These three lessons are part of the overall unit called, "How does …
These three lessons are part of the overall unit called, "How does my Cambodian Culture Affect Who I Am as a Student?" In the lessons, students will compare their Cambodian school culture to that of the United States. They will address the similarities and differences and will discuss the preconceived notions they had about school in America and how their culture affects who they are as students in the American school system.The lessons are geared for newcomers (ESL students) from Cambodia to the United States, grades 5-8. Their language proficiency is at various levels so instruction should be differentiated.
Student teams design and conduct quality-control experiments to test the reliability of …
Student teams design and conduct quality-control experiments to test the reliability of several ultraviolet protection factors. Students use UV-detecting beads in their experimental designs to test the effectiveness of various types of sunscreens and sunblock. For example, they might examine zinc oxide nanoparticles versus traditional organic sun protection factors. UV intensity is quantitatively measured by UVA and UVB Vernier sensors, and students record and graph their results. By designing and conducting this experiment, students compare various substances, while learning about quality control.
To learn how friction affects motion, students explore how different textures provide …
To learn how friction affects motion, students explore how different textures provide varying amounts of friction to objects moving across them. They build a tool to measure the amount of friction between a note card and various surfaces by measuring the distance that a rubber band stretches. They experiment with a range of materials to determine which provides the least/most friction.
Students learn about porosity and permeability and relate these concepts to groundwater …
Students learn about porosity and permeability and relate these concepts to groundwater flow. They use simple materials to conduct a porosity experiment and use the data to understand how environmental engineers decide on the placement and treatment of a drinking water well.
In this activity using a balance scale students practice weighing items to …
In this activity using a balance scale students practice weighing items to see how heavy they are. Cubes are used in the balance as units of measure so students may easily count them.
Students work in pairs to measure length by lining up cubes along …
Students work in pairs to measure length by lining up cubes along the longest side of an item. They count and record length by counting the number of cubes.
This task uses student generated data to assess standard 7.SP.7. This task …
This task uses student generated data to assess standard 7.SP.7. This task could also be extended to address Standard 7.SP.1 by adding a small or whole class discussion of whether the class could be considered as a representative sample of all students at your school.
The purpose of this task is for students to apply the concepts …
The purpose of this task is for students to apply the concepts of mass, volume, and density in a real-world context. There are several ways one might approach the problem, e.g., by estimating the volume of a person and dividing by the volume of a cell.
These two fraction division tasks use the same context and ask ŇHow …
These two fraction division tasks use the same context and ask ŇHow much in one group?Ó but require students to divide the fractions in the opposite order. Students struggle to understand which order one should divide in a fraction division context, and these two tasks give them an opportunity to think carefully about the meaning of fraction division.
This task gives children an opportunity to subtract a three-digit number including …
This task gives children an opportunity to subtract a three-digit number including a zero that requires regrouping. The solutions show how students can solve this problem before they have learned the traditional algorithm.
This is a mathematical modeling task aimed at making a reasonable estimate …
This is a mathematical modeling task aimed at making a reasonable estimate for something which is too large to count accurately, the number of leaves on a tree.
In this problem, the variables a,b,c, and d are introduced to represent …
In this problem, the variables a,b,c, and d are introduced to represent important quantities for this esimate: students should all understand where the formula in the solution for the number of leaves comes from. Estimating the values of these variables is much trickier and the teacher should expect and allow a wide range of variation here.
Students relate thermal energy to heat capacity by comparing the heat capacities …
Students relate thermal energy to heat capacity by comparing the heat capacities of different materials and graphing the change in temperature over time for a specific material. Students learn why heat capacity is an important property of thermal energy that engineers use in many applications.
The purpose of this task is to help students see the connection …
The purpose of this task is to help students see the connection between aÖb and ab in a particular concrete example. The relationship between the division problem 3Ö8 and the fraction 3/8 is actually very subtle.
Pennies have a monetary face value of one cent, but they are …
Pennies have a monetary face value of one cent, but they are made of material that has a market value that is usually different. It is the value of the materials that requires attention in this problem. While it is interesting to compare the face value with the value of the materials, this does not have any bearing on the calculations. Interference between these two notions of value is a possible area of difficulty for some students.
Students follow weather forecasts to gauge their accuracy and produce a weather …
Students follow weather forecasts to gauge their accuracy and produce a weather report for the class. They develop skills of observation, recording and reporting.
Kindergartners measure each other's height using large building blocks, then visit a …
Kindergartners measure each other's height using large building blocks, then visit a 2nd and a 4th grade class to measure those students. They can also measure adults in the school community. Results are displayed in age-appropriate bar graphs (paper cut-outs of miniature building blocks glued on paper to form a bar graph) comparing the different age groups. The activities that comprise this lesson help students develop the concepts and vocabulary to describe, in a non-ambiguous way, how height changes as children get older. The introduction to graphing provides an important foundation for both creating and interpreting graphs in future years.
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