Students estimate the distance of student's broad jumps. This activity can take place in the block center with a small group of students. They are explained that they are going to jump from a starting point (marked with the masking...

How fast does water cool? First fifth graders will draw a line on a graph that predicts how fast they think water can cool from boiling. Then they plot the actual data on the same graph to see if their estimate was correct.

Estimate and explore the length and weight of classroom items using standard measurement and scales. Students will work in groups to determine appropriate measuring tools, weigh or measure items, and record their results on a data chart....

Determine the power hog in the house. Pupils learn the difference between power and energy before participating in a hands-on activity. Using a power meter, pairs measure the actual power used for several household devices, estimate the...

Students use the Live Access Server (LAS) to form maps and a numerical text file of snow cover for each continent on a particular date and analyze the data for each map, corresponding text file to determine an estimate of snow cover for...

Help learners discover methods to estimate animal population. They will participate in a simulation of catching and tagging fish in order to estimate the fish population. They scoop and count goldfish crackers, record data, and use...

Learners estimate the area of states using the formulas for the areas of rectangles, squares, and triangles. In this geometric shapes lesson, students divide irregular shaped states into shapes. They use the formulas for areas of...

Upper graders practice their estimation skills by observing different objects then making their best guess without using measuring instruments. Students are asked to estimate mass, length, volume, and area.

A wonderful lesson incorporating math and physics skills along with specific details about the planetary bodies. The cross-curricular approach makes for a valid activity to challenge multiple ages and abilities. Your class could work in...

Are serving sizes for different foods always appropriate for what you need? In this hands-on activity, learners work in groups to estimate what one serving size of various foods are, and then evaluate their hypotheses by measuring...

In an introductory lesson, youngsters take a pre-assessment quiz, get a grasp of a gram of mass, and then estimate the mass of microorganisms that live within a human body. Using Glo Germ™, a material that allows you to simulate the...

Uranium 235 has a half-life of over 700 million years and is the fuel used in the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. Pupils see the half-lives and decay rates of Carbon-14 and Uranium-238. They also take measurements of these two...

Based on the rate of melting observed from 2003-2007 in Greenland, it would take less than 10 minutes to fill the Dallas Cowboys' Stadium. The 17th instructional activity in a series of 21 has scholars use the ICESat data to understand...

Learners estimate and determine the number of cents (pennies) that are needed to equal the mass of a variety of common objects. They develop a process for measuring and explore concepts related to units of measurement.

Upper graders experiment with measurement. They estimate the length, volume, and weight of various objects, then rotate through stations making predictions concerning measurements and then testing their predictions.

How much rain can that cloud make? Through a simulation, the class estimates the amount of candy rain contained in different cup clouds. After probing the clouds using different methods, class members adjust their estimates. Participants...

This Groundhog's Day, challenge scholars to predict, estimate, tally, and graph in a weather-themed lesson in which class members play the role of the groundhog to forecast the weather come February second. 

Learners conduct a simulation to explore how scientists estimate the size of animal populations. They analyze a random sample and then extrapolate those results to a larger population. Additionally, they will apply the principals of...

Compare sizes of student footprints with those of elephants and sauropod dinosaurs! Upper graders make estimations of the areas of irregular shapes; students use grids to make and explain estimates within low and high ranges.

Ninth graders produce a projected, pinhole image of the sun and from measurement of the image and projection distance, calculate the actual size of the sun. They estimate the sun's apparent brightness from different planet.

Measurement devices can be used to determine the height, length, or weight of all kinds of things, even plants and animals. This presentation acts as the basis for two estimation activities. Each activity requires the children to...

Students are challenged to come up with a good estimate of the amount of air in foamed polystyrene products. They use this gas evolution experiment and as such have students measure the gas generated when foamed polystyrene is degassed...

How temperature affects the efficiency of a solar panel is the focus of the third in a series of eight resources that presents how engineers are able to control the temperatures of photovoltaic panels. Class members find out how the...

How old is the plant? Here is a task that presents the exponential decay function for carbon 14 in a plant. Pupils use the function to estimate the amount of carbon 14 in the plant when it died and analyze the function to find what...