The humble soda can gets the geometric treatment in an activity that links math and science calculations. After a few basic assumptions are made and discussed, surface area calculations combine with density information to develop an...

Take the resource out of the file cabinet. Young mathematicians estimate the number of sticky notes it would take to cover the surface area of a file cabinet. They answer a set of questions on how the number of sticky notes would change...

Fifth and sixth graders engage in a series of activities which show them the importance of using different types of measurement strategies. One of the primary goals of the instructional activity is to show learners that measurement is...

Watch the damage from a forest fire in this interactive simulation activity that challenges learners to estimate the burn area using different approaches. Learners are given a worksheet to track the different burn patterns and practice...

A second attack at figuring out the number of leaves on a tree, this activity makes both an excellent follow-up to version 1 and a stand-alone activity. Learners practice setting parameters and deciding acceptable estimate precision, and...

Hands-on investigation of Riemann sums becomes possible without intensive arithmetic gymnastics with this interactive lesson plan. Learners manipulate online graphing tools to develop and test theories about right, left, and...

Money doesn't grow on trees—it grows on walls. Using pictures of a Guggenheim art installation consisting of one-dollar bills glued to a wall, future mathematicians consider the monetary value of the bills used in the installation....

This is your ticket to understanding estimation. Scholars estimate the number of tickets on a ticket roll. To perform the task, they use pictures and given dimensions of a ticket roll and of a single ticket and apply concepts of area and...

Take young scholars on a trip through history with this unit on the mathematics and architecture of the Mayan civilization. Starting with a introduction to their base twenty number system and the symbols they used, this eight-lesson unit...

Keep playing with those old toy cars! Pupils estimate the number of toy cars in an art installation. The only information they receive is a picture showing the toy cars arranged in concentric rings and the diameter of the overall...

Our final proposal for the cost of the bridge requested is ... In the last segment in a series of 10, pairs work together to develop a proposal for a city bridge design. The class completes a cost comparison between concrete and steel to...

Are pennies really worth one cent? Here, learners use rates to calculate the price per pound of copper that would result in pennies that are exactly one cent's worth of copper. Might work best as a group or whole-class activity since the...

Drop a perfect project into your lesson plans. Groups use different building materials to create models of parachutes for food drops. After testing out their prototypes, they make improvements to their designs.