Calculate the areas of scale drawings until a more efficient method emerges. Pupils find the relationship between the scale factor of a scale drawing and the scale of the areas. They determine the scale of the areas is the square of the...

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...

Scale the challenge of learning about ratios and scales. Young mathematicians learn to incorporate fractional measurements when considering scales and scale factors. They use an interactive to investigate the concept and critically...

This is great go-to activity for those spring or fall days when the weather beckons your geometry class outside. Learners start with a small tree, devising strategies to accurately estimate the leaf count. They must then tackle the...

As they investigate scaling figures and calculate the resulting areas, groups determine the area of similar figures. They continue to investigate the results when the vertical and horizontal scales are not equal. 

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...

Launch a lesson that's sure to capture middle schoolers' interest! Exploration enthusiasts examine the planets of our solar system using an activity from PBS's Space series. The resource includes images and information for each planet,...

Inventor, astronomer, surveyor, mathematician, clock maker. Learners celebrate the life of Benjamin Banneker by building creative analog clocks, making scale models, and solving problems related to surveying. The activities model the...

Investigate dilations to learn more about them. The second segment in a series of 16 provides a discussion of properties of dilations by going through examples. The problem set provides opportunities for scholars to construct dilations.

Class members make a real connection to matrices in the 25th part of a series of 32 by looking at the identity matrix and making the connection to the multiplicative identity in the real numbers. Pupils explore different...

Students examine the hierarchy theory and biotic organization by playing a teacher-created card game matching groups of items, such as organelles, in suits of four. They discuss the reasons for their hierarchical organization of the...

Could you develop your own way to add fractions with unlike denominators? An in-depth task has scholars examine a fictional conversation between several people in which they discuss a method of adding fractions with unlike denominators....

What does it take to show two triangles are similar? The 11th segment in a series of 16 introduces the AA Criterion for Similarity. A discussion provides an informal proof of the theorem. Exercises and problems require scholars to apply...

Plants never grow at the same rate, and that is the antithesis for this word problem involving multiplication of fractions. On the activity, Raul notices that Pablo's seedlings are 1 1/2 times as tall, and Celina's seedlings are 3/4 as...

Two lessons, "What Does Cyber Bullying Look Like?" and "Factors Influencing My Reporting the Bullying of Others," serve as examples of the 12 included in a Bully Free curriculum. Each plan includes discussion questions, an activity,...

Hedgerows prevent soil erosion, capture pollutants running off fields, store carbon to help combat climate change, and provide homes for predators of many pest species. The biodiversity lesson begins with an activity that...

Students discuss strengths and weaknesses of the court system in providing equal justice for all. They identify factors that cause these weaknesses and recommend solutions.

In May of 1981, the Winter Park Sinkhole in Florida first appeared and is now referred to as Lake Rose. Scholars learn about the causes of sinkholes through an inquiry project. Then, they analyze recent data and draw conclusions to...

Many types of cancer treatments now depend on nanotechnology—a big "little" discovery. Scholars begin by removing "malignant" tissue from simulated brains, one using fluorescent markers thanks to nanotechnology and one without. This...

Learners research, create, and present a scale representation of the county in which they live.

Double the dimensions, quadruple the surface area. Pairs build similar prisms and compare the ratios of their surface areas and volumes to the ratio of the heights. Given two similar cones, partners determine the ratios of the lateral...

High schoolers examine reasons for deforestation and become familiar with Madagascar and its culture, while describing biological and abiotic components of a rainforest, and looking at aspects that must be addressed to resolve the issue...

Students build a working definition of a regular fractal, they measure the concepts of dimensions and scale, they explore the concept of a logarithm and they attempt to solve simple exponential equations for the exponent both by trial...

The coordinate plane is a popular place! Identify rotations, reflections, and dilations on the coordinate plane. Pupils work in small groups to match transformations of a figure with the description of the transformation....