This is a rectangle subdivision task; ideally instead of counting each square. …
This is a rectangle subdivision task; ideally instead of counting each square. students should break the letters into rectangles, multiply to find the areas, and add up the areas. However, students should not be discouraged from using individual counting to start if they are stuck. Often students will get tired of counting and devise the shortcut method themselves.
This Lesson Plan goes over how to find the Mean, Median, Mode, …
This Lesson Plan goes over how to find the Mean, Median, Mode, IQR, and Mean Absolute Deviation of a data set. We will go over some generic examples in the lesson and then do some practical application, as we find each of these from the samples taken to ensure consistent weight of the paper from BPM.
Students learn about civil engineers and work through each step of the …
Students learn about civil engineers and work through each step of the engineering design process in two mini-activities that prepare them for a culminating challenge to design and build the tallest straw tower possible, given limited time and resources. First they examine the profiles of the tallest 20 towers in the world. Then in the first mini-activity (one-straw tall tower), student pairs each design a way to keep one straw upright with the least amount of tape and fewest additional straws. In the second mini-activity (no "fishing pole"), the pairs determine the most number of straws possible to construct a vertical straw tower before it bends at 45 degrees—resembling a fishing pole shape. Students learn that the taller a structure, the more tendency it has to topple over. In the culminating challenge (tallest straw tower), student pairs apply what they have learned and follow the steps of the engineering design process to create the tallest possible model tower within time, material and building constraints, mirroring the real-world engineering experience of designing solutions within constraints. Three worksheets are provided, for each of two levels, grades K-2 and grades 3-5. The activity scales up to school-wide, district or regional competition scale.
The purpose of this task is for students to decompose a figure …
The purpose of this task is for students to decompose a figure into rectangles and then find the total area by adding the area of all of its smaller, non-overlapping rectangles.
Meet the Visual Communicators—a team of scientists from the Schloss Visual Reasoning …
Meet the Visual Communicators—a team of scientists from the Schloss Visual Reasoning Lab who research visual messaging.
Resources available for learning about this lab include: • Interactive cards designed to introduce students to scientists in a more personal way • A video with a personal story that explains why the lab's research matters in real life • Questions to consider that will spark connection, reflection, and conversation • An interactive video experience where you can ask questions of scientists in the lab and learn about their research • An inquiry-based activity that focuses on doing science, using some of the same science practices that the lab uses • An educator guide with information about standards alignment, curriculum connections, and tips for using the media resources
These resources are part of Meet the Lab, a collection of educational resources for middle school classrooms.
Challenged with a hypothetical engineering work situation in which they need to …
Challenged with a hypothetical engineering work situation in which they need to figure out the volume and surface area of a nuclear power plant’s cooling tower (a hyperbolic shape), students learn to calculate the volume of complex solids that can be classified as solids of revolution or solids with known cross sections. These objects of complex shape defy standard procedures to compute volumes. Even calculus techniques depend on the ability to perform multiple measurements of the objects or find functional descriptions of their edges. During both guided and independent practice, students use (free GeoGebra) geometry software, a photograph of the object, a known dimension of it, a spreadsheet application and integral calculus techniques to calculate the volume of complex shape solids within a margin of error of less than 5%—an approach that can be used to compute the volumes of big or small objects. This activity is suitable for the end of the second semester of AP Calculus classes, serving as a major grade for the last six-week period, with students’ project results presentation grades used as the second semester final test.
Wake is a science game that challenges students with engaging and authentic …
Wake is a science game that challenges students with engaging and authentic missions in a variety of ocean-based ecosystems, designed to target the NGSS science practices of experimentation, modeling, and argumentation, in the context of middle school life sciences.
In the game, students take the role of a scientist studying ocean ecosystems, traveling to different ocean research sites to answer questions and solve problems. Students play the game at their own pace, working individually, and taking on gradually more complex science challenges in an open-ended environment.
Check out the Teacher Support Site for curriculum ideas and resources: https://sites.google.com/wisc.edu/waketeacherguide/home
Students apply their knowledge of scale and geometry to design wearables that …
Students apply their knowledge of scale and geometry to design wearables that would help people in their daily lives, perhaps for medical reasons or convenience. Like engineers, student teams follow the steps of the design process, to research the wearable technology field (watching online videos and conducting online research), brainstorm a need that supports some aspect of human life, imagine their own unique designs, and then sketch prototypes (using Paint®). They compare the drawn prototype size to its intended real-life, manufactured size, determining estimated length and width dimensions, determining the scale factor, and the resulting difference in areas. After considering real-world safety concerns relevant to wearables (news article) and getting preliminary user feedback (peer critique), they adjust their drawn designs for improvement. To conclude, they recap their work in short class presentations.
Weather and Climate Nature Journaling - This unit overview describes five field …
Weather and Climate Nature Journaling - This unit overview describes five field experience opportunities to engage students in studies of weather, forecasting and weather hazards. Each experience explains ways to incorporate science journaling, math, tech and literacy.
I use this activity to reinforce the vocabulary used when practicing with …
I use this activity to reinforce the vocabulary used when practicing with polygons. Students are asked to describe a polygon by identifying what it is, but also what it is NOT.
The words compose and decompose are used to describe actions that young …
The words compose and decompose are used to describe actions that young students learn as they acquire knowledge of small numbers by putting them together and taking them apart. This understanding is a bridge between counting and knowing number combinations. It is how instant recognition of small numbers develops and leads naturally to later understanding of fact families. This task helps them develop an understanding of number combinations.
The winter severity index (WSI) is a measurement to help gauge the …
The winter severity index (WSI) is a measurement to help gauge the effects of the winter weather on deer survival. The index was developed in the early 1970’s and is calculated by adding the number of days with 18 inches or more of snow on the ground to the number of days when the minimum temperatures were 0◦ F or below. In general, the severity of the winter is based on the total number of points accumulated over the collection period. A winter with an index of less than 50 is considered mild, 50 to 79 is moderate, 80 to 99 is severe, and over 100 is very severe.
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