Investigate the properties of three-dimensional figures with this Arctic-themed math lesson. Beginning with a class discussion about different types of solid figures present in the classroom, young mathematicians are then given a...

The original drawing is eight units — how big is the scale drawing? Classmates determine the scale percent between a scale drawing and an object to calculate the length of a portion of the object. They use the percent equation to find...

Similes and metaphors make writing more beautiful and detailed, but can be a little harder to decipher during a first reading. Use a passage from The Man Who Loved Words to show young readers how to think through passages that...

True! Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" makes readers nervous. But how? Young scholars create a drawing while listening to a reading of Poe's eerie tale to understand how writers create the mood of their stories and what their writing style...

Benjamin Franklin's famous aphorisms are a perfect time capsule of colonist values in the mid-18th century, as well as a clever reminder of the way life still works today. Middle and high schoolers select one aphorism to interpret...

Discover how to program objects to move on a screen. In the second lab of a five-part unit, each learner uses block instructions to program a sprite to follow their mouse (cursor). They investigate how to use these same block...

Pupils determine scale factors from one figure to another and the scale factor in the reverse direction. Scholars compute the percent changes between three figures. 

Develop a more precise definition of similar. The lesson begins with an informal definition of similar figures and develops the need to be more precise. The class learns about dilations and uses that knowledge to arrive at a...

Sharpen your pencil and grab a ruler, it's time to draw some quadrilaterals! Given the definition of a parallelogram, rectangle, and rhombus, learners draw examples and nonexamples of each figure. The three definitions are...

Anansi is a tricky character, but can he realize he's wrong and write an apology letter? Learners use Anansi and the Pot of Beans to practice writing, art, and figurative language. A series of activities are engaging for both...

Can three works of literature work together to establish and develop a common central idea? Put your thoughts into writing with a final assessment focused on a unit-long analysis of Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepard to His...

How  does the shape of the surface of water in a container change as water leaks out? After tackling this question, learners take part in a similar activity with more complex figures.

What better way to learn about fractions than with a couple pizzas? Help Jessica figure out how much of the pizza she has eaten, while teaching your class that fractions refer to a specific whole amount. This problem will be challenging...

All the 2-D and 3-D measurement work you need is in one location. Divided into three sections, the geometry lesson plans consist of visualization of three dimensions, classifying geometric figures, and finding surface area and volume....

Review the principles of scaling areas and draws a comparison to scaling volumes with a third dimensional measurement. The exercises continue with what happens to the volume if the dimensions are not multiplied by the same...

The question of how to balance Fourth Amendment Rights with national security concerns becomes critical in an age of planned terrorist attacks, election interference, and fake news. Get young social scientists involved in the debate with...

Get learners' minds rotating and reflecting while looking for symmetry. Pupils investigate figures to determine the number of lines of symmetry and if the figure has rotational symmetry. Classmates work together in groups to find out the...

Practice alliteration with a fun game! Kids match names to a best friend's name, and add something they both like. 

Turtles might be slow, but class will zoom by when your pupils build a program in which reptiles draw a grid. Using App Lab and JavaScript, class members build a program to find the most efficient way to draw an image of a...

Coal mines can be a gold mine of math applications. After reading some basic information on coal mining, learners draw blueprints of a coal pillar in the shape of a composite figure. They find the volume of material from the coal pillar...

Prove the Law of Sines two ways. The ninth segment in a series of 16 introduces the Law of Sines to help the class find lengths of sides in oblique triangles. Pupils develop a proof of the Law of Sines by drawing an altitude and a second...

Let me break it down for you! Introduce your class to a way of breaking up a complicated task into its component pieces. Individuals draw a complex figure using JavaScript and then break it down to help determine the...

Customers often want ribbon around fancy cakes, but how does a baker know how much ribbon to buy? Scholars view a cake with multiple layers in different geometric shapes. They must figure the perimeter and circumference and add them...

Metaphors are word pictures, creating images in our brains that draw readers to consider how two seemingly unrelated items are alike. Poems by Langston Hughes, Margaret Atwood, and Naomi Shihad Nye provide learners with an opportunity to...