Special Collection: Spooky Fall Fun

 

 

Explore fall favorites from the DynaMath and SuperScience archive, featuring spooky animals, fun Halloween events, superstitions, and more

Furry, Fluffy, and Glowing

Scientists have discovered that some mammals give off a glow! Compare and order decimals related to the fluorescence of a type of flying squirrel.

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Lesson Plan
A step-by-step guide to teaching this article
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Comparing and Ordering Decimals
Watch a video about comparing decimals
Math Vocabulary Graphic Organizer
Help students expand their math vocabulary
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The Great Pumpkin Race

Discover why rowers paddle boats carved from giant pumpkins. Then use unit form and vertical number lines to round large numbers to any place value related to these gargantuan gourds.

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Lesson Plan
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Pumpkin Boats!
A video about buoyancy seen in a pumpkin-boat race
Pumpkin Rounding
Round pumpkin weights to the nearest 10 or 100
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Are You Superstitious?

Analyze and answer questions about charts and graphs related to superstitions.

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Answer Sheet
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Trick or Treat?

Learn about the trick-or-treating tradition, then analyze and answer questions about graphs related to these Halloween hauls.

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Jelly Belly Factory Tour
Watch a video about how jelly beans are made
M&M’s: The Inside Story
Hands-on experiment about the structure of M&M's candy
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Thirsty for Blood

Meet five creatures that feast on blood, then describe and model the body structures that let bloodsucking animals successfully obtain food.

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Lesson Plan
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Amazing Adaptations
Watch a video about animal adaptations
Get to the Blood!
Conduct an experiment about animal adaptations
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Animal Costume Party!

You might wear a costume to put the “trick” in “trick or treat”! Some animals use disguises to blend into their environment or to stump their enemies. Meet four animals for which every day is Halloween, then use arrays to model division of whole numbers related to these camouflaged creatures.

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Lesson Plan
A step-by-step guide to teaching this article
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Animal Adaptations
Watch a video about animal adaptations
Division Squares
An activity using whole-number division
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Art Credits: Furry, Fluffy, and Glowing: J. MARTIN, NORTHLAND COLLEGE; The Great Pumpkin Race: Marlin Levison/AP Images; Are You Superstitious?: Illustration by David Coulson; DenisNata/Shutterstock.com (Girl);  Trick or Treat!: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; Thirsty for Blood: USGS; Animal Costume Party!: David Hall/Blue Planet Archive