Common Core is all about getting your learners to open their minds and think about the why and how. This problem has them thinking about unknown numbers and their relationship with one another when we round and...

Don't use use a fraction of the resource — use it all! Scholars attempt a set of five problem-of-the-month challenges on fractions. Levels A and B focus on creating fractions and equivalent fractions, while Levels C, D, and E touch on...

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...

What makes number pairs perfect? The resource provides five problems regarding perfect pairs of numbers, the definition of which changes in complexity with each task. Solutions require pupils to apply number sense and operations, as well...

A second attack at figuring out the number of leaves on a tree, this activity makes both an excellent follow-up to version 1 and a stand-alone activity. Learners practice setting parameters and deciding acceptable estimate precision, and...

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...

Investigating the large numbers of science is the task in a simple but deep activity. Given a one-sentence problem set-up and some basic assumptions, the class sets off on an open-ended investigation that really gives some...

Using a real-world example, this problem illustrates the thought process that learners need to engage in to understand adding mixed numbers with common denominators. First by looking at estimation, and then by drawing models that...

Wonder how many pieces of candy a teacher can eat. Pupils watch a video of candy in a bowl as some candy is removed to be eaten and others are added. Learners devise questions about the situation along with estimated solutions. Scholars...

Was there a baby boom? Using census data, class members take a look at the number of 8-11 year olds and determine their birth years. Scholars create a double line graph to compare the number of births for two states for several years....

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...

A jar is filled with 1,500 marbles and customers of a bank can enter a contest to guess the correct percentage of blue marbles. How can an employee at the bank estimate the actual percentage without physically counting all 1,500 marbles?...

if you've ever had to guess how many items were in a jar, then this problem is for you! With a big jar full of red and white marbles, does picking a sample of 16 allow your learners to get a good estimate on the percentages of each...

What makes a good sample? Your classes collaborate to answer this question through a task involving areas of rectangles. Given a set of 100 rectangles, they sample a set of five rectangles to estimate the average area of the figures. The...

Your archaeologists begin this task with a table of values to estimate the time passed based on the half-life of Carbon 14 remaining in a plant. They then move on to find when a specific amount of Carbon 14 is present in the same plant,...

For kids, taking a vacation is all fun and games, but after completing this pre-algebra project, they'll have a whole new appreciation for the planning that makes these trips possible. Given a budget of $5,000 to spend on purchasing the...

In an open-ended problem, learners calculate costs involved in driving an ice cream van. Is it better to park in one place or drive through different neighborhoods? Learners look at these and other factors and must make reasonable...

Take the resource out of the file cabinet. Young mathematicians estimate the number of sticky notes it would take to cover the surface area of a file cabinet. They answer a set of questions on how the number of sticky notes would change...

First graders are exposed to addition of three whole numbers in a math activity centered around Eric Carle's, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. As the teacher reads, young mathematicians use counters and ten-frames to symbolize the number of...

Do you separate your trail mix before eating it? Then you've been separating mixtures your whole life! Scholars model a contaminated soil sample using trail mix and estimate the percentage of each component. They consider how to clean up...

Customers often want ribbon around fancy cakes, but how does a baker know how much ribbon to buy? Scholars view a cake with multiple layers in different geometric shapes. They must figure the perimeter and circumference and add them...

Tell the story of the math. Given a graph of a linear system, learners write a story that models the graph before crafting the corresponding functions. Graphs intersect at an estimated point, allowing for different variations in the...

A mass extinction event caused by an impact usually leaves a crater. Scholars use data from 10 different sites around the world trying to determine where to look for the crater. They use data, listing the amount of various minerals to...

Take your best educated guess. After being presented with a video of a glass of candies, class members estimate the number of each color of candies. Pupils view a graphic showing more information on the fraction of candies before...