Mapping Your State and Community

This activity introduces Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and poses questions that help students answer questions that require spatial data. Students examine questions about communities and populations from local to state to national scales. Six GIS, math and mapping activities are identified in this resource. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Art and Ecology

Artists are often particularly keen observers and precise recorders of the physical conditions of the natural world. As a result, paintings can be good resources for learning about ecology. Teachers can use this lesson to examine with students the interrelationship of geography, natural resources, and climate and their effects on daily life. It also addresses the roles students can take in caring for the environment. Students will look at paintings that represent cool temperate, warm temperate, and tropical climates. In this lesson students will: Identify natural resources found in particular geographic areas; Discuss ways in which climate, natural resources, and geography affect daily life; Apply critical-thinking skills to consider the various choices artists have made in their representations of the natural world; Make personal connections to the theme by discussing ways they can be environmental stewards; Identify natural resources found in particular geographic areas; Discuss ways in which climate, natural resources, and geography affect daily life; Apply critical-thinking skills to consider the various choices artists have made in their representations of the natural world; Make personal connections to the theme by discussing ways they can be environmental stewards.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Diagram/Illustration, Lesson Plan

English Language Arts, Grade 12

The 12th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 12th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Language study is embedded in every 12th grade unit as students use annotation to closely review aspects of each text. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

Material Type: Full Course

Math, Grade 7

Four full-year digital course, built from the ground up and fully-aligned to the Common Core State Standards, for 7th grade Mathematics. Created using research-based approaches to teaching and learning, the Open Access Common Core Course for Mathematics is designed with student-centered learning in mind, including activities for students to develop valuable 21st century skills and academic mindset.

Material Type: Full Course

Math, Grade 6

Material Type: Full Course

English Language Arts, Grade 11

The 11th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 11th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Students move from learning the class rituals and routines and genre features of argument writing in Unit 11.1 to learning about narrative and informational genres in Unit 11.2: The American Short Story. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

Material Type: Full Course

Arabesque: Where Art Meets Mathematics

The main objective of this lesson is to illustrate an important application of mathematics in practical life -- namely in art. Most of the pictures selected for this lesson are visible on the walls of Al-Hambra – Granada (Spain), which is one of the most important landmarks in the Islamic civilization. There are three educational goals for this lesson: (1) establishing the concept of isometries; (2) giving real-life examples of groups; (3) demonstrating the importance of matrices and their applications. As background for this lesson, students just need some familiarity with the concept of a group and a limited knowledge about matrices and the inverse of a non-singular matrix.

Material Type: Lecture

Author: Dr. Jawad Abuhlail

Are Random Triangles Acute or Obtuse?

This learning video deals with a question of geometrical probability. A key idea presented is the fact that a linear equation in three dimensions produces a plane. The video focuses on random triangles that are defined by their three respective angles. These angles are chosen randomly subject to a constraint that they must sum to 180 degrees. An example of the types of in-class activities for between segments of the video is: Ask six students for numbers and make those numbers the coordinates x,y of three points. Then have the class try to figure out how to decide if the triangle with those corners is acute or obtuse.

Material Type: Lecture

Author: Gilbert Strange

The Art of Approximation in Science and Engineering: How to Whip Out Answers Quickly

The purpose of this learning video is to show students how to think more freely about math and science problems. Sometimes getting an approximate answer in a much shorter period of time is well worth the time saved. This video explores techniques for making quick, back-of-the-envelope approximations that are not only surprisingly accurate, but are also illuminating for building intuition in understanding science. This video touches upon 10th-grade level Algebra I and first-year high school physics, but the concepts covered (velocity, distance, mass, etc) are basic enough that science-oriented younger students would understand. If desired, teachers may bring in pendula of various lengths, weights to hang, and a stopwatch to measure period. Examples of in- class exercises for between the video segments include: asking students to estimate 29 x 31 without a calculator or paper and pencil; and asking students how close they can get to a black hole without getting sucked in.

Material Type: Lecture

Author: Stephen M. Hou

The Art of Making Layer Cakes: Proper Construction of Bituminous Roads and Highways

The aim of this video is to introduce high school students to the engineering concept of road construction and to the reasons why problems might arise in road construction. Presentation of this concept is made more accessible to students by comparing road construction to the art of baking a layer cake. This simple comparison can serve to emphasize how important it is to follow proper procedures and to use proper materials for successful road construction. The approach used is highly correlated with the common knowledge of baking layer cakes in Malaysia. Students should be able to relate the procedure of baking a layer cake to the importance of following the correct methods of road construction. An understanding of basic statistics is necessary before starting this lesson. This lesson will take almost 60 minutes to complete. During activity breaks, students are required to answer questions and complete assigned tasks related to the subject.

Material Type: Lecture

Author: Dr Norhidayah Abdul Hassan, Dr Mariyana Aida Ab. Kadir, Dr Sarimah Shamsudin

Biotechnology: Can It Help in Making the Desert Green?

This learning video introduces high school students to a topic they would not ordinarily study in school, biotechnology, and to different applications of biotechnology that relate to the main theme of the module - making the desert greener. After reviewing traditional methods used for manipulating plants to produce desired traits, students will learn about the methods of making transgenic plants. Dr. Ziad discusses a real world problem that is critical in his country, Jordan, where much of the land is desert. A prerequisite to this video lesson is some background in biology.

Material Type: Lecture

Author: Ziad W. Jaradat, PhD

Building Cryptosystems

This video module presents an introduction to cryptography - the method of sending messages in such a way that only the intended recipients can understand them. In this very interactive lesson, students will build three different devices for cryptography and will learn how to encrypt and decrypt messages. There are no prerequisites for this lesson, and it has intentionally been designed in a way that can be adapted to many audiences. It is fully appropriate in a high school level math or computer science class where the teacher can use it to motivate probability/statistics or programming exercises. nteractive lesson, students will learn to build the cryptography devices and will learn how to send and ''crack'' secret messages.

Material Type: Lecture

Author: Daniel J. Sturtevant

Calculus

Published in 1991 by Wellesley-Cambridge Press, the book is a useful resource for educators and self-learners alike. It is well organized, covers single variable and multivariable calculus in depth, and is rich with applications. In addition to the Textbook, there is also an online Instructor's Manual and a student Study Guide. Prof. Strang has also developed a related series of videos, Highlights of Calculus, on the basic ideas of calculus.

Material Type: Full Course

Author: Gilbert Strang

Free Fall

This video lesson is an example of ''teaching for understanding'' in lieu of providing students with formulas for determining the height of a dropped (or projected) object at any time during its fall. The concept presented here of creating a chart to organize and analyze data collected in a simple experiment is broadly useful. During the classroom breaks in this video, students will enjoy timing objects in free fall and balls rolling down ramps as a way of learning how to carefully conduct experiments and analyze the results. The beauty of this lesson is the simplicity of using only the time it takes for an object dropped from a measured height to strike the ground. There are no math prerequisites for this lesson and no needed supplies, other than a blackboard and chalk. It can be completed in one 50-60-minute classroom period.

Material Type: Lecture

Author: John Bookston

English Language Arts Grade 5

A Scavenger Hunt to identify parts of speech, parts of a sentence, and sentence mechanics.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson

Author: Cynthia Boston

BEE part of the Ecosystem

5th grade students work together in teams to create an ecosystem to support Pacific Northwest pollinators.

Material Type: Lesson Plan, Unit of Study

Author: Amy Paschall

World History

World History textbook available through CK-12.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: El Paso Independent School District

Pre-Algebra/Beginning Algebra Concepts - Computer Resources

The intention of this curriculum guide is to provide teachers with supplemental materials to use to support students in strengthening their skills in various concept areas that are crucial for understanding beginning algebra. The activities are broken down by skill with links provided below. This is intended as a way to provide students with engaging, primarily computer-based activities to get extra practice with material that is covered elsewhere in the curriculum. This collection focuses on simulations and games using the computer—some resources may be ripe for teachers to develop unique activities to accompany the simulation and some possible suggestions are included with the descriptions. This series is intended to be pick-and-choose. In this Curriculum Guide: Activities and practice with: Integers, Exponents, Order of Operations, Distributive Property, Expressions, Equations and Basic Graphing

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration, Game, Interactive, Simulation

Author: Lee Gargagliano

Prealgebra 2e

Prealgebra is designed to meet scope and sequence requirements for a one-semester prealgebra course. The book’s organization makes it easy to adapt to a variety of course syllabi. The text introduces the fundamental concepts of algebra while addressing the needs of students with diverse backgrounds and learning styles. Each topic builds upon previously developed material to demonstrate the cohesiveness and structure of mathematics.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: MaryAnne Anthony-Smith

Geometry

In this course, you will study the relationships between lines and angles. You will learn to calculate how much space an object covers, determine how much space is inside of a three-dimensional object, and other relationships between shapes, objects, and the mathematics that govern them.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Full Course, Homework/Assignment, Reading, Syllabus