Resources from stemcollaborative.org

Here are some resources for project ideas and lesson plans for adaptation to your students' needs.

JAE

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Number and Operations In grades 6 – 8, all students should: Understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, relationships among numbers, and number systems Understand meaning of operations and how they relate to one another Compute fluently and make reasonable estimates
Concept	Activity/Web Link	Description	Produced by
Fractions, Decimals and Percents	Size-O-Rama	Use fractions, decimals, and percents to determine an unknown height.	Kentucky Educational Television
	Similar Shadows	Determine an unknown height using the decimal value of equivalent ratios.
	Sunnyside Up	Use fractions to size up a biscuit recipe.
Ratios and Proportions	Din-O-Rama	Resize a figure to fit the scale of a diorama.	Kentucky Educational Television
	Similar Shadows	Use the proportional relationship between similar triangles to determine unknown heights.
	Mural Math	Explore what happens to area when you scale up a painting proportionally.
	House of Scales	Calculate the dimensions of a house that has been scaled up by a factor of 10.
	Sunnyside Up	Scale up menu items to feed a crowd at a family reunion.
	Drive-In Shadow Puppets	Discover the relationship between an object’s distance from a light source and the size of its shadow.
	Musical Scales	Explore the proportional relationship between the length of musical pipes and their frequency.
	At the Track	Learn about the proportional relationships among time, distance, and speed.
	London	Write and solve proportions when ratios are given as fractions, decimals, and percents.	Arkansas Public Television
	Tokyo	Solve problems by using proportions.
Fractions, Decimals and Percents	Photo Booth	Determine the proportional relationship between battery charge and the number of photos one can take.	Alabama Public Television
	Bumper Cars	Control the mass and velocity of a bumper car.
	Rio de Janeiro	Write and compare ratios using fractions and decimals.	Arkansas Public Television
Ratios and Proportions	Photo Booth– Rechargeable Batteries	Determine the proportional relationship between battery charge and the number of photos one can take.	Alabama Public Television
Estimating and Predicting	Bumper Cars– Storing and Using Energy in a Battery	Control the mass and velocity of a bumper car.
Selecting Appropriate method of computation and reasonable of result	Drag Racing - Horsepower	Calculate horsepower and explore accelerating from 0 to 60 mph.
Computing fluently	Roller Coaster - The Inclined Plane	Determine the amount of force required to pull roller coasters up inclined planes.
	Parachute Drop - The Pulley	Explore and calculate force using different weights of people and different numbers of pulleys.
	Seesaw – The Lever	Explore different weights and positions needed to balance a seesaw.
	Ring the Bell – Acceleration	Explore the force that is necessary to “ring the bell.”
	Roller Coaster – Scale Factor	Explore scale factors of roller coasters, dinosaurs and statues.
Determining Unit Rate	Photo Booth– Rechargeable Batteries	Determine the proportional relationship between battery charge and the number of photos one can take.	Alabama Public Television
	Bumper Cars– Storing and Using Energy in a Battery	Control the mass and velocity of a bumper car.
	Barcelona	Determine unit rates.	Arkansas Public Television
Converting Units of measurement between metric and customary	Bumper Cars– Storing and Using Energy in a Battery	Control the mass and velocity of a bumper car.	Alabama Public Television
	Parachute Drop - The Pulley	Explore and calculate force using different weights of people and different numbers of pulleys.
	Roller Coaster – Scale Factor	Explore scale factor of roller coasters, dinosaurs and statues.

Algebra In grades 6 – 8, all students should: Understand patterns, relationships, and functions Represent and analyze mathematical situations and structures using algebraic symbols Use mathematical models to represent and understand quantitative relationships Analyze change in various contexts
Concept	Link	Description	Produced by
Different forms of representation for a relationship	Sunnyside Up	Observe how the relationship of radius vs. area of circle is represented in a graph.	Kentucky Educational Television
	Drive-In Shadow Puppets	Enter data in a table and see how it translates into a graph.
	At the Track	Compare the graphical representations of inverse and direct proportions.
Modeling problems with graphs, tables, and equations	House of Scales	Complete a table comparing the dimensions of a house those of a larger-scale version.	Kentucky Educational Television
	Sunnyside Up	Complete a table with the ingredients for a scaled-up recipe.
	Drive-In Shadow Puppets	Complete a table with measurements of shadows at different distances from a movie projector.
	Musical Scales	Complete a table that demonstrates the relationship between the length of musical pipes and their frequency.
	At the Track	Complete a table that illustrates how distance, time, and speed are related.
Analyze change	Sunnyside Up	Use a graph to determine how big a skillet needs to be to cook 108 pieces of chicken.	Kentucky Educational Television
	At the Track	Answer questions about rate based on graphs of distance vs. speed and time vs. speed.
Comparing, graphing and interpreting data	Photo Booth– Rechargeable Batteries	Determine the proportional relationship between battery charge and the number of photos one can take.	Alabama Public Television
Modeling problems with graphs, tables, and equations	Bumper Cars– Storing and Using Energy in a Battery	Control the mass and velocity of a bumper car.
	Drag Racing – Horsepower	Calculate horsepower and explore accelerating from 0 to 60 mph.
	Roller Coaster - The Inclined Plane	Determine the amount of force required to pull roller coasters up inclined planes.
	Parachute Drop - The Pulley	Explore and calculate force using different weights of people and different numbers of pulleys.
	Seesaw – The Lever	Explore different weights and positions needed to balance a seesaw.
	Ring the Bell – Acceleration	Explore the force that is necessary to “ring the bell.”
	Roller Coaster – Scale Factor	Explore scale factors of roller coasters, dinosaurs and statues.

Geometry In grades 6 – 8, all students should: Analyze characteristics and properties of two- and three-dimensional geometric shapes and develop mathematical arguments about geometric relationships Specify locations and describe spatial relationships using coordinate geometry and other representational systems Apply transformations and use symmetry to analyze mathematical situations Use visualization, spatial reasoning, and geometric modeling to solve problems
Concept	Activity/Web Link	Description	Produced by
Transformations – Reflections	Bring Your Own Food	Place picnic tables to reflect a given arrangement.	Maryland Public Television
Transformations – Rotations	Who’s Hungry	Place, size, and rotate a shape to represent a snack bar in a park.	Maryland Public Television
	Get Physically Fit	Place, reflect, and rotate objects in an obstacle course.
Pythagorean Theorem	Light the Way	Find the distance between two light posts.	Maryland Public Television
	Alley Oops	Calculate the amount of material needed to cover a ramp.
	Access for All	Calculate the amount of material needed to cover a ramp and install rails along the sides.
Pythagorean Theorem	Roller Coaster- The Inclined Plane	Determine the amount of force required to pull roller coasters up inclined planes.	Alabama Public Television
Transformations - Translations	Alley Oops	Determine the coordinates needed to move a skateboarder along a rail.	Maryland Public Television
	Get Physically Fit	Place and translate objects in an obstacle course.
	E-luminate	Describe the translations needed to move a person on a coordinate plane.
Two- and three-dimensional geometric shapes	Similar Shadows	Use similarity to help determine an unknown height.	Kentucky Educational Television
	Mural Math	Explore what happens to area when the dimensions of similar rectangles are increased proportionally.
	House of Scales	Observe what happens to volume when three-dimensional objects are scaled up.
	Sunnyside Up	Explore what happens to the area of a circle when its radius is increased.
Spatial relationships using coordinate geometry	Sunnyside Up	Observe how the relationship between a circle’s radius and its area is represented graphically.	Kentucky Educational Television
Applying geometry to areas outside mathematics classroom	Mural Math	See how proportional reasoning is used to create large-scale murals.	Kentucky Educational Television

Measurement In grades 6 – 8, all students should: Understand measurable attributes of objects and the units, systems, and processes of measurement Apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to determine measurements
Concept	Link	Description	Produced by
Proportional Reasoning	Ahoy Matey	Place and size a pond in a park.	Maryland Public Television
	Alley Oops	Place and size a skateboard ramp in a park.
	Pentagonal Plot	Place and size a garden in an environmental center.
	3 R’s	Place and size a gazebo in an environmental center.
	Musical Scales	Discover the proportional relationship between the length of a musical pipe and its frequency or pitch.	Kentucky Educational Television
	Size-O-Rama	Measure an unknown height using information about a known height.
	Din-O-Rama	Scale a figure for placement in a diorama.
	At the Track	Explore the proportional relationships among speed, distance, and time.
	Similar Shadows	Calculate an unknown height using shadows and similar triangles.
	House of Scales	Determine the dimensions, area, and volume of a house using a 1:10 scale.
	Mural Math	Determine how much more paint is needed when the length and width of a painting are doubled or tripled.
	Drive-In Shadow Puppets	Explore the relationship between the size of an object’s shadow and its distance from a light source.
	Sunnyside Up	Scale up recipes for a family reunion.
	Sunnyside Up	Scale up a skillet to cook chicken for a crowd.
Applying the Process of Measurement	Roller Coaster – Scale Factor	Explore scale factors of roller coasters, dinosaurs and statues.	Alabama Public Television
Scale Factors	Paris	Measure distances on a map and calculate the actual distances.	Arkansas Public Television
Volume of a Cylinder	Ahoy Matey	Calculate the volume of a pond and the amount of water needed to fill it.	Maryland Public Television
	Aquatic Adventure	Calculate the volume of a pond and the amount of water needed to fill it.
Area of a Circle	Aquatic Adventure	Calculate the number of goldfish that can be placed in a pond.	Maryland Public Television
	Sunnyside Up	See how increasing the radius of a circle affects its area.	Kentucky Educational Television
Perimeter and Circumference	Slam Dunk	Calculate the number of cans of spray paint needed to paint the lines on a basketball court.	Maryland Public Television
Perimeter and Area	Tokyo	Solve problems using perimeters and areas of rectangles.	Arkansas Public Television
Area of a Composite Figure	Safety First	Find areas of composite figures in order to cover areas in a park with rubberized mulch.	Maryland Public Television
	Pentagonal Plot	Find area of composite figure in order to cover it with topsoil.
	3 R’s	Find area of composite figure in order to cover it flooring.
Rates and derived measurements	At the Track	Calculate speed in mph based on distance traveled in a set time or time taken to travel a set distance.	Kentucky Educational Television
Solving Problems Using Velocity and Mass	Bumper Cars– Storing and Using Energy in a Battery	Control the mass and velocity of a bumper car.	Alabama Public Television

Data and Probability In grades 6 – 8, all students should: Understand and apply basic concepts of probability
Concept	Link	Description	Produced by
Using proportionality and a basic understanding of probability to make and test conjectures about the results of experiments and simulations	Photo Booth– Rechargeable Batteries	Determine the proportional relationship between battery charge and the number of photos one can take.	Alabama Public Television
	Bumper Cars– Storing and Using Energy in a Battery	Control the mass and velocity of a bumper car.
	Drag Racing – Horsepower	Calculate horsepower and explore accelerating from 0 to 60 mph.
	Roller Coaster - The Inclined Plane	Determine the amount of force required to pull roller coasters up inclined planes.
	Parachute Drop - The Pulley	Explore and calculate force using different weights of people and different numbers of pulleys.
	Seesaw – The Lever	Explore different weights and positions needed to balance a seesaw.
	Ring the Bell – Acceleration	Explore the force that is necessary to “ring the bell.”
	Roller Coaster– Scale Factor	Explore scale factors of roller coasters, dinosaurs and statues.

KenKen in the Classroom

Simply copy and print KenKen puzzles (maybe six to a page) or try their free online service for teachers.

KenKen ClassroomFree Teaching Tool: KenKen Classroom

KenKen was born in a math classroom—and we want it to stay there! That’s why we introduced our KenKen Classroom Program for teachers. Every week, we’ll email you a set of free KenKen puzzles that is perfect for student use! As the challenge level subtly shifts week to week, students develop their math and logical thinking skills without even knowing it. And it’s all absolutely FREE!

Students love KenKen for the same reasons you do: It’s fun, it’s challenging, no two puzzles are alike, and you get to use different parts of your brain. As a teacher, you can be confident that your students are mastering basic computation skills while employing advanced problem-solving strategies.

Just click below to sign up now for the totally free KENKEN Classroom Program!

SIGN UP

* The KENKEN Classroom Program is a limited time offer, subject to change or expire without notice.

Introduction to SketchUp

This is a good introductory tutorial for SketchUp.

Reflection on First Two Days

   

Before completing the evaluation survey questionnaire, please take a few minutes to reflect on what you discovered, what made an impression, how you might have been influenced to think differently, or other evolutions in your professional practice or personal perspective.

Welcome and Purpose

The purpose of this blog is to support middle school STEM education leaders participating in the MCASP project.