Thirteen provocative activities for this holiday season of Thanksgiving, football, and shopping.
Thanksgiving, football, shopping and giving
Tag: 8.G
What is a quantum dot?
Students learn about nanotechnology and why it works by looking closely at surface area and its comparison to volume. Hopefully they will begin to understand the incredible possibilities of this science.
Heating with wood – What’s a cord?
Students get a visual and geometric understanding of the measurements and shapes of a cord of wood while using the relative size of a ruler in various images.
200 people
Let your students ponder this gif in full screen and then let them share what they notice and why this gif might have been created.
The HAT tessellation
An Einstein aperiodic tile has just been discovered. Find out what that means and why it is significant. Plus – play with the tiles. Do you want to tile your shower floor with these? Could a tile setter pull this off?
The Times Square Ball
What does truncation mean? How is the Times Square Ball related to an icosahedron? Let students learn about the crystals and the LEDs that create this beautiful construction.
Before the holidays (16 activities)
We have tons (well, 16) of activities to bring to your class in this last week before the holiday break. Movies, science, art, cooking, economics, weather and the logic of calendars. Enjoy!
Lots of Cranberries
In this activity, students learn about how cranberries are grown and harvested; estimate their size and quantities; and see what they can deduce from published statistics.
Total lunar eclipse
On the morning of November 8, 2022, many of us will be able to see the last full lunar eclipse until March 2025. Luckily, many of us will be able to see the eclipse pretty close to when we would…
The James Webb space telescope and the Hubble
There have been outstanding images coming to NASA from the James Webb Telescope. Take some time to compare the Webb to the Hubble telescope that has been sending images to Earth since 1990. Look at what is different and what…
Shooting for Three
The NBA court has a 3-point line that separates how many points a player will earn for his team by making a basket from outside of that line. Teams have been shooting more and more three’s, but should they be and why?
What can you tell about a snowflake?
As a snowflake falls from the sky, its crystal grows according to the humidity and temperatures of the air that it passes through. In this activity, students interpret a graphic that clarifies that growth and try to deduce what conditions…
2 New Macy’s Parade balloons
Students figure out the dimensions of these two new balloons using Macy’s hints and judging from the handlers’ sizes.
Betsy Ross’s 5-pointed star
Lots of Cranberries
In this timely activity, students learn about how cranberries are grown and harvested; estimate their size and quantities; and see what they can deduce from published statistics.