Contains plans for eight 50-minute lessons that use Ezra Jack Keats books to teach predicting, comparing and contrasting, and problem solving. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to PDF...

After reading excerpts in which Buck solves a problem in Jack London's The Call of the Wild, students write their own three-paragraph animal stories imitating London's style and word choice. Teacher and student instructions are provided...

The lesson uses the story, "Brothers of the Knight," by Debbie Allen, to launch a writing lesson based on a creative solution to the problem presented in the story.

This unit introduces students to some of the building blocks of how computers work without using a computer at all. The lessons keep students actively involved in communication, problem solving, creativity, and thinking skills in...

Students will solve a word problem with various outcomes by creating a meaningful representation of the problem by using objects, pictures, or equations. An explanation is provided.

The purpose of this task is for students to relate addition and subtraction problems to money and to situations and goals related to saving money. A problem is given that will contain multiple solutions, this allows students to think...

The following problem is posed to the class: A pencil costs 59 cents, and a sticker costs 20 cents less. How much do a pencil and a sticker cost together? The solution with explanation is included on this site.

Encourage young scholars to apply creative thinking to historical research in order to predict the future. This page provides three different activities that encourage creativity.

Provided are three activities that help pupils develop communication skills by using creative experimentation.

The purpose of this task is for learners to solve a multi-step problem involving simple interest. The Aligns with 7.RP.A.3. The task provides both a problem and the solution.

The picture book One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference, written by Kate Smith Milway, takes place in Africa. Here in a Ghanan village, young Kojo cannot afford to go to school after the death of his father. His resourceful...

An interesting way to make math more creative. This page gives ideas for three different exercises that encourage students to use math in a creative way.

The purpose of this task is for learners to find different pairs of numbers that sum to 4. Students will solve an everyday problem in their head and then model their solution using counters. They can represent their solutions using...

This role-playing instructional activity enhances students' creativity and develops critical thinking skills. Small groups of students conduct Internet research on the skills necessary to survive when marooned on a Pacific island. Groups...

Students are given a word problem with multiple solutions. They are challenged to solve the problem using manipulatives, to draw a picture to represent their work, and possibly record their responses using equations. Examples of...

The teacher will pose a sequence of questions for students to solve using objects, pictures, or equations. Students will develop a sense of quantities and how they are related to a problem situation.

Students are asked to solve a word problem with both addends unknown. They will write an equation and draw a picture to use to explain their answer.

Students will solve a variety of word problems with differing levels of difficulty. They may use objects, pictures, or equations to represent their solutions.

This task uses language, half of the stamps, that students associate with multiplication by the fraction 1/2. Students will understand half of 120 to mean the number obtained by dividing 120 by 2. For students who are unfamiliar with...

This task presents a straight forward question that can be solved using an equation in one variable. The numbers are complicated enough so that it is natural to set up an equation rather than solve the problem in one's head. Aligns with...

This word problem focuses on the Put Together/Take Apart contexts for addition and subtraction. Students may use objects, pictures, or equations to represent their solutions. Examples and explanations are provided.

In this young scholars are asked to write an equation to solve a real-world problem. There are two natural approaches to this task. In the first approach, students have to notice that even though there is one variable, namely the number...

This lesson plan has students solving a real world word problem using addition or subtraction.

This complete lesson plan has students solve word problems using addition and subtraction within 20.