Modeling population growth gives learners an opportunity to experiment with real data. Comparing the growth rates in this real-life task strengthens learners' understanding that exponential functions change by equal factors over equal...

Your young bankers compare earning interest accumulated yearly and monthly to decide which method most increases their balance. Using an exponential function to model the bank balance affords the learners more practice connecting...

Your algebra learners explore the values of two types of functions in order to compare growth rates in this short cooperative task. Two types of solutions are given, using a table of values and an abstract argument.

Imagine a project that informs and entertains. Replace book reports with a bulletin board that highlights all the important elements of a novel. Readers research the author, create a timeline of events in the story, write a...

Think about the roles of hunters and squaws in Elizabeth George Speare's The Sign of the Beaver. Whose work is more important? Young writers compare Attean and Matt's reaction to each gender's role, as well as arguing their opinion...

Learners compare and contrast sine and cosine graphs in order to describe their characteristics in a collaborative activity. As they explain their reasoning, learners strengthen their writing and vocabulary skills associated with...

A whale of a lesson is sure to intrigue your elementary oceanographers! Learn about the mammals of the sea with a series of activities about whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Kids complete worksheets about the anatomy of a whale, create a...

Add some holiday cheer to your math lessons with this problem-solving activity. From problems comparing the number of ears and legs of Santa's reindeer, to finding the ratio of colored lights on a Christmas tree, a variety...

How does a cheetah life cycle differ from a human life cycle? Kids graph weight gain for humans versus cheetahs and compare other life cycle events such as gestation and life span

What qualities make a good leader? The activities in this packet are designed for a convention of recognized school leaders but could easily be adapted to any classroom. Groups generate a list of qualities they believe are essential for...

Inquiry-based learning and investigations form the basis of a deep understanding of quadratic functions in a very thorough unit plan.  Learners develop recursive and closed methods for representing real-life situations,...

How did Union General Ulysses S. Grant view the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in 1865, which effectively ended the United States Civil War? After reading an excerpt from Grant's autobiography, your young historians will...

In this comprehension exercise, readers compare Carl Sandburg's "Chicago" to a description of the city from Upton's Sinclair's The Jungle.

As brave as a scarecrow, as silly as a book? What will your youngsters compare themselves to? Here is a creative and fun way to explore the world of similes that your class members will definitely enjoy!

What was Shakespeare's intent? That is the question at the heart of a summer assignment designed for AP English Literature. Class members focus on five scenes from The Tempest and compare the interactions of Prospero, Caliban,...

New Horizons set forth on a mission to Pluto in 2006. Ten years later, the spacecraft is still on its way. Here, enthusiastic scholars predict what they will be like—likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc.—when New Horizons arrives at its...

It takes a lot of planning to achieve a random result! Learners compare results of random assignment, and conclude that random assignment allows results to be attributed to chance. They also realize the set of random means...

Drawing circles isn't the only thing compasses are good for. In this first installment of a 36-part series, high schoolers learn how to draw equilateral triangles by investigating real-world situations, such as finding the location of a...

Pupils try to get a collar on temperature with a short assessment item that asks them to compare two different methods in converting Celsius to Fahrenheit. Individuals try to find out when an estimation provides conversions that are...

We can see the result of electricity  but not the process itself. The simulation compares electric circuits to a water tower and water wheel cycle. Young scientists adjust the height of the tower, the amount of resistance, and if...

Adjust the overlap to compare probabilities. Using sliders, learners adjust the shape of two Gaussian curves. The interactive calculates the area of the left tail for one curve and the right tail for the other. Pupils set the interactive...

Slide the class into a skewed view. Learners alter the location of the median relative to the mean of a normal curve to create a skew distribution. They compare the curve to a histogram distribution with the same skewness. 

Does the size of the bin matter? The resource allows pupils to explore the relationship between the normal curve and histograms. Learners view histograms compared to a normal curve with a set standard deviation. Using the interactive,...

The logic, rhythm, and beauty of math sometimes get lost amidst numbers and variables. Amplify math's lyricism with a poetry project that uses metaphors and similes to compare mathematical concepts to other images.