Nuffield Foundation
Extracting DNA from Living Things
Help! Someone's trying to take my DNA! An interesting lab experiment has scholars use basic materials to extract DNA. By applying ethanol, cold water, and a protease enzyme, like pineapple juice, they pull strands of DNA from peas,...
Serendip
Homeostasis, Negative Feedback, and Positive Feedback
So many bodily activities depend on homeostasis! Give learners a solid background to understand the basic process of the human body. Scholars first examine negative feedback loops contributing to body temperature regulation and then a...
California Education Partners
Summer Olympics
Quickly get to the decimal point. The last assessment in a nine-part series requires scholars to work with decimals. Pupils compare the race times of several athletes and calculate how much they have improved over time. During the second...
Curated OER
Sort It Out
Elementary schoolers engage in a game of logical reasoning called Secret Sort. A Venn diagram is used as a way to sort objects. This resource would be a great way to introduce the Venn diagram (maybe the most famous, and most-useful...
Curated OER
Light, Colors, and Vision
Third graders experience optic illusions by creating flipbooks. In this optics lesson, 3rd graders view a demonstration of the workings of rods and cones using a camera. They are shown an optical illusion and work to create their own...
Curated OER
Even/Odds Game
Using a game format, learners review what they know about theoretical probability. As they roll tetrahedron dice, they record their results as odd or even. Afterwards, they discuss their findings.
Curated OER
Tens! Hundreds! Thousands!!! of Tons
Fifth graders take a close look at the types of ships that travel through the Hudson River Valley on the Hudson River. They utilize worksheets embedded in the plan in order to answer questions about exactly what is being shipped, and how...
Curated OER
Data Analysis and Probability: Graphing Candy with Excel
Collect and graph data using Microsoft Excel with your math class. They will make predictions about the number of each colored candy in a bag of M&M's, then sort, classify, count, and record the actual data before using Excel to...
Curated OER
Visual Arts - Mexican Indian Yarn Painting
Have you ever seen a Mexican yarn painting? They're beautiful! Create a Mexican yarn painting with your class using this lesson. Start by discussing Mexico's culture and viewing different yarn paintings. After reading about important...
Curated OER
Cutting Expenses
Students explore budgeting. In this finance and math lesson, students brainstorm ways in which households could save money. Students view websites that give cost reducing ideas. Students complete an expense comparison chart and use the...
Kent State University
How Does that Work?
Sixth and seventh graders explore algebra word problems. They work with a partner to solve word problems distributed by e-mail. Learners simplify mathematical expressions following a "think aloud" algebra strategy modeled by the teacher....
Curated OER
Tracking the Salt Front
Using the Hudson River as the focus, learners discuss the difference between salt water and fresh water environments, analyze maps and graphs, and complete addition and subtraction problems. This lesson comes with a wealth of...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Cloud Sculpting
Dance is a fantastic way to communicate thoughts, feelings, and even science concepts. Make this activity a part of your next unit on weather and clouds. Kids will discuss types of clouds, how they look, and what they do. Then, they will...
EngageNY
Complex Numbers and Transformations
Your learners combine their knowledge of real and imaginary numbers and matrices in an activity containing thirty lessons, two assessments (mid-module and end module), and their corresponding rubrics. Centered on complex numbers and...
Curated OER
Middle School General Music Unit Plans
Here's a collection of unit plans for middle school musicians. Topics include the mbira, opera, rhythm and culture, music in Africa, music in the movies, music theory and notation, blues and jazz, and the ocarina. Definitely worth a look.
Achieve
Rabbit Food
Keep your pets slim, trim, and healthy using mathematics! Pupils use a linear programming model to optimize the amount and type of food to provide to a pet rabbit. They model constraints by graphing inequalities and use them to analyze a...
Inside Mathematics
Graphs (2006)
When told to describe a line, do your pupils list its color, length, and which side is high or low? Use a learning exercise that engages scholars to properly label line graphs. It then requests two applied reasoning answers.
University of Nottingham
Modeling Conditional Probabilities: 2
Bring the concept of conditional probability alive by allowing your classes to explore different probability scenarios. Many tasks have multiple solutions that encourage students to continue exploring their problems even after a solution...
PHET
Where to See an Aurora
Where can you see an aurora in North America? After completing an astronomy activity, scholars can locate the exact coordinates. Pupils plot points of the inner and outer ring of the auroral oval and answer questions based on...
Inside Mathematics
Population
Population density, it is not all that it is plotted to be. Pupils analyze a scatter plot of population versus area for some of the states in the US. The class members respond to eight questions about the graph, specific points and...
Beyond Benign
Green"er" Precipitation Reaction
All sodium carbonate may not have the same amount of carbonate, but it should have the same percent. Learners write and balance an equation to predict the chemical reaction between sodium carbonate and zinc acetate. Through the lab...
Shodor Education Foundation
Two Variable Function Pump
Use a function to operate on two variables. Pupils look at operating with complex numbers as a function of two variables. The interactive squares the input and adds a constant to it. Learners visualize the resulting output and its...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Developing an Explanation for Mouse Fur Color
Whether or not you think mice are nice, you'll love the colorful activity! Scholars examine evidence for evolution in the rock pocket mouse through video, discussion, and collaborative work. Learners watch a video regarding variation in...
Kenan Fellows
Weight and Balance of an Airplane
A career in aeronautics might be calling your class members. Building from the previous two lessons in the series, learners continue analyzing the mathematics of aeronautics. Groups create a paper airplane using paperclips for balance....