Gregorian, and Martian calendars, individuals use...
Concord Consortium
It's In the Mail
It's time to check the mail! The task is to determine the most cost-effective way to mail a packet of information. Young scholars write an equation that models the amount of postage as a function of the number of sheets mailed and...
Concord Consortium
Other Road
Take the road to a greater knowledge of functions. Young mathematicians graph an absolute value function representing a road connecting several towns. Given a description, they identify the locations of the towns on the graph.
Concord Consortium
On the Road to Zirbet
The road to a greater knowledge of functions lies in the informative resource. Young mathematicians first graph a square root function in a short performance task. They then use given descriptions of towns and the key features of the...
Concord Consortium
Not So Identities
Don't compromise the identity. Given pairs of equations, scholars determine whether the equations are true for the same set of values. They explain their reasoning, considering whether it's possible to combine the equations into an...
Concord Consortium
Mystery Dice
Dice aren't typically mysterious devices, but these dice are anything but typical. Scholars try to come up with dice that match given information on the relative frequency when they roll them a certain number of times. They must then...
Concord Consortium
More or Less
How long can the cable get? A short performance task provides learners with information on the length of cables and the margin of error for each. They must determine the longest and shortest cable possible by splicing these cables.
Concord Consortium
Mirror, Mirror I
How do you see yourself? Young mathematicians consider whether it's possible to view their whole bodies in a mirror with a length that is half their height. They write a letter to a friend explaining their positions mathematically.
Concord Consortium
Metric Volume
Master metric measurements. Given the fact that the volume of one milliliter of water is one cubic centimeter, scholars figure out the volume of one liter of water. They must determine the correct unit of length for a unit cube that...
Concord Consortium
Measuring the Unit Circle
Here's the right task to investigate right triangles in the unit circle. A short performance task has learners determine the product of two side lengths in a unit circle. They must apply similarity concepts and trigonometric ratios to...
Concord Consortium
Maximum Volumes
It's great to have a large swimming pool. An interesting performance task asks learners to optimize the volume of pools for a given surface area. They consider four different shapes for pools and find the maximum volume for each pool.
Concord Consortium
Maintain Your Composition
Compose yourself! Learners first use given graphs of functions f and g to graph the composition function f(g(x)) and identify its value for a specific input. They then consider functions for which f(g(x)) = g(f(x)).