Beauty and Joy of Computing
Unsolvable and Undecidable Problems
Try as you might, some functions just cannot be computed. The lab introduces the class to the possibility of unsolvable problems. The fourth lesson in a series of seven begins with a logic problem, then progresses to looking at functions...
Scouts
The Deadly Picnic: A Lab on Deductive Reasoning
Whodunnit? Find out who killed Mr. Brooks through a logical examination of evidence. Class members fill out a couple of data tables to help them pin down the suspect. After they've figured out just who the culprit is, pupils compose...
Curated OER
House and Holmes: A Guide to Deductive and Inductive Reasoning
Test your pupils' reasoning skills with several activities and a quick mystery to solve. Learners watch and analyze a few video clips that demonstrate reasoning in action, practice deduction with an interactive and collaborative...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1
Focus on writing argument essays with your high schoolers. The lesson suggested here focuses on The Jungle, by Sinclair Lewis; however, the idea could be adapted for other texts. Check out the quick quiz provided at the end of the...
Consortium for Ocean Leadership
Measure for Measure
How does your class measure up? Young scientists create a scale drawing of the JOIDES Resolution in a collaborative activity. The lesson incorporates mathematical principles with deep-sea exploration to focus on enhancing measurement...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Made Up Math
Is there a way to connect creative thinking, logical reasoning, mathematical understanding, and humor? You bet there is! Kids begin by creating creative math quizzes, which require creative thinking to solve. For example, 1+1=24, one...
Noyce Foundation
Digging Dinosaurs
Build a function to solve problems rooted in archeology. A comprehensive set of five lessons presents problems requiring individuals to use functions. The initial lesson asks learners to find the possible number of dinosaurs from a...
Illinois State Curriculum Center
Gender Roles and Careers
Should men be willing to work for women? Can women think as logically as men? Here is an interesting activity in which learners complete a survey regarding gender roles and then consider whether their scores reflect traditional or...
Curated OER
Create Your Own Country Project
Young scholars demonstrate their knowledge of geography with this fun, collaborative social studies project. Working in small groups, students develop their very own countries, writing descriptions...
Education Development Center
Geography of the Number Line
It's more than just numbers on a line, its an organizational, mental math machine to help learners understand the value of numbers. The tool is handy when introducing positive and negative integers to see their values and...
Curated OER
The BEAM Project: Building Efficient Architectural Models
Technology or engineering teams are given a task to design, construct, and test the efficiency of a structure that will foster an even temperature throughout an entire sunny day. Intended as a long-term project, pupils research, plan,...
Omaha Zoo
I Like to Move It
What do lemurs do best? They move! Lemurs like to jump, run, hop, and climb and it's your class's job to document seven fun lemur behaviors. The class starts by discussing why lemurs are considered primates, and then they isolate seven...
Denton Independent School District
Pieces to the Puzzle Fraction Project
Four polygons each have a fraction with unlike denominators printed on them. Creative math minds select several shapes to create a design with and then write and solve a math problem involving the addition of all of the fractions...
Noyce Foundation
Tri-Triangles
Develop an understanding of algebraic sequences through an exploration of patterns. Five leveled problems target grade levels from elementary through high school. Each problem asks young mathematicians to recognize a geometric pattern....
Curated OER
Find Parabolas through Two Points
Your learners will write quadratic functions whose graphs include specific points and explore how these graphs are related to each other.
Resources for Educators
Fractions of Fun
Reinforce concepts and encourage learner engagement with a collection of math games, science experiments, and cross curricular activities. In one fun resource, learners sort objects, keep a diary of everyday fractions, play a game using...
Jen London
Julius Caesar Funeral Speech Essay Assignment
"Romans, countrymen, and lovers! Hear me for my cause." "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!" As part of a study of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, individuals as asked to compare the funeral speeches of Brutus and...
Illustrative Mathematics
Use Cavalieri’s Principle to Compare Aquarium Volumes
Learners are designing a stunning new water feature for an aquarium, but they soon discover that more than just a pretty home for their fishy friends is required. From calculating the volume of a composite shape through the...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.3
Don't let your pupils take everything at face value! They should analyze and evaluate what speakers say. Practice this skill with the two related activities described here. After brainstorming critical questions, learners can listen to...
Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching
Ten Data Analysis Activities
This thirteen page data analysis learning exercise contains a number of interesting problems regarding statistics. The activities cover the concepts of average measurements, standard deviation, box and whisker plots, quartiles, frequency...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.8
Your learners need to develop skills to argue effectively, and this comes by understanding the traditions that make claims valid, and what detracts from their effectiveness. Although this resource does not give advice on how to...
University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge: Nrich: Buckets of Thinking
Trial and error is just one of the problem solving strategies that you could use to solve this bucket problem. After you finish view the solution at this one page website.
University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge: Nrich: Heads and Feet
Solve this problem about hens and sheep and practice your algebraic thinking all at the same time. A solution is provided at this one page website.