Order to Chaos: Dominoes or Dam?
Sometimes outside forces turn order into chaos. But sometimes chaos comes from within.
Earth’s Layers: Who Contributes The Most?
Earth’s layers will disagree about which one contributes the most to the planet’s success.
An Under-Appreciated Planet
Students write from the point of view of the most under-appreciated planet.
Order and Chaos Hide Inside Each Other
Chaos can contain order. Order can contain chaos! Is chaos ever truly random?
Chaos Can Be Positive or Negative
Sometimes we want order, but sometimes we need chaos!
Power and Traditions
We compare the power of traditions shared by millions with smaller traditions shared by perhaps just one family.
Halloween Worksheets
Crosswords, image analysis, and writing prompts for Halloween!
Power can be Visible or Invisible
What are examples of unseen Power? And can invisible power be more powerful than visible power?
Holiday Shuffle – Day vs Date
Wouldn’t some holidays be better on a certain day of the week? Should Thanksgiving have a set date?
Student Introductions With Depth, Complexity, and Frames: Level Two
Once students know the prompts of Depth and Complexity, let’s take them much higher up Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Domesticated Animals Tournament
Which domesticated animal will win the tournament?
Types of Energy Tournament
Which type of energy will win the tournament!?
Natural Disasters Tournament
Earthquake vs. hurricane. Tsunami vs. wildfire. Students set the criteria, argue their case, and crown a champion. Warning: it gets heated.
Van Gogh Self-Portrait Tournament
Who will win the tournament of Van Gogh self-portraits!?
Robot Writing: Acropolis
One painting of ruins. Three robots. Three pieces of writing. Who wrote it best?
Robot Writing: Orchestra
Read three pieces of writing from three different robots based on a beautiful painting and decide who wins!
Squiggles Collection 1
Everyone starts with the same squiggle. No two drawings end up the same. What do you see?
Discussing An Important Decision from History
How would people with two different perspectives discuss a decision from history?
Chess Variant: Monster Chess
What if you had really weak chess pieces, but you could always move twice?
Charge of the Light Brigade – Chess Variant
What if one side played with THREE QUEENS and the other had SEVEN KNIGHTS!? What if?
Horde Chess Variant
What if one player had, say, 32 pawns?
Tournament: 8 Wonders of the Solar System
Which location is the most wondrous place in the solar system?
The 8th Wonder of the World Tournament
Which of these eight wonders deserves to become the Eighth Wonder of the World!?
Precipitation Tournament
Eight types of precipitation battle it out in this tournament.
New Uses for a Paperclip
So what are some new ways to use a paperclip?
Tournament of Presidents
So who was the strangest of these eight presidents?
Notice, Wonder: An Orange Thing
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Holiday vs Holiday (from a Mascot’s Perspective)
Want something to do during the holiday season that is both fun and involves thinking? Get students writing about what a snowman would think about Halloween or what a ghost would think about Thanksgiving.
The Tournament of Biomes
Want to move beyond memorizing the characteristics of biomes? In this lesson, students work through a Tournament of Biomes, explaining which biome wins in each round (based on criteria you choose). In the end, they crown a 👑 Champion Biome!
Writing Sample: Peter Pan
A passage from “Peter Pan” to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Propaganda and Logical Fallacies
Let’s see how propaganda techniques can make even something great seem bad.
Academic Love Letters
What if Kylo Ren wrote a love letter to Abe Lincoln or the Sahara Desert wrote one to the Moon?
Teaching Criticism
For TeachersAsk students to go beyond “I don’t like it” and form critical opinions based on a set of criteria. Students can produce written arguments or turn their opinion into oral presentations.