Histogram (grades 6-8)
This virtual manipulative enables the student to construct histograms to summarize data. A histogram divides the range of values in a data set into intervals. Each interval is shown as a rectangle whose area represents the percentage of data values in the interval. Students enter data into a table and the manipulative displays histogram and notes minimum and maximum data values, median and average, number in the data set, and standard deviation. The interval width is adjustable and displayed. Fe
Gravity Gets You Down
This site has students understanding that: 1) Without air resistance, all objects would fall at the same acceleration, regardless of mass. 2) Gravity is the force that causes objects to fall. 3) Air resistance, a type of friction, works against gravity to decrease the acceleration of a falling object. Included in this two day lesson plan are the objectives, needed materials, procedures, adaptations for older students, discussion questions, a rubric for assessment, extension activities, suggested
Quick take on linear measurement
Here are challenging resources that put linear measurement into a practical context, or can be used for review before introducing a new measurement topic.
Quick take on the wide, wide world of geometry
As the social studies, art, and music classes in the middle school widen students horizons, some of your students may become fascinated with the art, costumes, and customs of other peoples in this and other times. The NCTM Principles and Standards calls for middle school students to be able to recognize and apply geometric ideas and relationships in areas outside the mathematics classroom, such as art, science, and everyday life.
A Sphere's Surface Area and Volume
What is the relation between a sphere's surface area and its volume? How does their ratio change?
Quick take on safety in the science classroom
With the increasing emphasis on hands-on instruction, it becomes more important than ever before for science teachers to be knowledgeable about laboratory safety issues. The National Science Education Standards say that students should have frequent opportunities to use a wide range of equipment, materials, supplies, and other resources for experimentation and direct investigation of phenomena. The National Science Teachers Association recommends that a minimum of 80 percent of science instructi
Science News For Kids
This resource is meant to enhance the usefulness of Science News in the middle-school classroom and offer recreational reading and activities for students interested in science. It is comprised of six zones: a weekly brainteaser for those who enjoy solving and inventing puzzles, entertaining science-fiction composition exercises for those interested in writing, and weekly science fair profiles and tips. The GameZone contains a small selection of logic and memory games, implemented as Java applet
Tides and gravity labs
How does gravity cause tides in the oceans? This section, part of an interactive laboratory series for grades 8-12, introduces students to four activities on tides and gravity that cover critical orbital speed between Earth and the moon, gravitational forces between two bodies, tidal effects from the sun and moon, and the change in tidal levels over time. The activities include hands-on animations of concepts whose variables can be manipulated by students. Questions posed to students include ans
Science Sampler : Rockin' around the rock cycle
The following inquiry-based activities were designed as part of a unit intended to aid students in understanding the rock cycle, with the assumption that, after being taught the lessons in the unit, students would have gone beyond a rote memorization of the rock types and rock cycle. The ultimate goal of this hands-on lesson is that students will know and be able to discriminate between them.
Grapher : number and operations (grades 6-8)
Using this online manipulative, students can graph one to three functions in the same window, trace the function paths to see coordinates, and zoom in on a region of the graph. Function parameters can be varied as can the domain and range of the display. Tabs allow the student to incorporate fractions, powers, and roots into their functions. Instructions for using the manipulative and a link to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standard for number and operations are included
History of flight to reality, advanced text
This website is an on-line textbook on the principles of aeronautics. The major focus is to examine the history of flight to current events and trends in aeronautics. Initially the reader will be introduced to principles of lift, thrust, and control. Further topics of discussion will cover the first jumpers, the first balloonists, the historical people and study of gliders, powered flight based on the Wright brother's experience, the age of flight, early space flight, the U.S. space program, the
Observe solar eclipses
This Earth science animation helps students compare three types of solar eclipses: total, partial, and annular. The introduction explains how the type of eclipse is determined by variations in distance and alignment between the Earth, sun, and moon. The animation follows the events of all three eclipses concurrently. Movie controls allow students to repeat, pause, or step through the animation, which can give students more time to compare the eclipse sequences. Copyright 2005 Eisenhower National
Marbles
This activity allows the user to investigate probability and randomness using a simuation of a marble bag. By adjusting various settings, the student can learn about conditional probability and statistics.
Static Charged Two by Fours
How can you move a wooden two-by-four without touching it? This material is part of a series of hands-on science activities designed to arouse student interest. Here students use static electricity to attract and move a wooden two-by-four. The activity includes a description, a list of science process skills and complex reasoning strategies being used, and a compilation of applicable K-12 national science education standards. Also provided are content topics, a list of necessary supplies, instru
Balanced assessment
The resources found on this web site can be used by individual teachers or teacher groups interested in expanding their use of assessment tools designed to inform teaching practice. Teachers will find the assessments and the supporting materials valuable additions to any professional development focused on assessment.
Statistics and probability. Grades 6-8
This MathPARTNERS unit contains seven lessons with hands-on learning activities for exploring statistics and probability with students in grades 6-8. The lessons, designed for mentoring situations, may also be helpful for teachers and parents. Each lesson with reproducible student materials, features an overview of the mathematics, preparation guidelines, teaching tips, and suggestions for how to use each activity to develop specific mathematics concepts. Statistics activities focus on posing qu
Graphing for Area
Middle School, difficulty level 2. Graph six points and find the area of the resulting hexagon.
Cold Clouds and Water in Space
This article from Astrobiology Magazine reports on the discovery of water in cold regions of space. Using data from the European Space Agencys Infrared Space Observatory, astronomers have determined that water is abundant in these cold, or quiescent regions of space where there are no stars, and that the majority of it occurs as ice with a small amount of water vapor. It is thought that these cold regions of space might be the future birthplaces of low-mass stars like our own sun. Links to other
Ohio resource center for mathematics, science, and reading
ORC provides links to peer-reviewed instructional resources that have been identified by a panel of Ohio educators as exemplifying best or promising practice. Available resources also include content and professional resources as well as assessment and general education resources that will support the work of preK to 12 classroom teachers and higher education faculty members. The resources are correlated with Ohio's academic content standards and with applicable national content standards.
The Yo-Yo Problem
Students will explore linear patterns, write a pattern in symbolic form, and solve linear equations using algebra tiles, symbolic manipulation, and the graphing calculator. This lesson plan includes the objective, overview of the lesson, needed materials, procedures, assessment, extensions and adaptations, tips, resources, ideas for discussion, and the activity sheets and answer key.
