Teach Engineering
Energy Skate Park
Skate through a simulation on energy with an a activity that uses a computer simulation of a skater to reinforce the concept of conservation of energy. The resource guides pupils through scenarios using the computer simulation to see the...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Teosinte Hypothesis
Don't want to sound corny, but your class will be a-maize-d by an engaging activity! Explore the history of the modern corn plant through a video and Punnett squares. Junior genetics experts get hands-on experience with actual research...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Ebola: Disease Detectives
How did the Ebola virus first infect humans? Young virologists examine genetic sequences from the 2014 Sierra Leone outbreak to find similarities during a riveting activity. Following similar methods used by MIT and Harvard, partners...
Illustrative Mathematics
Jayden’s Snacks
A quick activity to test the knowledge of your learners on adding and subtracting with decimals. They must calculate how much Jayden spent at the store and how much money he has remaining.
Illustrative Mathematics
Selling Computers
A quick activity to test your learners' knowledge of percent increase. When an electronic store needs a 30% increase in computer sales, your mathematicians must calculate how many computers they need to sell next month.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Lactase Persistence: Evidence for Selection
What's the link between lactase persistence and dairy farming? Biology scholars analyze data to find evidence of the connection, then relate this to human adaptation. Working individually and in small groups, learners view short video...
Macmillan Education
Celebrations: St Patrick’s Day
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a couple of fun English language exercises. After first activating students' prior knowledge about Ireland and Irish culture during a class discussion, learners work in pairs or small groups to complete a...
Noyce Foundation
Measuring Mammals
Explore the meaning of scale and proportion with a set of five activities that examines the topic from elementary through high school. The first lessons explore ratio by examining pictures of different sizes. The next three activities...
Illustrative Mathematics
Track Practice
And they're off! While two runners are at track practice, your mathematicians' job is to find out who leaves the other in the dust. The activity provides a variety of data that can be computed into unit rates for comparisons. Available...
Illustrative Mathematics
Sammy's Chipmunk and Squirrel Observations
Here is a fun project. Sammy observes a chipmunk and a squirrel to see how many holes each needs in order to stash the same number of acorns. Scholars could find the answer algebraically or create a table to analyze the problem in...
Illustrative Mathematics
Molly's Run
A simple lesson with a lot of support behind it. Your learners will find out how long it takes Molly to run a mile by choosing their solution method. The activity can be used as a lesson or as an independent assignment. Preface with...
Illustrative Mathematics
Cooking with the Whole Cup
Whoops! Travis accidentally put too much butter into the recipe. Your bakers must find out how to alter the recipe to accommodate different changes by using unit rates and ratios . The activity has multiple parts and calculations with...
Illustrative Mathematics
Making Hot Cocoa, Variation 1
Dividing with fractions can be a confusing task to some, but the activity illustrates how to make groups out of the problem and look at it visually. Use this problem with the activity in the Additional Materials section to practice this...
Illustrative Mathematics
Stained Glass
A complex question looking for the total cost of a stained glass window by calculating area and circumference of a circle. With detailed components, this activity will challenge your designers to figure out if they have enough money to...
Illustrative Mathematics
Walk-a-thon 1
Your mathematician's job is to explore the relationship between hours and miles walked during a walk-a-thon. The activity compels your learners to experiment with different means in finding out this proportional relationship. The answer...
Illustrative Mathematics
Chess Club
When the membership in a chess club changes, it is your mathematicians' job to find out how many boys and girls are attending and the percent change from last year. The activity provides a great compound problem finding the different...
Illustrative Mathematics
Fractions on the Number Line
Fractions are a common fear in school, but visualizing them on a number line can help your learners understand their relationship to one another. The activity provides two solutions; use either a number line or a common denominator....
Speak Truth to Power
Harry Wu: Forced Labor
Over the course of two class periods, young historians explore human rights issues; specifically, forced labor in China. This resource provides everything you need, including relevant vocabulary, an anticipatory activity, and a...
Illustrative Mathematics
Lake Algae
Introduce learners to exponential growth with this real-world problem about algae that is rapidly spreading across a lake in a city park. The task presents the rate of growth and an end value and asks learners to determine what happened...
Illustrative Mathematics
Tossing Cylinders
Everyone loves a lesson that involves throwing things around! To understand probability, your experimenters will predict how different cylinder-shaped objects will land when tossed. When the data is collected, they will calculate the...
Illustrative Mathematics
Lines of Symmetry for Quadrilaterals
Explore how lines of symmetry help define different categories of quadrilaterals. Looking at a square, rectangle, trapezoid, and parallelogram, young mathematicians discover that each shape has its own, unique symmetry. Encourage your...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Natural Selection and Evolution of Rock Pocket Mouse Populations
Can evolution repeat itself? Scholars analyze amino acid data in two separate populations of mice. They learn that evolution repeats itself, but natural selection prefers some mutations over others in different environments. Analysis...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Viral DNA Integration
How do viruses hijack our cells to produce more viral particles? Junior immunologists model how viral RNA integrates into a host cell's DNA using pop beads and use interactive tools to explore a virus' genome. The teacher's guide...
It's About Time
Volcanic Hazards: Flows
Did you know the largest volcano in our solar system is on Mars? Young scholars measure and experiment with how to predict lava and mud flows. This knowledge leads to better evacuation, safety, and preventative methods.