Jan Gebert is an Illuminations lesson plan reviewer and instructor of
professional and secondary education at East Stroudsburg University. So
she definitely knows a thing or two about quality lessons. Illuminations
asked her for her favorite out of our 600+ lessons.
Success Story
Deeanna Golden, a teacher of 24 years at F.M. Golson Elementary
School in Marianna, Florida, is a beloved Illuminations lesson plan
writer. So we asked her, "Why do you think it is important to share resources?"
Success Story
Your team is down by one point. Your teammate, who makes free throws about three-fourths of the time, is at the free throw line. She gets a second shot if she makes the first one. Each free throw she makes is worth 1 point. If there is no time left, what are the chances you win the game without overtime?
Problems
Grades: 6th to 8th, 9th to 12th, 3rd to 5th
Stats & Probability
Mathematical Practices
Investigate chance processes and develop, use, and evaluate probability models.
Using Probability to Make Decisions
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Conditional Probability and the Rules of Probability
HSS-CP.A.2, HSS-CP.B.8, HSS-CP.B.9, CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1, HSS-MD.B.5a, 7.SP.C.7a, 7.SP.C.8a, 7.SP.C.8b
Imagine having your whole year planned out before stepping foot in your
classroom. Cindy Stofferahn, third grade teacher at Sturgis Elementary
School in South Dakota, already knows what she is teaching today,
tomorrow and for the rest of the year.
Success Story
The 23-year teacher modifies games to meet the different
learning needs in her classroom. See how she modified Deep Sea
Duel.
Success Story
Chelsea Cutting from Mount Gambier, South Australia, tells us about the
real-world connections her students are able to make after using
Illumination resources.
Success Story
Wendy Cleaves is a Mathematics Coordinator at the Regional Science
Resource Center at UMass Medical School in Shrewsbury, MA. At the
center, Cleaves supports pre-K-12 STEM educators by providing a
professional development institute entitled, "Increasing Accessibility
to Algebra & Geometry for ALL Students."
Success Story
Teachers are not the only ones who encourage students to play
Calculation Nation--parents do too! Dana Slevin, and her middle school
daughters play Calculation Nation at home.
Success Story
Matthew Jaques, ninth and tenth grade teacher for Cathedral High
School in Springfield, Massachusetts, discovered Illuminations by way of
Bright Ideas and has been using, modifying and creating his
own lessons ever since.
Success Story
Jessica Woolard, a graduate of the Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education of the University of Torontoher, spent part of
her summer interning for NCTM before she returned to Canada to complete
her degree in education. During that time, she helped to create and edit
lessons for Illuminations.
Success Story
It has often been said that love happens when you least expect it, and
now the same can be said for finding math resources. Victoria Miles, 7th
grade math teacher at Abigail Adams Middle School, came upon
Illuminations after a Google search directed her to the site.
Success Story
Anthony
incorporates Illuminations lessons into her curriculum, but she also
expands, tweaks and creates new materials to ensure these lessons are
meeting the needs of her students.
Success Story
A man has to take a wolf, a goat, and some cabbage across a river. His rowboat has enough room for the man plus either the wolf or the goat or the cabbage. If he takes the cabbage with him, the wolf will eat the goat. If he takes the wolf, the goat will eat the cabbage. Only when the man is present are the goat and the cabbage safe from their enemies. All the same, the man carries wolf, goat, and cabbage across the river. How?
Problems
Grades: 6th to 8th, 3rd to 5th, 9th to 12th
Mathematical Practices
Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1, CCSS.Math.Practice.MP2
Write 2014 with the first four prime numbers, with the
aid of the operations addition, multiplication and exponentiation.
Problems
Grades: 6th to 8th, 3rd to 5th, High School, 9th to 12th
Expression/Equation
Algebraic Thinking
Mathematical Practices
Apply and extend previous understandings of arithmetic to algebraic expressions.
Gain familiarity with factors and multiples.
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Multiply and divide within 100.
3.OA.C.7, CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1, 4.OA.B.4, 6.EE.A.1
A pocket watch is placed next to a digital clock. Several times a day,
the number of minutes shown by the digital clock is equal to the number
of degrees between the hands of the watch. (The watch does not have a
second hand.) As you can see, 10:27 is not one of those times — the
angle between the hands is much greater than 27°. If fractional minutes
aren’t allowed, at what times does this happen?
Problems
Grades: 3rd to 5th, 6th to 8th, 9th to 12th
Measurement & Data
Mathematical Practices
Solve problems involving measurement and estimation of intervals of time, liquid volumes, and masses of objects.
Model with mathematics.
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1, CCSS.Math.Practice.MP4, 3.MD.A.1
On the map shown, begin at Start. Travel the roads along any path you
like, following typical traffic laws, and each time you pass a number,
add it to your current sum. However, you are not allowed to pass any
number more than once. Can you reach End with a sum of 91?
Problems
Grades: 3rd to 5th, 6th to 8th, 9th to 12th
Num & Ops Base Ten
Mathematical Practices
Use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic.
Attend to precision.
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1, CCSS.Math.Practice.MP6, 4.NBT.B.4, 3.NBT.A.2
Let A = 1, B = 2, and so on, with each letter equal to its position in the alphabet. The lexivalue of a word is the sum of the values of its letters. For example, ROMANS has a lexivalue of 18 + 15 + 13 + 1 + 14 + 19 = 80.
Now, do the following:
- Pick a number.
- Convert it into its representation in Roman numerals.
- Find the lexivalue for that Roman numeral.
For example, if you choose 11, that becomes XI in Roman numerals, and XI has a lexivalue of 24 + 9 = 33.
Are there any numbers for which the lexivalue is equal to the original number?
Problems
Grades: 6th to 8th, 3rd to 5th, 9th to 12th
Mathematical Practices
Attend to precision.
Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1, CCSS.Math.Practice.MP2, CCSS.Math.Practice.MP6
Equations to solve in your
head:
Is this a joke? Not if you can
multiply the first equation by 6,751 and the second by 3,249 in your head, and
not if you use a second, simpler method.
Problems
Grades: 6th to 8th, 9th to 12th, 3rd to 5th
Mathematical Practices
Algebra
Expression/Equation
Attend to precision.
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Reasoning with Equations and Inequalities
Analyze and solve linear equations and pairs of simultaneous linear equations.
8.EE.C.8b, HSA-REI.C.6, HSA-REI.C.5, CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1, CCSS.Math.Practice.MP6
Wheels A, B, C, and D are connected with belts as shown. If wheel A starts to rotate clockwise as the arrow indicates, can all 4 wheels rotate? If so, which way does each wheel rotate?
Can all the wheels turn if all 4 belts are crossed? If 1 or 3 belts are crossed?
Problems
Grades: 6th to 8th, 9th to 12th, 3rd to 5th
Mathematical Practices
Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1, CCSS.Math.Practice.MP2
A plywood sheet is 45 by 45
inches. What is the approximate diameter of the log the sheet was made from?
The diameter d of a circle equals ,
where C is the circumference, but
please do not make a mistake. The diameter of the log is not .
Problems
Grades: 6th to 8th, 3rd to 5th, High School, 9th to 12th
Mathematical Practices
Geometry
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Geometric Measurement and Dimension
Circles
Solve real-life and mathematical problems involving angle measure, area, surface area, and volume.
7.G.B.4, HSG-C.A.3, HSG-GMD.A.1, CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1