Omaha Zoo
Monitoring Amphibians
What sort of shoes do frogs wear? Open toad sandals. If your scholars want experience collecting field samples, this is the lesson for you. After learning the proper way to collect field samples, pupils catch amphibians to test for...
Curated OER
Weather "Whys"
Students explore the weather. In this weather data activity, students collect weather data from Internet and media sources. Students graph the collected data discuss it as well as the seasons of the year.
EngageNY
Presenting a Summary of a Statistical Project
Based upon the statistics, this is what it means. The last lesson in a series of 22 has pupils present the findings from their statistical projects. The scholars discuss the four-step process used to complete the project of their...
Curated OER
Pen Pals
Students collect bird count data at their sites, and share and compare the data collected from two different schoolyards using computer technology.
NOAA
Mapping the Deep-Ocean Floor
How do you create a map of the ocean floor without getting wet? Middle school oceanographers discover the process of bathymetric mapping in the third installment in a five-part series of lessons designed for seventh and eighth graders....
Curated OER
Gathering, Recording, and Presenting Data
Sixth graders use the local newspaper to find and discuss examples of uses of statistics and the ways in which the information is presented. They create and represent their own set of data showing how students get to school each day.
Curated OER
Linear Regression and Correlation
Learners explore scatter plots. In this linear regression lesson, groups of pupils graph scatter plots and then find the line of best fit. They identify outliers and explain the correlation. Each group summarizes and shares their...
Museum of Tolerance
Why is This True?
Are wages based on race? On gender? Class members research wages for workers according to race and gender, create graphs and charts of their data, and compute differences by percentages. They then share their findings with adults and...
Curated OER
Water in the Atmosphere
A slide show serves as the backdrop for a lesson on the moisture in Earth's atmosphere. Through it, mini meteorologists learn about the attributes of the atmosphere and actually use data-collecting weather tools to make observations and...
Science 4 Inquiry
The Ups and Downs of Populations
Life has its ups and downs ... especially if you're an animal! Biology scholars engage in a population study through an inquiry-based lesson. Pupils work together to explore the factors that affect deer populations, then examine the...
Teach Engineering
Searching for Bigfoot and Others Like Him
Individuals create a GIS data layer in Google Earth that displays information about where one might find seven different cryptids. The class members research to find data on cryptid sightings they can include in their data...
Teach Engineering
Spring Away!
The last segment of the nine-part unit makes a connection between springs and linear equations. Groups hang weights from the spring and measure its length. Then, using the data collected, they calculate the slope to find the k-value...
NASA
Geographical Influences
"If global warming is real, why is it so cold?" Distinguishing the difference between weather and climate is important when it comes to understanding our planet. In these activities, young scientists look at the climate patterns in a...
Achieve
BMI Calculations
Obesity is a worldwide concern. Using survey results, learners compare local BMI statistics to celebrity BMI statistics. Scholars create box plots of the data, make observations about the shape and spread of the data, and examine the...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Preparing for Project BudBurst
Male deer growing antlers to begin the breeding season is an example of a phenological event. First in a four-part series is an activity requiring individuals to collect phenological data on their campus. Classes discuss phenology, the...
Curated OER
Operation Spaghetti
Find the math in recipes. Young chefs will follow a recipe and investigate the total cost for materials. They measure amounts of food necessary for the recipe and compute the per person cost.
EngageNY
Modeling Relationships with a Line
What linear equation will fit this data, and how close is it? Through discussion and partner work, young mathematicians learn the procedure to determine a regression line in order to make predictions from the data.
Concord Consortium
Here Comes the Sun
Many phenomena in life are periodic in nature. A task-based lesson asks scholars to explore one of these phenomena. They collect data showing the sunrise time of a specific location over the period of a year. Using the data, they create...
Curated OER
Representing Data 2: Using Box Plots
What information can be gleaned from a box and whiskers plot? Discuss the five summary values - minimum, maximum, upper and lower quartiles, and median - and what conclusions can be made from these values? Included here is a matching...
American Statistical Association
How Random Is the iPod’s Shuffle?
Shuffle the resource into your lesson repertoire. Scholars use randomly-generated iPod Shuffle playlists to develop ideas about randomness. They use a new set of playlists to confirm their ideas, and then decide whether the iPod randomly...
EngageNY
Sampling Variability and the Effect of Sample Size
The 19th installment in a 25-part series builds upon the sampling from the previous unit and takes a larger sample. Pupils compare the dot plots of sample means using two different sample sizes to find which one has the better variability.
Computer Science Unplugged
Battleships—Searching Algorithms
How does a computer perform a search in order to find data? The lesson begins with a demonstration on finding one number out of 15. Pairs then play three games of Battleship by using different search techniques. The lesson...
EngageNY
Margin of Error When Estimating a Population Proportion (part 1)
Use the power of mathematics to find the number of red chips in a bag — it's a little like magic! The activity asks learners to collect data to determine the percentage of red chips in a bag. They calculate the margin of error and...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan Outline for Rainbow Science
Young scientists study light reflection and refraction as they determine the critical angle, the rainbow angle, and color separation in rainbows. Teams record the data they collect in a shared spreadsheet and discuss results with the class.