Baylor College
What Dissolves in Water?
One of water's claims to fame is as the universal solvent. Young physical scientists experiment to discover which materials dissolve in this special compound. You could never be more prepared for teaching this lesson than by using this...
MARS - Mathematics Assessment Resource Service
Applying Properties of Exponents
The properties of exponents are all linked together and it is your mathematicians' job to discover and apply those rules. The comprehensive instructional activity begins with a pre-assessment task to check for prior knowledge and then...
Curated OER
Patterns in the Multiplication Table
Explore patterns in the multiplication table in order to deepen your third graders' understanding of this essential skill. Implement this activity as a whole-class lesson, allowing students to work in pairs or small groups to support...
Illustrative Mathematics
Right Triangles Inscribed in Circles II
So many times the characteristics of triangles are presented as a vocabulary-type of lesson, but in this activity they are key to unraveling a proof. A unique attack on proving that an inscribed angle that subtends a diameter must be a...
Curated OER
Pi Day: The Other Math Holiday!
Happy Pi Day! This collection of games, experiments, and activities leads participants through an exploration of the many aspects and attributes of that mysterious quantity, pi. Activities range from using statistical...
Illustrative Mathematics
Extensions, Bisections and Dissections in a Rectangle
Gaining practice in translating a verbal description into a diagram and then an equation is the real point of this similar triangles exercise. Once the diagram is drawn, multiple methods are provided to reach the conclusion. An effective...
Teach Engineering
Ranking the Rocks for Desired Properties
Math rocks! Cavern design teams determine the rankings of rock types based upon desirability points. The points are connected to the properties of the rocks and their usefulness in building a cavern.
Teach Engineering
Rocks, Rocks, Rocks: Test, Identify Properties and Classify
Time is growing short. Teams work together to identify physical properties of rocks in order to determine the properties that would best suit their cavern shelter design.
Illustrative Mathematics
Placing a Fire Hydrant
Triangle centers and the segments that create them easily become an exercise in memorization, without the help of engaging applications like this instructional activity. Here the class investigates the measure of center that is...
Illustrative Mathematics
Numbers in a Multiplication Table
Identifying patterns is a crucial skill for all mathematicians, young and old. Explore the multiplication table with your class, using patterns and symmetry to teach about square numbers, prime numbers, and the commutative and identity...
Illustrative Mathematics
What is a Trapezoid? (Part 2)
This collaborative activity investigates the meaning of a trapezoid and a parallelogram. It begins by presenting two different definitions of a trapezoid. Learners are to reason abstractly the difference between the two definitions and...
Illustrative Mathematics
The Sign of Solutions
Positive or negative, zero or no solution, are all possibilities for the solution of a linear equation. Here the resource gives examples of linear equations in one variable and their type of solutions. The resource comes with commentary...
Illustrative Mathematics
Bank Shot
Young geometers become pool sharks in this analysis of the angles and lengths of a trick shot. By using angles of incidence and reflection to develop similar triangles, learners plan the exact placement of balls to make the shot....
Curated OER
Symmetry of the Addition Table
Help your class discover the commutative property of addition with this exploration of the addition table. By folding and coloring the table, a symmetry is found that directs students to an understanding of this crucial mathematical...
Baylor College
What Makes Water Special?
Get close up and personal with a drop of water to discover how the polarity of its molecules affect its behavior. Elementary hydrologists split and combine water droplets, and also compare them to drops of oil. Much neater than placing a...
Illustrative Mathematics
Right Triangles Inscribed in Circles I
One of the basic properties of inscribed angles gets a triangle proof treatment in a short but detailed exercise. Leading directions take the learner through identifying characteristics of a circle and how they relate to angles and...
Curated OER
Inscribing a Hexagon in a Circle
This activity is a follow-on activity to inscribing a square in a circle. The overall problem is more complex. It deals with geometric constructions, properties of triangles, and regular hexagons. The final part of the activity...
Illustrative Mathematics
Discounted Books
Adolescents love to shop, especially when an item is discounted. Here, shoppers only have a set amount of money to spend. Will they be able to make a purchase with the discount and tax added in? Percent discounts can be calculated...
Baylor College
Water: Post-Assessment
Very simply, the science class will discuss what they have learned during The Science of Water unit and take a multiple-choice post-assessment quiz. A few other closing activities are suggested for you to choose from, such as having...
Education Development Center
Finding Parallelogram Vertices
Four is the perfect number—if you're talking about parallelograms. Scholars determine a possible fourth vertex of a parallelogram in the coordinate plane given the coordinates of three vertices. They read a conversation...
Noyce Foundation
Cubism
If cubism were a religion, would you follow it? Lower-level tasks focus primarily on counting the number cubes in a structure and relating the number to surface area. As learners progress to higher-level tasks, isometric drawings and...
Curated OER
Domino Addition
Hands-on learning in math is essential to all learners, especially youngsters. In a math learning activity, young mathematicians use dominoes in order to discover the commutative property of addition. Fact families and doubles facts can...
Illustrative Mathematics
Tangent to a Circle From a Point
Learners see application of construction techniques in a short but sophisticated problem. Combining the properties of inscribed triangles with tangent lines and radii makes a nice bridge between units, a way of using...
Illustrative Mathematics
Are They Similar?
Learners separate things that just appear similar from those that are actually similar. A diagram of triangles is given, and then a variety of geometric characteristics changed and the similarity of the triangles analyzed. Because the...