Illustrative Mathematics
Sort and Count
Young mathematicians are on their feet and moving around in this primary grade sorting activity. After giving each child an object or picture card, they then sort themselves into groups, counting to see which has the most or least...
Illustrative Mathematics
Sort and Count II
Capture the engagement of young mathematicians with this hands-on sorting activity. Given a bag of objects, learners work independently sorting the items based on their physical attributes, counting to determine the size of each group....
Curated OER
Subject and Object Pronouns: Challenges
Enhance problem solving skills while refining grammar proficiency with a learning game focused on subject and object pronouns. With playing cards in hand, class members create a dialogue in which one presents a problem while the other...
Illustrative Mathematics
Longer and Heavier? Shorter and Heavier?
For many young children it seems obvious that longer objects are heavier than shorter objects. This assumption is put to the test as the class investigates the relationship between length and weight in a whole-group activity. Using a...
Illustrative Mathematics
Which Weighs More? Which Weighs Less?
Expand the the comparative language of young mathematicians with a hand-on weight measurement activity. Working independently or in pairs, children compare the weight of large wooden blocks to various other classroom objects, recording...
Illustrative Mathematics
Which Number is Greater? Which Number is Less? How do you Know?
When comparing groups of objects, it's easy for children to identify which has more, but it's not so easy for them to explain their reasoning. This simple whole-group activity provides multiple opportunities for learners to compare...
PEGAMES.org
Perfect Switch
Time to switch up the seating arrangement in your class? Need to form random groups for an in-class activity or project? The object of this game involves class members switching seats precisely according to your directions and varying...
Teach Engineering
Scale Model Project
Try your hand at scale models. Scholars create a scale model of an object using a scale factor of their choice. As part of the project, they give presentations on their processes and calculations. This is the last installment of the...
Teach Engineering
What a Drag!
Stop and drop what is in your hand! Pupils investigate how form effects drag in the 12th part of a 22-part unit on aviation. Groups create equally weighted objects and determine which one falls the fastest by collecting data.
DiscoverE
Design a Shoe
Engage young scientists in a project where high fashion meets engineering! Using foam core and hot glue, partnered pupils design and create a functional, fashionable pair of shoes. Groups then put the footwear through its paces using a...
It's About Time
Organizing a Store
When provided with multiple objects, how many ways can the class organize and display them based on predetermined factors? Assist class members with a handy activity—theoretically teaching them concepts to understand periodic table...
Teach Engineering
Physics Tug of War
Slide books with a little assistance from Newton. Using books, groups create a demonstration of Newton's Second Law of motion. Pupils compare the distance traveled by one and two books when they apply a force to them.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonics, Letter-Sound Correspondence: Letter Bag
An activity focuses on final sounds sorting. Scholars pull objects out of a bag, identify what letter sound the object ends with, then draw the picture under the appropriate column.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Phoneme Isolating, The Last Sound Is...
Partners work with real objects as they practice final phonemes. Here's how it works: Partner A silently chooses an object and sounds it out, determining the final phoneme and saying the sound aloud. Partner B examines the group of...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Phoneme Isolating, Bag-of-Sounds
In pairs, pre-readers take turns holding up objects from a bag. As one child holds up an object, the other names it and says its initial letter sound. They work together to sort the objects into piles based on how they isolated and...
Illustrative Mathematics
Tossing Cylinders
Everyone loves a lesson that involves throwing things around! To understand probability, your experimenters will predict how different cylinder-shaped objects will land when tossed. When the data is collected, they will calculate the...
It's About Time
Center of Mass
Lead your class on an exploration as they locate the center of mass in several oddly shaped two-dimensional objects they create from their imaginations. Pupils also determine the location of the center of mass in three-dimensional...
Teach Engineering
Density Column Lab - Part 2
Groups suspend objects within layers of liquids to determine the densities of different liquids and compare them to the densities of objects calculated in Part 1. The groups then carefully test their calculations by layering the liquids...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Phoneme Matching, Sound Train
Make a phonics train filled with matching initial phonemes. Early readers say the name of the objects on each of their cards, identify the initial letter sounds or phonemes, then paste them on a train. They make three trains, which means...
US Department of Agriculture
Sink or Float?
Will it sink or will it float? Learners predict the outcome as they drop random objects into a container of water. Then, they keep track of the results and record the data in a t-chart to draw a final conclusion.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Phoneme Matching, Sound Bags
Peers pair up to find, identify and match medial phonemes. Peer one pulls a card or object from a bag, names it, then says its medial sound.—peer two attempts to find a picture or object whose medial sound matches the partner.
Illustrative Mathematics
3-D Shape Sort
From the apple on your desk and the coffee cup in your hand, to the cabinets along the classroom wall, basic three-dimensional shapes are found everywhere in the world around us. Introduce young mathematicians to the these common figures...
Space Race
Sensory Detectives
Test your learners' sensory awareness with three hands-on activities that ask pupils to use their other senses to identify and describe everyday objects hidden from sight.
Teach Engineering
What is a Nanometer?
Teams learn about the size of a nanometer by measuring objects and converting those measurements. A instructional activity then tests the groups' abilities to use nanometers by having them determine the size of objects that are too small...