CK-12 Algebra Explorations is a hands-on series of activities that guides students from Pre-K to Grade 7 through algebraic concepts.
Short pieces of chenille stem arranged inside a box look like a random jumble of line segments—until viewed in the proper perspective.
Note: This activity is detail oriented and time intensive. It’s done by threading a long length of fishing line through twenty small holes, and then attaching short pieces of chenille stem to create a suspended pattern. When you look through a viewing hole, that random-looking pattern resolves into the form of a chair. If you think being a watchmaker is something you’d hate, then you might want to rethink doing this Snack!
The CyberSquad tries to figure out a table arrangement for 20 workers in this video from Cyberchase.
In this video segment from Cyberchase, Matt tries for a second time to arrange tables and chairs to accommodate 20 workers.
Matt's third table arrangement helps fit all 20 workers at five tables in this video segment from Cyberchase.
This article provides a brief discussion of the importance of teaching students to analyze data and representations of data as well as two resources that can help teachers implement these strategies into their instruction.
Students tend to be fascinated by colors and patterns of organisms, and by thinking and learning about these and other adaptive strategies. Colors and patterns in nature are a great entry point to understand adaptations. This activity focuses on how organisms’ patterns and colors help them stand out or blend in with their environment, and how this helps them survive. Students observe the main colors in the landscape, then search for plastic animals hidden there, noticing which blend in with their surroundings and which stand out. Then, students discuss what made the animals blend in or stand out, construct explanations for how this could help the animals survive, and learn four categories for color and pattern adaptations: camouflage, mimicry, warning, and attraction. Students apply these concepts as they search for real organisms in the area, then discuss how patterns and coloration might help the organisms survive in their habitat.
Students explore call and response songs through singing.
In this video segment from Cyberchase, the CyberSquad must get into a vault before Hacker, Buzz and Delete by cracking a code of shapes and numbers.
What is the best way to distribute our points?
This task engages students in thinking about number patterns.
Students create movements to represent long and short rhythmic patterns and compose patterns using non-traditional notation.
A checklist used by teachers to assess elementary students’ skills at finding and using patterns.
The First Grade Elementary Framework for Science and Integrated Subjects, Sky Explorers uses observation of the sun and moon in the sky as a phenomena for exploring patterns of objects in the sky. It is part of Elementary Framework for Science and Integrated Subjects project, a statewide Clime Time collaboration among ESD 123, ESD 105, North Central ESD, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Development of the resources is in response to a need for research- based science lessons for elementary teachers that are integrated with English language arts, mathematics and other subjects such as social studies. The template for Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects can serve as an organized, coherent and research-based roadmap for teachers in the development of their own NGSS aligned science lessons. Lessons can also be useful for classrooms that have no adopted curriculum as well as to serve as enhancements for current science curriculum. The EFSIS project brings together grade level teams of teachers to develop lessons or suites of lessons that are 1) pnenomena based, focused on grade level Performance Expectations, and 2) leverage ELA and Mathematics Washington State Learning Standards.
The CyberSquad tries to figure out how Hackerë_í__ cyberfrog moves when its various buttons are pressed, in this video from Cyberchase.
In this video from Cyberchase, the CyberSquad must figure out the new input/output pattern on Hackerë_í__ larger cyberfrog.
Students explore the relationship between input and output values and learn to use algebraic expressions and equations.
Weird and wild fungi are everywhere, especially when it’s wet out. Given the chance to explore and observe fungi, students will notice them everywhere. Exploring fungi will also lead students to appreciate how fungi function in ecosystems as decomposers and other important roles. Recent discoveries in science have found that huge underground networks of thin, branching tubes of mycelium, the white tubes that are the main growing part of a fungus, provide key links between plants and the rest of the ecosystem.
In this Focused Exploration activity, students begin by observing fungi. Then, they learn that mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi. Students use a simple key to identify types of fungi, record data, then regroup, and discuss patterns of where fungi grow. Next, they learn about how fungi digest what they live on, discuss fungal impacts on ecosystems, and reflect on fungi roles in decomposition.
In this open-ended, hands-on activity that provides practice in engineering data analysis, students are given gait signature metric (GSM) data for known people types (adults and children). Working in teams, they analyze the data and develop models that they believe represent the data. They test their models against similar, but unknown (to the students) data to see how accurate their models are in predicting adult vs. child human subjects given known GSM data. They manipulate and graph data in Excel® to conduct their analyses.
A checklist used by teachers to assess elementary students’ generalizing skills.