It seems the post office has run out of stamps! Learners build all the values of postage available if the post office only sells five- and seven-cent stamps. The task provides an opportunity to create an expression in two variables and...

"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" makes the perfect theme song for meiosis. The simulation encourages scholars to move the chromosomes and chromatids to properly illustrate the meiosis break up. Multiple-choice questions allow...

Evaluate patterns of numbers through an engaging task. Scholars work collaboratively to determine a general rule reflecting the sum of consecutive positive integers. Multiple patterns emerge as learners explore different arrangements.

How can you determine the rate of change on a curve? Pupils use the interactive to discover what happens with the average rate of change as the point move closer to the other. Using the definition of the derivative, learners find that it...

Help your class develop an understanding of sigma notation. Pupils match the sigma notation with the sums. Using the expanded sums, learners evaluate the summations. The scholars move on to prove a property of sums.

Be a vet for a day! Scholars test their veterinarian skills by assessing symptoms and making a diagnosis. They then evaluate biotechnology tests to verify the diagnosis. 

Effective or ineffective? As part of a study of post Civil War America, young historians analyze a series of primary sources to evaluate the effectiveness of the Freedmen's Bureau in addressing the challenges faced by the slaves freed by...

Young historians investigate and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies the Civil Rights Movement used to end segregation in the United States. After watching an video interview with Carl Matthews and Bill Stevens who participated...

Reverse the wrapping to get to the gift. Using the idea of unwrapping a gift, the lesson introduces the concept of inverses. Pupils first determine the order needed to evaluate a function at a point, then use the reverse to find the...

Help your class get out of a sticky situation! Future engineers explore existing tape dispensers and then design a new system for dispensing tape. To put these systems to the test, they build and evaluate prototypes of their designs.

Sometimes playing games in class isn't a bad thing. Science sleuths evaluate and calculate pH and pOH with an online resource. They then manipulate concentration information and relate it during a series of puzzles.

Four stations challenge scholars to show what they know about the safety of taking and storing medications. Small groups rotate to read and answer questions regarding prescriptions drugs, examine prescription labels, identify appropriate...

This activity may have writers evaluate short compositions, but their subjects are quite tall: great Americans. Pupils read one another's compositions and closely examine how specific phrases and diction contribute to shaping American...

The reviews for Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin were as divisive as the novel itself. High schoolers finish the novel unit with an evaluation of the book's initial reviews, its characters' dreams and fears of...

A good prompt is hard to find, especially ones that encourage application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of a text. Help is here in the form of a prompt list for George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four that offers essay topics that...

How does a president save a country from itself? Readers learn how the Civil War began and how Lincoln managed it with a reading comprehension passage. They then demonstrate their understanding with multiple choice questions that...

Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery and led the Union out of the most tumultuous time in American history. An informative passage and paired questions evaluate learners' understanding of main ideas, supporting points, and domain-specific...

Are your young physicists static-savvy? Test their skills using an engaging interactive from the Static Electricity series! Learners evaluate scenarios to determine how charges move between conductors and insulators, then identify...

When researchers write a paper, they become curators of information. It's their job to determine the best sources of information on a topic and use those sources to inform their writing. As part of a larger series, a handout on annotated...

Let's talk torque! Science scholars evaluate experimental setups during an interactive from the Rotation and Balance series. Individuals calculate the torque of differently arranged weights to determine the effect they have on a balanced...

Out of the swimming pool and into the math classroom! Young mathematicians analyze two linear functions representing the number of liters of water in a pool as it drains over time. They must evaluate functions, interpret function...

Sorting memories doesn't have to be difficult. Young mathematicians evaluate two different methods of sorting yearbook pictures. They answer a set of questions to explore each method, then develop their own sorting procedure based on...

How hard can it be to measure out two pounds? A short performance task introduces a situation where a balance scale is broken. It gives a method for measuring out two pounds and asks learners to evaluate the procedure. They must prove...

Use essential elements cards to help lesson plan! Each card contains an informational text common core standard for grade levels six through eight and suggestions for activities and supports. Cards address skills such as citing textual...