Fall back and slow down. The fourth lesson in a six-part series on air traffic control leads the class to find the difference in distance traveled based upon the difference in speed. Pupils work through a problem related to walking...

How fast is your class? Learners determine the amount of time it takes individuals to walk a given distance and calculate their speeds. Pupils solve distance, rate, and time problems using the formula and pay attention to the...

Who wants to go fast? The answer? Your sixth-grade science superstars! The complete resource offers the ultimate, all-inclusive playbook for mastering the important concepts of speed versus time; distance versus time; and how...

Am I going to catch it? Individuals time how long it takes them to walk, jog, and run a given distance and calculate their speed. They then research two animals and find their speeds. Using a chart, pupils compare the speeds of the...

What happens to the momentum of an object when it strikes another object? Scholars roll a marble down a ramp so it collides with another marble. By measuring the speed of each marble before and after the collision, pupils answer this...

Groups simulate an orbit using a piece of string and a water balloon. Individuals spin in a circular path and calculate the balloon's velocity when the clothes pin can no longer hold onto the balloon.

Get into the swing of things. Pupils use a pendulum to demonstrate the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy and back. After measuring the speed of a pendulum and compare it to the calculated theoretical speed, they...

Use proportions to determine the travel distance in a given amount of time. The 10th installment in a series of 33 uses tables and descriptions to determine a person's constant speed. Using the constant speed, pupils write a linear...

How much time does it take to jump over three balloons? Pupils calculate the speed of tasks that require different motions. They determine motions for tasks such as walking, skipping, hopping, and jumping before creating a...

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...

Construct a maze in your classroom and have a blindfolded scientist act as a space rover, maneuvering unfamiliar terrain while another scientist plays commander. Classmates record the number of occurrences of the commander having to...

How do you convert from one measurement to another? Pupils use unit rates to convert measurements from one unit to another in the 21st segment in a 29-part series. They convert within the same system to solve length, capacity,...

You're safe, when calculating the odds of stealing second base! Learners compare the rate of a runner to the distance the ball travels, in a lesson that explores right triangles and measurement. Full of discussion questions and fun...

Take your class on the ride of their lives! Physical science scholars get an in-depth look at potential and kinetic energies in an amusement park-themed unit. Students research, design, and promote their own amusement parks,...

Young geologists get a glimpse beneath the earth's surface in this plate tectonics investigation. After first learning about the different layers of the earth and the constant movement of its plates, young...

The speed of a dragonfly brings math into the real world as your learners collaboratively see the value in calculating unit rates in direct proportion problems. This six-phase lesson encourages you, as the teacher, to only ask questions...

Acids and bases have a love-hate relationship. They balance each other so nicely, but they are complete opposites! Learners use these concepts and titration to calculate the molar mass of an unknown substance. The experiment...

Unscramble a carnival mystery! Scholars observe a video of an overhead view of a carnival ride, The Scrambler. They then must determine mathematically where a specific car will stop after a certain amount of time.

In an open-ended problem, learners calculate costs involved in driving an ice cream van. Is it better to park in one place or drive through different neighborhoods? Learners look at these and other factors and must make reasonable...

Remodeling projects require more than just a good design — they involve complex fractions, too. To determine whether a tiling project will fit within a given budget pupils calculate the square footage to determine the number of...

A fossil is worth a thousand words! Individuals craft their own amber fossil of an insect in addition to molds and casts of seashells. A third activity takes the lesson a notch higher: Learners measure stride lengths between tracks and...

Three days of race car design and driving through the classroom while guessing probability could be a third graders dream. Learn to record car speed, distances traveled, and statistics by using calculation ranges using the mean, median,...

The 20th lesson plan in a 21-part series connects the wind data and expectations of a turbine to whether such devices should be built in your area. Scholars begin with estimating the wind potential at school by using long-term...

Find a way to work with rates. The 23rd part in a 29-part series presents work problems for the class to solve given work rates. Pupils compare rates to determine which is faster. Some problems require learners to convert the rates to...