Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning

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Cacey Wells

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K20 Center

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Thinking Outside of the Box

Surface Area and Volume of Rectangular Prisms

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 10th

In this lesson, students explore concepts of perimeter, area, surface area, and volume while engaging in hands-on construction of origami boxes. Students collaborate to discover the formulas for volume and surface area. Then students listen to a civil engineer and learn how he uses volume and surface... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Thinking Outside of the Box

Surface Area and Volume of Rectangular Prisms

Tag Related

  • Individual Career Academic Plan (ICAP)

Course Course

  • Geometry

Subject Subject

  • Mathematics

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 10th

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • G.3D.1.1
More 2-3 class periods
Time Frame 85-95 minutes
Making Motion Matter

Connecting Position, Velocity, and Acceleration

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 12th Grade

In this lesson, students will learn the relationship between position, velocity, speed, and acceleration to solve real-world problems involving motion along a line. Students are expected to know the chain rule and how to find higher-order derivatives for both power and trigonometric functions before... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Making Motion Matter

Connecting Position, Velocity, and Acceleration

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 12th Grade

Course Course

  • AP Calculus

Subject Subject

  • Mathematics

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • CHA-3, CHA-3.B, CHA-3.B.1
More 2-3 class periods
Time Frame 95-110 minutes
What Does That Look Like?

Volumes With Known Cross Sections

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 11th - 12th

Students will create three-dimensional representations of volumes with known cross sections in order to better understand what the solids look like and to better calculate volume. Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
What Does That Look Like?

Volumes With Known Cross Sections

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 11th - 12th

Course Course

  • AP Calculus

Subject Subject

  • Mathematics

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • G.3D.1.1, G.3D.1.2
More 120 minutes
Time Frame 2-3 class period(s)
Things to Do with a Strip of Paper: Hexaflexagons

Translations, Reflections, & Trapezoids

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 6th - 10th

In this lesson, students will create and explore mathematics found in hexaflexagons. This includes learning more about translations, rotations, and reflections of polygons, showing how these types of transformations preserve congruency, and learning to calculate area of trapezoids and composite figures. Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Things to Do with a Strip of Paper: Hexaflexagons

Translations, Reflections, & Trapezoids

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 6th - 10th

Course Course

  • Geometry, Middle School Mathematics

Subject Subject

  • Mathematics

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 6.GM.4.1, 6.GM.4.2, 7.GM.2.1
More 100 minutes
Time Frame 2-3 class period(s)
The Ol' Dusty Trail

Math Trails: Area, Surface Area, and Volume

Math trails are explorations where students can go outside the class to engage in meaningful mathematical tasks. In this lesson, students will explore a virtual math trail on the University of Oklahoma's Norman campus to engage in spatial reasoning and estimation. Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
The Ol' Dusty Trail

Math Trails: Area, Surface Area, and Volume

Course Course

  • Middle School Mathematics

Subject Subject

  • Mathematics

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • G.3D.1.1, G.3D.1.2
More 150 minutes
Time Frame 3-4 class period(s)
That's Low, Fo' Drizzle

Measures of Central Tendency

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 6th - 8th

In this lesson, students will look at phenomena using a weather simulation in order to learn more about descriptive statistics and measures of central tendency. The lesson focuses on extreme weather in different parts of the United States. Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
That's Low, Fo' Drizzle

Measures of Central Tendency

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 6th - 8th

Course Course

  • Middle School Mathematics

Subject Subject

  • Mathematics

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 6.D.1.2, 7.D.1.1, 7.D.1.2, PA.D.1.2
More 90 minutes
Time Frame 2-3 class period(s)
Take it to the Limit!

Limits Toward Infinity in Rational Functions

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 12th Grade

In this lesson, students will explore the puzzling ideas behind Grandi's series in order to construct an idea of how the sum of an infinite number of terms in a sequence can be evaluated. After exploring Grandi's series, students take a closer look at limits of rational functions as their values of... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Take it to the Limit!

Limits Toward Infinity in Rational Functions

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 12th Grade

Course Course

  • AP Calculus

Subject Subject

  • Mathematics

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • PK.S, M.1, M.2, M.3, M.4, M.5, M.6, K.PS2
More 100 minutes
Time Frame 2-3 class period(s)
Measuring Borders

Convergent and Divergent Series

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 10th - 12th

Students will explore what happens when one measures a "rough" object using different units of measure. This lesson is adapted from Benoit Mandelbrot's famous problem, "Measuring the Coastline of Britain." Students will learn about the concepts of convergent and divergent series and the paradoxical... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Measuring Borders

Convergent and Divergent Series

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 10th - 12th

Course Course

  • AP Calculus, Algebra 2, Precalculus

Subject Subject

  • Mathematics

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • LIM-7.A
More 60 minutes
Time Frame 1-2 class period(s)
Making Connections

Connecting Functions and Their Derivatives

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 12th Grade

The goal of this lesson is to help students understand the relationships between a function and its first and second derivatives. Students will analyze graphs recalling their knowledge of sketching graphs by hand using the first and second derivatives and apply their graphical knowledge verbally through... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Making Connections

Connecting Functions and Their Derivatives

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 12th Grade

Course Course

  • AP Calculus

Subject Subject

  • Mathematics

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • FUN-4, FUN-4.A, FUN-4.A.11
More 2-3 class periods
Time Frame 95-135 minutes
I Sub, U-Sub, We All Sub Again

Integration: U-Subsitution, Part 2

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 12th Grade

This lesson is a follow-up to I Sub, U-Sub, We All Sub. In the previous lesson, students worked with the teacher to create an anchor chart of what "worked" and what "didn't work" for anti-differentiating derivatives of functions. The goal of this lesson is to build on that knowledge in order for students... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
I Sub, U-Sub, We All Sub Again

Integration: U-Subsitution, Part 2

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 12th Grade

Course Course

  • AP Calculus

Subject Subject

  • Mathematics

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • PK.S, M.1, M.2, M.3, M.4, M.5, M.6, K.PS2
More 2-3 class periods
Time Frame 75 minutes