American Statistical Association
A Sweet Task
Candy is always an effective motivator! A fun math activity uses M&M's and Skittles to explore two-way frequency tables and conditional probability. The candy can serve a dual purpose as manipulatives and experimental data.
Chicago Teachers Union Quest Center
Factored Form of a Quadratic Function
Build upon linear functions to learn about quadratics. The lesson introduces the concept of zeros for quadratic functions and makes the connection to the linear factors of the function. It presents quadratics in both graphical and...
CK-12 Foundation
Whole Number Exponents: Teddy Bear Box
Five questions—multiple-choice, fill in the blank, and discussion—make up an interactive that challenges scholars to mail a teddy bear using the smallest box possible without squishing it. A box with movable sides allows mathematicians...
CK-12 Foundation
Proportions to Find Percents: Bag of Candy
Proportions and percents are the focus of an interactive designed to boost math proficiency. Five questions challenge participants to solve candy-themed word problems. A color-coded tool with moveable parts assists mathematicians in the...
101 Questions
Money Duck
A video presentation shows duck-shaped soap that has a $1, $5, $10, $20, or $50 bill in its center. Learners consider different population distribution of the bills to determine a reasonable price for the duck.
Concord Consortium
A Monosignic Function
Complex fractions and trigonometric expressions combine to create a challenging task ... as if they aren't challenging enough on their own! The task challenges individuals to consider the range of possible values when substituting in the...
Concord Consortium
Keeping Pace
What came first, pedestrian one or pedestrian two? Scholars consider a problem scenario in which two people walk at different rates at different times. They must decide who reaches a checkpoint first. Their answers are likely to surprise...
Math Wire
Gingerbread Man Bake Sale
Gingerbread cookies aren't just a sweet treat! Scholars identity the amount of combinations a baker can make in his gingerbread cookies using limited quantities of decorating ingredients.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Triangle Congruence with Rigid Motion
Combine transformations and triangle congruence in a single lesson plan. Scholars learn to view congruent triangles as a rigid transformation. Using triangle congruence criteria, learners identify congruent triangles and the rigid...
Shodor Education Foundation
InteGreat
Hands-on investigation of Riemann sums becomes possible without intensive arithmetic gymnastics with this interactive lesson plan. Learners manipulate online graphing tools to develop and test theories about right, left, and...
Visa
Pro Lesson Module — Financial Football
Learners won't fumble their knowledge of personal finance after an engaging game of Financial Football! As they choose their favorite teams and desired plays, young economists demonstrate their financial literacy with a question...
Noyce Foundation
Cut It Out
Explore the mathematics of the paper snowflake! During the five lessons progressing in complexity from K through 12, pupils use spatial geometry to make predictions. Scholars consider a folded piece of paper with shapes cut out....
Indiana Department of Education
The Represented World: Communication—Packaging
Challenge your classes to design and market a new product. Collaborative groups use geometry skills to create packaging for their products. Finally, they plan a marketing strategy to present to a marketing specialist.
101 Questions
Class Height Distribution
A picture is worth a thousand words, and this is no exception! The introductory photo shows a group of classmates lined up in height categories; females and males are in different colors, and the shape of the curve they create is...
Concord Consortium
Functions by the Slice
Piece by piece ... dismantling a function can highlight interesting patterns. The task asks learners to slice functions in sections with the same vertical change. They then recreate the graph with these slices positioned horizontally....
Curated OER
Music and Sports
With so much talent in the classroom, do your musicians and athletes have related interests? This problem has your learners taking data from their classmates to decide whether there is an association between the two activities. The...
Illustrative Mathematics
Shape Sequence Search
Learning that size and orientation don't affect the classification of shapes is a big step for young mathematicians. Support children with developing this key understanding by looking at the array of shapes included in this resource. For...
Illustrative Mathematics
Field Day Scarcity
Introduce young mathematicians to concepts of financial literacy with this open-ended word problem. With seven dollars to spend during field day and given a list of available items and their prices, children must determine how they want...
Texas Woman’s University
Patterns, Patterns Everywhere!
Not only is pattern recognition an essential skill for young children to develop, it's also a lot of fun to teach! Over the course of this lesson, class members participate in shared readings, perform small group...
Illustrative Mathematics
Solar Eclipse
Learners take on the role of astronomers, calculating conditions necessary for a total solar eclipse. Concepts of similar triangles and properties of circles come together as pupils create ratios and use real measurements in determining...
Illustrative Mathematics
Equal Area Triangles on the Same Base II
A deceptively simple question setup leads to a number of attack methods and a surprisingly sophisticated solution set in this open-ended problem. Young geometers of different strengths can go about defining the solutions graphically,...
Illustrative Mathematics
Trigonometric Ratios and the Pythagorean Theorem
Take an alternative route with trigonometry and let learners connect a tweaked version of the pythagorean theorem to the original in terms of triangle sides. The assignment leads participants towards deriving the Pythagorean identity...
Illustrative Mathematics
Springboard Dive
Quadratics and height application problems go hand in hand like teenagers and sleeping in. High schoolers must look at the equation of a diver's height and calculate such features as the height of dive board, time entering the water, and...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Particle Motion
Derivatives are useful for many things — they can even keep track of particle motion. An informative lesson plan provides an introduction to the idea of the second derivative in particle motion. Class members determine the...