Holiday Worksheets

Writing prompts, non-fiction analysis, and science topics related to Christmas and Hanukkah.

What’s In My Brain: Coral vs Water Lilies

Let’s look at saltwater vs freshwater organisms.

Plexidemokinesis (Greek and Latin)

What on earth is a Plexidemokinesis? Break apart the Greek and Latin roots, figure out what it should mean, then invent what it describes.

Psycholunaphase (Greek and Latin)

What on earth is a Psycholunaphase? Break apart the Greek and Latin roots, figure out what it should mean, then invent the creature, device, or spell it describes.

Hydromagnaphone (Greek and Latin)

What on earth is a Hydromagnaphone? Break apart the Greek and Latin roots, figure out what it should mean, then invent what it describes.

Geosynth (Greek and Latin)

What on earth is a Geosynth? Break apart the Greek and Latin roots, figure out what it should mean, then invent what it describes.

Thermocryptograph (Greek and Latin)

What on earth is a Thermocryptograph? Break apart the Greek and Latin roots, figure out what it should mean, then invent what it describes.

Aquamorphotron (Greek and Latin)

What on earth is a Aquamorphotron? Break apart the Greek and Latin roots, figure out what it should mean, then invent what it describes.

Chronosonarium (Greek and Latin)

What on earth is a Chronosonarium? Break apart the Greek and Latin roots, figure out what it should mean, then invent what it describes.

Pyrostasis (Greek and Latin)

What on earth is a Pyrostasis? Break apart the Greek and Latin roots, figure out what it should mean, then invent what it describes.

Greekymon Studies – Round 3

What might a creature named “Aquacornus Rex” be like?

Greekymon Studies – Round 2

What might a creature named “Hypermnemonicus” be like?

Greekymon Studies – Round 1

What might a creature named “Ursolunascope” be like?

How to Reset Your Brain When You’re Flooded

Allison Edwards explains how changing your senses can reset your brain.

Create A Civ: Capital City

Every great capital is part geography, part human design. Research real ones, then build your own from scratch.

Idioms About Money

Five sets of idioms related to money.

Word Pyramids

Start with a one letter word, add another letter, then add another. How tall can you make the pyramid?

Idioms About Fire

Five sets of idioms related to fire!

Idiom Tasks

Four fantastically terrific tasks for a weekly idiom study.

Idioms about Weather

Five sets of idioms related to the weather.

Idioms About Red

Five sets of idioms related to the color red.

Famous Structures

The Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House — group them, pick the best from each group, then design your own.

What’s In My Brain!? Walnut vs Clouds

Let’s look at living vs non-living things.

Concept Attainment: Hornet vs Tiger

Can your class spot the vertebrates vs invertebrates?

Analyze Suffixes: -ly, -less, and -ful

What exactly does adding -less do to a word?

Introducing Universal Theme of Change

Everything changes. But how does it change? Students brainstorm dozens of examples and boil them down to one big idea.

Introducing Universal Theme of Systems

So what could you do with a Universal Theme of Systems? Well, here’s an introduction that will get your students’ brains sweating.

Introducing Universal Theme of Power

So what could you do with a Universal Theme of Power? Well, here’s an introduction that will get your students’ brains sweating.

Sets of Idioms Related to Numbers

Two sets of idioms related to numbers.

Sets of Idioms Related to Body Parts

Five sets of five idioms, all related to body parts!

Sets of Idioms Related to Food

Five sets of five idioms, all related to food.

Antonym Paths

Does the antonym of an antonym bring us back to the same meaning?

Ultimate (or Inception) Tic Tac Toe

What if each square on a Tic-Tac-Toe board had another Tic-Tac-Toe board inside of it?

Word Ladder: East to West (4 Steps)

COLD to COOL. BAND to SING. Change one letter at a time — can you find the path?

Writing Technique: Opposite Adjectives

A specific technique to help students add some spice to their writing. We’ll be using antonyms to describe the same topic!

Generalization: Systems Are Made up of Other Systems

A clock is a system. So is a rainforest. So is your school. Once you see systems inside systems, you can’t unsee it.

SCAMPER: Scaffolding Creativity

Asking students to “think creatively” won’t get you far. They won’t know how to start, they’ll get stuck with simple ideas, or they’ll just go completely wild. SCAMPER is a tool for scaffolding the process of creativity.

Notice, Wonder: Akron

A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!

Sets of Idioms

Why do we say ‘break a leg’? Five themed sets of idioms your students will actually remember.

Student Introductions With Depth and Frames

Want to introduce the tools of Depth and Complexity and learn more about your students and introduce the Frame graphic organizer? Have I got the activity for you!

Chomp

Chomp away at your opponent in this grid-based strategy game.

Game: Notakto

What if you only played Tic-Tac-Toe with Xs and you could play on multiple boards?

More Specific than “Smart”

When students are told that they’re “smart”, what does this word actually mean to them? (Psst. It isn’t what we intended.)

Building Creative Analogies

We’ll take two seemingly unrelated pieces of content (say volcanoes and the human body) and then build analogies to connect the two ideas. In the end, students can create a skit, comic, or story relating the two concepts.

Synonym Graphs

So, which is happiest: happy, joyful, or ecstatic? Which is most temporary?

Academic Love Letters

What if Kylo Ren wrote a love letter to Abe Lincoln or the Sahara Desert wrote one to the Moon?

Create A Civilization: From Hunter Gatherers to Farmers

What happens when your civilization suddenly has a surplus of food? Think of the possibilities!

Content Imperatives: Origin

Take students back to the beginning by using the Content Imperative ⏺️ Origin.

Depth and Complexity: 👄 Language of the Discipline

Imagine a construction worker who doesn’t know the name of a screwdriver or a doctor who can’t remember what to call your neck. It’s pretty hard to communicate well without knowing the 👄 Language of the Discipline!

Educational Valentines

Let’s make valentines with an educational twist!

Reduce Anxiety: Brain Plate (Tool 3)

When a student’s brain is full of worries, everything feels urgent. Brain Plate helps them sort what’s real from what’s noise — and actually do something about it.

Greekymon

Rather than just memorizing word parts, students will use those word parts to create four possible products.

Asynchrony: Developing At Different Rates (For Students)

For students! In some areas, a student may be shockingly advanced, while in others… surprisingly average. This is asynchrony in action.

Common English Words From Other Languages

Bored with typical spelling studies? Let’s dig into the origins of common English words from other languages!

Greek and Latin Dinosaur Names

Let’s create a new dinosaur using Greek and Latin stems!

Intellectual Intensity

Do you know someone who becomes a bit overexcited by ideas?