1. Teacher Guide
This lesson is designed to teach kids to ask a critical thinking question that you can’t just put into a search box to solve. To do that, we encourage them with smaller questions that search can help them answer. Make sure that you read the notes for each slide: they not only give you teaching tips but also provide answers and hints so you can help the kids if they are having trouble.
Remember, you can always send feedback to the Bing in the Classroom team at You can learn more about the program at bing.com/classroom and follow the daily lessons on our Partners In Learning site.
Want to extend today’s lesson? Consider using Skype in the Classroom to arrange for your class to chat with another class in today’s location. And if you are using Windows 8, you can also use the Bing apps to learn more about this location and topic; the Travel and News apps in particular make great teaching tools.
Alice Keeler is a mother of 5 and a teacher in Fresno, California. She has her B.A in Mathematics, M.S. in Educational Media Design and Technology and is currently working on a doctorate in Educational Technology with an emphasis in games and simulations. EdTech speaker, blogger, and presenter. Founder of coffeeEDU, a 1 hour conference event for educators. New Media Consortium Horizon report advisory panel member. High school math teacher for 14 years. Currently teaching pre-service teachers curriculum, instruction and technology at California State University Fresno. Teaches online for Fresno Pacific University in the Masters in Educational Technology. Passionate that kids are not failures, researches gamification in education to increase student motivation.
This lesson is designed to teach the Common Core State Standard: Mathematics
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSG.SRT.A.2 Given two figures, use the definition of similarity in terms of similarity transformations to decide if they are similar; explain using similarity transformations the meaning of similarity for triangles as the equality of all corresponding pairs of angles and the proportionality of all corresponding pairs of sides.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSG.SRT.B.5 Use congruence and similarity criteria for triangles to solve problems and to prove relationships in geometric figures.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W E Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

2. How can we utilize the properties of fractals to discover their occurrence in real world situations?
© Alkalyne/Getty Images
Having this up as kids come in is a great settle down activity. You can start class by asking them for thoughts about the picture or about ideas on how they could solve the question of the day.

3. How can we utilize the properties of fractals to discover their occurrence in real world situations?
A silver fern frond in New Zealand may open up to a full length of 10 feet or more, and the full plant itself may climb to more than 30 feet. Endemic to New Zealand, the shape of these furled up fronds influenced the symbolic carvings and tattoos of the native Maori culture. Known as the “koru” – “loop” in Maori – the fern-inspired spiral represents growth and new life.
Depending on time, you can either have students read this silently to themselves, have one of them read out loud, or read it out loud yourself.

4. How can we utilize the properties of fractals to discover their occurrence in real world situations?1
Image Search
Search Bing images to identify pictures of fractals. Write down 3 observations about fractals. 2
Web Search
What are the properties of fractals? 3
Search Bing images to identify pictures of fractals in nature. 4
Identify where fractals happen in nature. 5
How are fractals formed in nature?
There are a couple of ways to use this slide, depending on how much technology you have in your classroom. You can have students find answers on their own, divide them into teams to have them do all the questions competitively, or have each team find the answer to a different question and then come back together. If you’re doing teams, it is often wise to assign them roles (one person typing, one person who is in charge of sharing back the answer, etc.)

5. How can we utilize the properties of fractals to discover their occurrence in real world situations?5
Minutes
You can adjust this based on how much time you want to give kids. If a group isn’t able to answer in 5 minutes, you can give them the opportunity to update at the end of class or extend time.

6. How can we utilize the properties of fractals to discover their occurrence in real world situations?1
Image Search
Search Bing images to identify pictures of fractals. Write down 3 observations about fractals. 2
Web Search
What are the properties of fractals? 3
Search Bing images to identify pictures of fractals in nature. 4
Identify where fractals happen in nature. 5
How are fractals formed in nature?
You can ask the students verbally or let one of them come up and insert the answer or show how they got it. This way, you also have a record that you can keep as a class and share with parents, others.

7. How can we utilize the properties of fractals to discover their occurrence in real world situations?1
Image Search
Search Bing images to identify pictures of fractals. Write down 3 observations about fractals.
(Possible Search Queries: “fractals”)
Sources
Bing Image Search:
Answer: Fractals contain a certain amount of symmetry, order and organization. Patterns are repeated and display an almost natural or living quality. Students may recognize the fact that such patterns occur in the natural world in things like plants, trees and flowers.

8. How can we utilize the properties of fractals to discover their occurrence in real world situations?2
Web Search
What are the properties of fractals?
(Possible Search Queries: “Fractals properties,” “Fractals characteristics,” “Fractals defined, ” “define: fractal”)
Sources:
Wikipedia:
Forex Fraternity:
Fractal Foundation:
Fractals are highly complex, infinitely repeating patterns that are self-similar meaning each part is representative of the whole.

9. How can we utilize the properties of fractals to discover their occurrence in real world situations?3
Image Search
Search Bing images to identify pictures of fractals in nature.
(Possible Search Queries: “Fractals in Nature,” “Natural Fractals,” “Naturally Occurring Fractals”)
Sources
Bing Image Search:
Students should note the various types of phenomena that display fractals such as plants, animals such at a peacock and, mollusks such as the chambered nautilus, weather patterns such as hurricanes and solar systems.

10. How can we utilize the properties of fractals to discover their occurrence in real world situations?4
Web Search
Identify where fractals happen in nature.
(Possible Search Queries: “Fractals in nature,” “Naturally occurring fractals” )
Resources:
Web Ecoist
Miquel
Students should note the sheer range and variety of the natural phenomena in which fractals occur: Plants, animals, shells, leaves, mountain ranges, snowflakes, clouds, lightning etc.

11. How can we utilize the properties of fractals to discover their occurrence in real world situations?5
Web Search
How are fractals formed in nature?
(Possible Search Queries: “how are fractals formed in nature,” “causes of fractals in nature“)
Sources
Fractal Foundation:
Art of Science:
Erosion Control:
“The mathematical beauty of fractals is that infinite complexity is formed with relatively simple equations. By iterating or repeating fractal-generating equations many times, random outputs create beautiful patterns that are unique, yet recognizable.”
“weather patterns are intricately related to fractals by chaos theory.”

12. How can we utilize the properties of fractals to discover their occurrence in real world situations?
This slide is a chance to summarize the information from the previous slides to build your final answer to the question.