RESOURCES

Mathematics Resources

NASA 

3…2…1 Liftoff! Educator Guide – Try the hands-on activities in this guide with young students to help them learn about the space station and the role rockets played in its construction.

A Study of Astronaut Radiation Dosages (Grades 9-12) – Estimate radiation dosages for astronauts on the space station.

Earth, Moon and Mars Balloons – Construct scale models and discover how far you have to travel to get to the moon or Mars.

Exercising in Space – Identify direct variation, solve linear equations and create tables based on the exercise equipment provided for astronauts on long-duration missions on the International Space Station.

How Much is Waste? – Measure the mass and volume of a food package before and after repacking for spaceflight.

Lights on the International Space Station – Explore the inverse relationship of illumination to distance with a hands-on activity offered by the Exploring Science Through Math site.

Math and Science @ Work – Research Laboratory Series (Grades 10-12 – Advanced Classes) – Promote critical thinking and problem solving with real-world applications that expose students to careers related to space exploration.

Mathematics Videos Playlist – Explore mathematics concepts in the microgravity environment of the space station.

Real World: Keeping the International Space Station in Orbit – Learn about the challenges of keeping the space station in orbit.

Real World: What Time Is It in Space? – Learn how astronauts keep track of what time it is using Universal Time.

STEM Resources

NASA 

A Breath of Fresh Air Lab Activity – Learn about the electrolysis process used on the space station to produce oxygen.

ARED – Resistive Exercise in Space – Analyze the different aspects of the mechanics of the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device.

Candle Flame in Microgravity – Investigate how flames behave in microgravity.

ISS L.A.B.S. Educator Resource Guide – Take on the role of a scientist, engineer or astronaut to learn different aspects of the space station.

Mass vs. Weight Educator Guide – Demonstrate the difference between mass and weight on Earth, and watch astronauts do the same in space.

Oxygen Generator System – Learn how the OGS produces breathable oxygen for the crew by converting wastewater into oxygen and hydrogen.

Science in a Box Educator Guide – Bridge the gap between laboratory science research and the classroom.

Space Faring: The Radiation Challenge – Learn how radiation can affect astronauts during spaceflight.

Researching Bacteria's Virulence in Space – Investigate the effects of spaceflight on bacteria.

Fruit Fly Surveillance – Learn what microgravity can do to the biological processes of fruit flies.

Launchpad: Bernoulli’s Principle – See how the relationship between pressure and speed is characteristic of all fluids, not just liquids.

Launchpad: Cohesion and Adhesion – See how adhesion helps an astronaut on the space station form a glove of water around his hand.

Launchpad: Newton’s Laws – Learn about the inverse relationship between mass and acceleration when calculating force and what F=ma has to do with rockets.

Launchpad: Surface Tension on Board the International Space Station – Learn why water drops form perfect spheres and how the mutual attraction of water molecules forms a tight skin on water surfaces.

Real World: Centripetal Force – Learn more about centripetal force and why the space station stays in orbit.

Science Video Playlist – Explore science concepts in the microgravity environment of the space station.

NCTM

Illuminations

The Illuminations site provides lesson plans, interactive activities, mobile games, and brainteasers that teachers can bring into their lessons.

Rise-Run Triangles

Offers a method for finding the slope of a line from its graph.  

Trigonometry for Solving Problems

Enforce the skills of identifying equivalent trigonometric expressions using puzzles.

Computer Animation

Transform images through rotation, reflection, dilation, and translation using matrix multiplication.

Barbie Bungee

Model linear functions using Barbie dolls and rubber bands.

Equations to Solve in Your Head

Golden Ratio

The Fibonacci sequence 

Painted Squares

A 10 × 10 grid

A Log's Diameter

A plywood sheet

Chess Percents

Two chess players compete in a best-of-five match

Mara Money

Beads

Juliet bought 10 beads for $18. 

Same Hypoteneuse

What is the smallest integer that can be the hypotenuse of two different right triangles, each of which has legs whose lengths are also integers?

Ten Points

Label the ten points in the grid shown with the letters A-J so that

AB < BC < CD < … < HI < IJ.

Sliding Triangle

The triangle at left lies on a flat surface and is pushed at the top vertex.

Estimate Pi

Create two nine-digit numbers, 

I Win!

Two players each roll an ordinary six-sided die. 

Digital Toolkit - focus on research and activities related to the space station.

- A True Support System: Life Support Technology

- Bubbling It Up: Bubbles in Microgravity

- On the Defensive -- Immune

- A Spin on Things -- Centrifuge

- Space Station and the Economy

- We've Got Rhythm: Circadian Rhythm and Cognition on the International Space Station

- Biological Sciences on the International Space Station

- Space Station Boosting Biological Research in Orbit

- Space Station Research Facilities and Capabilities

- Understanding Climate Change

- Physical Science

- Earth Observations

- Homecoming of the One Year Mission Crew

- Cardiovascular Health

- Nutrition

- Robotics

- Radiation

- The Brain in Space

- Biology Research

- Visual Impairment

US National Library of Medicine 

- African American Surgeons and Nurses in the U.S. Civil War (Elementary)

- A Potent Remedy: African American Surgeons and Nurses of the Civil War Era (HS)

- Electricity, Frankenstein, and the Spark of Life

- Frankenstein’s Science

TEDEd 

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/one-is-one-or-is-it

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-you-solve-the-virus-riddle-lisa-winer

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-people-get-so-anxious-about-math-orly-rubinsten

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-the-metric-system-matters-matt-anticole

http://ed.ted.com/featured/no2r3IZW

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/scott-kennedy-how-to-prove-a-mathematical-theory

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/steve-kelly-logarithms-explained

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/marcus-du-sautoy-symmetry-reality-s-riddle

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/kevin-slavin-how-algorithms-shape-our-world

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/hans-rosling-shows-the-best-stats-you-ve-ever-seen

Additional Sites

PBS LearningMedia

Here’s a brand you know and trust. PBS has been providing quality learning materials for decades. 

Yummy Math

All math teachers have heard the common complaint: “but how will I ever use this in the real world?” Yummy Math is one of a few sites on our list that addresses that question in a way meant to keep students interested.

Mathsframe

Mathsframe is a UK website with nearly 200 interactive math games for students to play. The games focus on a variety of math types and levels.

Absurd Math

Absurd Math is a multi-level math game that sends the player out on missions in a world where the most powerful skill is mathematical knowledge.

Get the Math

Get the Math is another site devoted to providing videos and interactive experiences that show students the role math plays in life outside of the classroom. 

Multiplication.com

Multiplication.com provides a mix of free and paid material to teach kids about math.

Johnnie’s Math Page

Johnnie’s Math Page collects a number of interactive math activities into a few of the main categories students encounter in school. 

MathDude Podcast

For the audial learners in your class, the Math Dude podcast covers a range of mathematical topics and lessons in a way that keeps listeners entertained.

Edutopia

• STEM Is Jambalaya: Internalize this food metaphor to shift into a STEM mindset. (Edutopia, 2014)

• How to Get Your School Ready for STEM This Year: Discover a few straightforward tips for preparing your school to launch STEM learning that don’t require access to large amounts of funding. (KQED's MindShift, 2013)

• 10 Innovative Ways to Bring STEM to Schools: Explore ideas for bringing STEM learning into schools, including teacher research and development teams, inviting guest scientists, organizing clubs, and convening parent focus groups. (KQED’s MindShift 2014)

• How to Design Right-Sized Challenges: Consider takeaways from an engineering design competition for how to conceptualize design challenges as relevant to real life, challenging, and achievable for diverse learners. (Edutopia, 2014)

• Ownership and Agency Will Propel STEM Learning: Review evidence that the best way forward in STEM learning is by letting students lead. (Edutopia, 2014)

• STEM and Writing: See how inviting guest speakers from STEM fields to the classroom can inspire student imaginations. (Edutopia, 2014)

• Using Football Science to Tackle STEM Education: Learn how to use topics that interest students to get across potentially challenging or intimidating STEM concepts. (Edutopia, 2013)

• Learning the Physics of Skateboarding Engages Kids in Science: Watch a video about an educator known as "Dr. Skateboard," and see how he teaches students about speed, velocity, and momentum at the local skate park. (Edutopia, 2014)

• STEMbite: An Experiment in Teaching With Google Glass: Watch first-person video lessons –- including a broadcast from one teacher’s kitchen exploring crazy science found in the refrigerator –- and see how video lessons can motivate and inspire students in STEM. (Edutopia, 2013)

• Engaging Students in the STEM Classroom Through Making: Find out how to use the maker movement to engage STEM students in new ways. (Edutopia, 2012)

STEM Project, Lesson, and Models

• The High Hopes Project: Read about students in Nevada and how they designed payloads for high-altitude balloons as part of an integrated inquiry and problem-based global STEM project. (Edutopia, 2015)

• Reinventing the Science Fair With Portal 2 Puzzle Maker: Find out how one STEM teacher uses Portal 2 Puzzle Maker to engage students in designing and demonstrating math and science problems through game design. (Edutopia, 2014)

• Students Map Real-World Issues With (Free) Geospatial Tools: Discover how some schools are using geographical information system software to help students investigate local and world problems. (Edutopia, 2014)

• Emphasize Real Problems to Boost STEM Learning: Explore a set of resources and ideas called PBL Projects to find ways to create student-driven learning experiences within the context of authentic STEM problems and challenges. (Edutopia, 2015)

• Videos and Resources for Making STEM Come Alive: Find examples of projects for bringing STEM learning into middle and high school classrooms. (Teaching Channel, 2014)

• How to Energize a Weak STEM Lesson: Find tips for educators on how to find good sources for STEM lessons, criteria you can use to evaluate their quality, and tips on adapting STEM lessons for your own use. (MiddleWeb, 2015)

Pulling Underrepresented Young into STEM

• Quick, Draw a Scientist: Learn how to address scientist stereotypes in the minds of students. (Edutopia, 2015)

• Why Students Leave STEM: Discover why some students choose to leave STEM, and learn how strategies like mentors and role models can help. (Edutopia, 2014)

• Girls Against the World, Scientifically Speaking: Dig into questions and explore suggestions for how STEM education can be made more relevant for girls. (Edutopia, 2015)

• Kinesthetic Learning: Moving Toward a New Model for Education: Find out how one afterschool program is pairing kinesthetic learning and mathematics to break through barriers of self-image and perceived limitations. (Edutopia, 2014)

• 5 Ways to Get Girls Into STEM: Explore strategies to help capture young girls’ interest in STEM subjects and career paths. (Edutopia, 2013)

• Five-Minute Film Festival: 8 Videos to Encourage Girls in STEM: Watch a video playlist to ignite your imagination about what girls can do in science, technology, engineering, and math. Be sure to take a look at the tip sheets and articles at the bottom of the page. (Edutopia, 2014)

STEM Beyond School Walls

• Informal Learning: From STEM Clubs to Careers in Science: Discover how informal-learning experiences can help draw students into STEM subjects. (Edutopia, 2014)

• Khan Academy's Discovery Lab: Summer Camp Where STEM Meets PBL: Learn about STEM activities at one summer camp: experiences reverse-engineering household objects, statistics and economics simulations, hands-on mathematics, robotics, and computer science. (Edutopia, 2012)

• Learning STEM Through Agriculture on a Nebraska Farm: Watch a video that shows how members of the Loseke family use STEM skills and knowledge every day to run their ranching business. (Edutopia, 2014)

• Girls Launch Their Own High-Interest STEM Project -- Into Space: Check out a story about several middle school girls who took on an ambitious summer project. (Edutopia, 2015)

• How Making Robots Captivates Kids' Imaginations: Watch a video about two high school seniors who began mentoring younger robotics teams to teach STEM skills and save their school’s robotics program. (Edutopia, 2014)

Schools That Work

• Bridges Project Design Document: Download a PDF document that describes how students learn about the math and engineering concepts necessary to construct bridges and explore the symbolic meaning of bridges in literature, history, and social studies.

• Communications Project Design Document: Download a PDF document that describes how students address learning goals across multiple subjects through design and construction of a sound system and the writing of original music.

• Rockets and Robots Project Design Document: Download a PDF document that describes how students build robots and construct rockets to complete a variety of space-inspired missions and reach reach learning goals in various content areas.

• Blank Project Design Document: Download a blank PDF template used to design and plan capstone projects at Mc2STEM.

• Sample Fab Lab Projects: Download a PDF document with photos of several projects that were done in the Mc2STEM Fab Lab.