Elementary Gizmos are specially designed for use in Grades 3 through 5.
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Adding Decimals (Base-10 Blocks)
Use base-10 blocks to model two numbers. Then combine the blocks to model the sum. Blocks of equal value can be exchanged from one area of … the mat to the other to help understand carrying when adding. Four sets of blocks are available to model different place values.
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Adding Fractions (Fraction Tiles)
Add fractions with the help of the Fractionator, a fraction-tile-making machine in the Gizmo. Model sums by placing the tiles on … side-by-side number lines. Explore the usefulness of common denominators in adding. Express sums as improper fractions or mixed numbers.
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Ants on a Slant (Inclined Plane)
Lift food using ants with the help of a slanted stick. The steepness of the stick, the number of ants, and the size of the item being … lifted can be varied. Observe the effect of friction on sliding objects.
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Balancing Blocks (Volume)
This Gizmo provides you with two challenges. First, use blocks to build a figure with a given volume. Then, try to balance the blocks on … a platform that sits on the tip of a cone. The dimensions of the platform can be adjusted, and blocks can be added or deleted by clicking on the model.
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Building Pangaea
In 1915, Alfred Wegener proposed that all of Earth's continents were once joined in an ancient supercontinent he called Pangaea. … Wegener's idea of moving continents led to the modern theory of plate tectonics. Create your own version of Pangaea by fitting Earth's landmasses together like puzzle pieces. Use evidence from fossils, rocks, and glaciers to refine your map.
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Cannonball Clowns (Number Line Estimation)
Launch clowns from a circus cannon and try to hit the target. Drag digit cards on the control panel to set the launch distance and choose … an appropriate unit of distance. After practicing your clown-launching skills on a number line, move on to the Big Top, Football Field, School Buses, the Golden Gate Bridge, and more!
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Cargo Captain (Multi-digit Subtraction)
You are the captain of an interplanetary cargo ship, delivering important supplies to the outer planets. The cargo can be stored in … barrels, crates, and holds. (There are 10 barrels in a crate, and 10 crates in a hold.) Model multi-digit subtraction by unloading cargo on each planet.
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Charge Launcher
Launch a charged particle into a chamber. Charged particles can be added into the chamber to influence the path of the moving particle. … The launch speed can be changed as well. Try to match a given path by manipulating the fixed particles in the chamber.
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Chocomatic (Multiplication, Arrays, and Area)
Use the Chocomatic to design candy bars made out of chocolate squares. Use multiplication to find the number of squares in each chocolate … bar. Build collections of chocolate bars that all have the same number of squares. Solve multiplication problems by joining two smaller chocolate bars into a large bar.
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Circuit Builder
Create circuits using batteries, light bulbs, switches, fuses, and a variety of materials. Examine series and parallel circuits, … conductors and insulators, and the effects of battery voltage. Thousands of different circuits can be built with this Gizmo.
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Circulatory System
Trace the path of blood through a beating heart and the network of blood vessels that supplies blood to the body. Take blood samples … from different blood vessels to observe blood cells and measure the levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide, sugar, and urea.
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City Tour (Coordinates)
Go sightseeing in fictional cities all over the world. Learn about coordinates on a graph by navigating around these cities on a … grid-like city map. Some landmarks are shown on the map. For others, you are only given the coordinates. Can you find all of them?
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Color Absorption
Mix the primary colors of light by using red, green, and blue lights. Use pieces of colored glass to filter the light and create a … wide variety of colors. Determine how light is absorbed and transmitted by each color of glass.
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Conduction and Convection
Two flasks hold colored water, one yellow and the other blue. Set the starting temperature of each flask, choose a type of material to … connect the flasks, and see how quickly the flasks heat up or cool down. The flasks can be connected with a hollow pipe, allowing the water in the flasks to mix, or a solid chunk that transfers heat but prevents mixing.
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Critter Count (Modeling Multiplication)
Use groups of critters on leaves to model multiplication as repeated addition. Change the expression to change the number of groups or … the number of critters per group. Display the critters either on leaves or as a rectangular array.
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Density
Measure the mass and volume of a variety of objects, then place them into a beaker of liquid to see if they float or sink. Learn to … predict whether objects will float or sink in water based on their mass and volume. Compare how objects float or sink in a variety of liquids, including gasoline, oil, seawater, and corn syrup.
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Eclipse
Observe solar and lunar eclipses as the Moon orbits Earth. The full and partial shadows of the Moon and Earth can be displayed, and the … Moon can also be dragged around Earth. See what the Moon and Sun look like from Earth during partial and total eclipses.
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Elevator Operator (Line Graphs)
Operate an elevator in an old apartment building. Pick up and drop off residents where they want to go. A line graph shows where the … elevator traveled over time. Operate the elevator either by using the standard up and down controls, or by building a graph to program where you want it to go.
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Energy Conversions
Where does energy come from? How does energy get from one place to another? Find out how electrical current is generated and how living … things get energy to move and grow. Trace the path of energy and see how energy is converted from one form to another.
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Equivalent Fractions (Fraction Tiles)
Explore fractions using the Fractionator, the machine that makes fraction tiles. Compare fractions and find equivalent fractions by … arranging the tiles on two horizontal rows. Explore simplifying fractions. Add fractions and express sums as improper fractions or mixed numbers.
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Factor Trees (Factoring Numbers)
The Factor Trees Gizmo has two modes. In Factor mode, you can create factor trees to factor composite numbers into primes. In Build mode, … you can build numbers by multiplying primes together. Can you build all composite numbers up to 50? Any whole composite number up to 999 can be factored or built with the Gizmo.
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Fido's Flower Bed (Perimeter and Area)
Construct models of gardens on a grid using squares of sod. Fence the gardens to find and compare perimeters. Work with pre-built gardens … made of 36 squares each to compare perimeters of shapes with equal areas.
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Flower Pollination
Observe the steps of pollination and fertilization in flowering plants. Help with many parts of the process by dragging pollen grains to … the stigma, dragging sperm to the ovules, and removing petals as the fruit begins to grow. Quiz yourself when you are done by dragging vocabulary words to the correct plant structure.
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Force and Fan Carts
Explore the laws of motion using a simple fan cart. Use the buttons to select the speed of the fan and the surface, and press Play to … begin. You can drag up to three objects onto the fan cart. The speed of the cart is displayed with a speedometer and recorded in a table and a graph.
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Forest Ecosystem
Observe and manipulate the populations of four creatures (trees, deer, bears, and mushrooms) in a forest. Investigate the … feeding relationships (food web) in the forest. Determine which creatures are producers, consumers, and decomposers. Pictographs and line graphs show changes in populations over time.
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Fraction Artist 1 (Area Models of Fractions)
Develop understanding of fractions by making modern paintings. Find different ways to divide a canvas into equal-sized sections. … Make paintings to represent simple fractions and to find fractions that are equivalent to one-half.
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Fraction Artist 2 (Area Models of Fractions)
Extend understanding of fractions by making modern paintings in the style of Piet Mondrian. Create and analyze paintings with … different-sized sections. Compare the sizes of unit fractions. Find creative ways to color one-half of a painting. This can be a nice introduction to adding fractions with unlike denominators.
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Fraction Garden (Comparing Fractions)
Plant flowers in two gardens to help develop fraction sense. The two gardens act as number lines, from 0 to 1. Use the flowers in the … gardens to compare fractions and to explore equivalent fractions. Chalk marks can be drawn to divide the garden into equal sections.
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Fraction, Decimal, Percent (Area and Grid Models)
Model and compare fractions, decimals, and percents using area models. Each area model can have 10 or 100 sections and can be set to display … a fraction, decimal, or percent. Click inside the area models to shade them. Compare the numbers visually or on a number line.
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Fractions Greater than One (Fraction Tiles)
Explore fractions greater than one with the Fractionator, a fraction-tile-making machine in the Gizmo. Create sums of fraction tiles on … two number lines. Sums greater than one are shown as improper fractions on the top number line, and as mixed numbers on the bottom number line.
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Free Fall Tower
Recreate Galileo's famous experiment by dropping objects off the Tower of Pisa. You can drop ping pong balls, golf balls, soccer balls … or watermelons. Objects can be dropped in air or no air, with or without a parachute. The speed of each object is shown on a speedometer and a graph.
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Function Machines 1 (Functions and Tables)
Drop a number into a function machine, and see what number comes out! You can use one of the six pre-set function machines, or program … your own function rule into one of the blank machines. Stack up to three function machines together. Input and output can be recorded in a table and on a graph.
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Function Machines 2 (Functions, Tables, and Graphs)
Drop a number into a function machine, and see what number comes out! You can use one of the six pre-set function machines, or program … your own function rule into one of the blank machines. Stack up to three function machines together. Input and output can be recorded in a table and on a graph.
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Function Machines 3 (Functions and Problem Solving)
Drop a number into a function machine, and see what number comes out! You can use one of the six pre-set function machines, or program … your own function rule into one of the blank machines. Stack up to three function machines together. Input and output can be recorded in a table and on a graph.
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Germination
Plant seeds and watch how many sprout. Examine what factors affect germination. Vary the amount of heat, water, and light the seeds … get. Practice designing controlled experiments and using the scientific method.
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Graphing Skills
Create a graph (bar graph, line graph, pie chart, or scatter plot) based on a given data set. Title the graph, label the axes, and choose … a scale. Adjust the graph to fit the data, and then check your accuracy. The Gizmo can also be used to create a data table based on a given graph.
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Gravity Pitch
Imagine a gigantic pitcher standing on Earth, ready to hurl a huge baseball. What will happen as the ball is thrown harder and harder? … Find out with the Gravity Pitch Gizmo. Observe the path of the ball when it is thrown at different velocities. Throw the ball on different planets to see how each planet's gravity affects the ball.
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Growing Plants
Investigate the growth of three common garden plants: tomatoes, beans, and turnips. You can change the amount of light each plant gets, … the amount of water added each day, and the type of soil the seed is planted in. Observe the effect of each variable on plant height, plant mass, leaf color and leaf size. Determine what conditions produce the tallest and healthiest plants. Height and mass data are displayed on tables and graphs.
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Heat Absorption
Shine a powerful flashlight on a variety of materials, and measure how quickly each material heats up. See how the light angle, light … color, type of material, and material color affect heating. A glass cover can be added to simulate a greenhouse.
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Homeostasis
Control a simulated person running on a treadmill. Your challenge is to use clothing, exercise, and sweat to maintain a constant … body temperature as air temperature goes up and down. Sweating (perspiration) can be controlled automatically by the Gizmo or, for a challenge, manually by the user. Don't forget to eat and drink!
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Inheritance
Create aliens with different traits and breed them to produce offspring. Determine which traits are passed down from parents to offspring … and which traits are acquired. Offspring can be stored for future experiments or released.
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Levers
Use a lever to lift a pig, turkey, or sheep. A strongman provides up to 1000 newtons of effort. The fulcrum, strongman, and animals can … be moved to any position to create first-, second-, or third-class levers.
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Magnetism
Drag bar magnets and a variety of other objects onto a piece of paper. Click Play to release the objects to see if they are … attracted together, repelled apart, or unaffected. You can also sprinkle iron filings over the magnets and other objects to view the magnetic field lines that are produced.
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Mascot Election (Pictographs and Bar Graphs)
A brand new school is opening and it is time to elect the school mascot! Students can choose the Eagle, Lion, Bear, or Wolf. Voting … results can be displayed in a table, tally chart, pictograph, bar graph, circle graph, or dot plot. You can change student votes by selecting a group of students and clicking a mascot.
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Measuring Motion
Go on an African safari and observe a variety of animals walking and running across the savanna. Videotape the animals, and then play back … the videotape to estimate animal speeds. Which animals run fastest?
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Measuring Trees
Measure the height, diameter, and circumference of trees in a forest. Count growth rings to determine the age of each tree. Grow the trees … for several years and investigate how growth is affected by precipitation.
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Mineral Identification
Observe and measure the properties of a mineral sample, and then use a key to identify the mineral. Students can observe the color, … luster, shape, density, hardness, streak, and reaction to acid for each mineral. There are 26 mineral samples to identify.
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Modeling Decimals (Area and Grid Models)
Model and compare decimals using area models. Set the number of sections in each model to 1, 10, or 100, and then click in the models to … shade sections. Compare decimals visually and on a number line.
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Modeling Decimals (Base-10 Blocks)
Model numbers with base-10 blocks. Drag flats, rods, and individual cubes onto a mat to model a number. Blocks can be exchanged from one … area of the mat to the other. Four sets of blocks are available to model a variety of whole numbers and decimals.
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Modeling Fractions (Area Models)
Model and compare fractions using area models. Set the denominators with the arrow buttons, and then set the numerators with the arrow … buttons or by clicking in the models. Compare fractions visually, on a number line, or numerically using the least common denominator.
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Movie Reviewer (Mean and Median)
Movie reviewers rate movies on a scale of 0 to 10. Each movie comes with a set of reviews that can be changed by the user. The mean of a … data set can be explored using a see-saw balance model. Students can also find the median, mode, and range of the data set.
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Multiplying Decimals (Area Model)
Model the product of two decimals by finding the area of a rectangle. Estimate the area of the rectangle first. Then break the rectangle … into several pieces and find the area of each piece (partial product). Add these areas together to find the whole area (product).
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No Alien Left Behind (Division with Remainders)
The alien school children from the planet Zigmo travel to distant planets on a field trip. The goal is to select a bus size so that all … buses are full and no aliens are left behind. This is a nice illustration of division with remainders.
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Number Line Frog Hop (Addition and Subtraction)
Live a frog's life as you hop along a number line in search of flies. Learn how addition and subtraction can be represented as … movement along a number line. Fred the frog may even help you get better at adding and subtracting two-digit numbers in your head by decomposing them into tens and ones.
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Ocean Tides
Develop an understanding of ocean tides by comparing the depth of water near a dock to the positions of the Moon, Sun, and Earth. … Determine the influence of the Moon and Sun on tides, and compare spring tides to neap tides.
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Pattern Finder
Observe frogs jumping around on colored lily pads. Find, test, and reason about patterns you see in their jumping.
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Pattern Flip (Patterns)
In the Pattern Flip carnival game, you are shown a pattern of cards. The first cards are face-up so you can see the pattern, and the rest … are face-down. Can you guess which animals are on the face-down cards? Use one of the preset patterns, or make your own custom pattern. Good luck!
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Pendulum Clock
Find the effect of length, mass, and angle on the period of a pendulum. The pendulum is attached to a clock that can be adjusted to tell … time accurately. The clock can be located on Earth or Jupiter to determine the effect of gravity.
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Phases of the Moon
Understand the phases of the Moon by observing the positions of the Moon, Earth and Sun. A view of the Moon from Earth is shown on the … right as the Moon orbits Earth. Learn the names of Moon phases and in what order they occur. Click Play to watch the Moon go around, or click Pause and drag the Moon yourself.
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Phases of Water
Heat or cool a container of water and observe the phase changes that take place. Use a magnifying glass to observe water molecules as a … solid, liquid, or gas. Compare the volumes of the three phases of water.
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Plants and Snails
Study the production and use of gases by plants and animals. Measure the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in a test tube containing snails … and elodea (a type of plant) in both light and dark conditions. Learn about the interdependence of plants and animals.
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Pond Ecosystem
Measure the temperature and oxygen content of a pond over the course of a day. Then go fishing to see what types of fish live in the … pond. Many different ponds can be investigated to determine the influence of time, temperature, and farms on oxygen levels.
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Prairie Ecosystem
Observe the populations of grass, prairie dogs, ferrets and foxes in a prairie ecosystem. Investigate feeding relationships and determine … the food chain. Bar graphs and line graphs show changes in populations over time.
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Pulleys
Lift a variety of heavy objects (armchair, safe, piano) using pulleys and a rope. Systems of one, two, four, or six pulleys can be used. Up … to six people can be used to pull on the rope, which adds force (effort).
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Quilting Bee (Symmetry)
Participate in an old-fashioned quilting bee and create a colorful, symmetrical quilt. Quilts can be created with a vertical, horizontal, … or diagonal line of symmetry. Quilts can be folded to look for reflections, or rotated to test for rotational symmetry.
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Radiation
Use a powerful flashlight to pop a kernel of popcorn. A lens focuses light on the kernel. The temperature of the filament and the … distance between the flashlight and lens can be changed. Several obstacles can be placed between the flashlight and the popcorn.
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Reaction Time 1 (Graphs and Statistics)
Test your reaction time by catching a falling ruler or clicking a target. Create a data set of experiment results, and calculate the … range, mode, median, and mean of your data. Data can be displayed on a list, table, bar graph or dot plot. The Reaction Time 1 Student Exploration focuses on range, mode, and median.
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Reaction Time 2 (Graphs and Statistics)
Test your reaction time by catching a falling ruler or clicking a target. Create a data set of experiment results, and calculate the … range, mode, median, and mean of your data. Data can be displayed on a list, table, bar graph or dot plot. The Reaction Time 2 Student Exploration focuses on mean.
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Road Trip (Problem Solving)
Plan a cross-country road trip through various U.S. state capitals. First choose a vehicle to drive, and then fill up the tank with gas … and go! Find the range and gas mileage of each vehicle, and discover the shortest path between two cities.
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Rock Art (Transformations)
Create your own rock art with ancient symbols. Each symbol can be translated, rotated, and reflected. After exploring each type … of transformation, see if you can use them to match ancient rock paintings.
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Rounding Whole Numbers (Number Line)
Place points on a number line. Round these values to the nearest ten or hundred. Visualize rounding by showing the number line as a hill … or series of hills. These hills cause the points to roll to the nearest valley (nearest multiple of ten or one hundred).
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Solar System
Explore our solar system and learn the characteristics of each planet. Compare the sizes of planets and their distances from the Sun. … Observe the speeds of planetary orbits and measure how long each planet takes to go around the Sun.
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Spin the Big Wheel! (Probability)
Step right up! Spin the big wheel! Each spin can result in no prize, a small prize, or a big prize. The wheel can be spun by 1, 10, or … 100 players. Results are recorded on a frequency table or a circle graph. You can also design your own wheel and a sign that describes the probabilities for your wheel.
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Subtracting Decimals (Base-10 Blocks)
Use base-10 blocks to model a starting number. Then subtract blocks from this number by dragging them into a subtraction bin. Blocks of … equal value can be exchanged from one section of the mat to the other to help understand regrouping and borrowing. Four sets of blocks are available to model different place values.
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Summer and Winter
Observe the tilt of Earth's axis and the angle that sunlight strikes Earth on June 21 and December 21. Compare day lengths, temperatures, … and the angle of the Sun's rays for any latitude. The tilt of the Earth's axis can be varied to see how this would affect seasons.
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Target Sum Card Game (Multi-digit Addition)
Play an addition card game! The goal is to create a sum that is as close as possible to the target sum. Students will deepen … their understanding of place value as they get better at playing the game. Many game options allow students to vary the game for more practice. The game can be played with one or two players.
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Toy Factory (Set Models of Fractions)
Create a set of stuffed animals: monkeys, giraffes, and rabbits. Toys can be painted red, green, or blue. Describe the makeup of the … set (animals or colors) with fractions. Arrange the toys into groups to simplify the fractions.
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Treasure Hunter (Decimals on the Number Line)
Drive a desert highway searching for buried treasure. Learn to use the car's tens, ones, tenths, and hundredths gears, along with a GPS … system (number line), to find the right place to dig. Plot your find on a zoomable number line map. Can you become a master Treasure Hunter?
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Weight and Mass
Use a balance to measure mass and a spring scale to measure the weight of objects. Compare the masses and weights of objects on Earth, … Mars, Jupiter, and the Moon.
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Wheel and Axle
Use a wheel and axle to move a large, heavy load. Find out how many barbarians it takes to move the load under different conditions. The … radii of the wheel and the axle can be adjusted to help study mechanical advantage.
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DECIntroduction to Gizmos Webinar
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