Alabama ELA Standard: 1.LF.42.a

13 colonies activities including a word search and task cards packed with facts. Plus, students will create their own colony with a name, story, and map!

What if a capybara and a kangaroo rat switched homes? Would their adaptations be helpful at all?

So, what can a cardboard tube be used for other than holding wrapping paper?

What might a creature named “Hypermnemonicus” be like?

Hey! Our New Year traditions have a lot in common.

What would the consequences be if no one had to sleep anymore?

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

Put these countries into groups. Then do it again. Then… do it one more time. How does re-re-grouping the same places reveal new patterns and give new insights?

Put these animals into groups. Then do it again. Then… do it one more time. How does re-re-grouping the same creatures reveal new patterns and give new insights?

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

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

Which of these types of volcanoes is not like the others?

Which of these deserts is not like the others?

So what are some new ways to use a paperclip?

What type of currency will your civilization use? What symbols will be on it? Why are they significant?

What makes for a good flag? What makes a bad flag?

Here’s how effects be causes and causes can be effects!

Pick a few numbers, draw some corresponding lines on grid paper, and you’ll end up with some interesting, looping math-y art!

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

Turn your students into a bunch of Monets with q-tips and some tempera paint.

Sure, students might know the difference between a producer and a consumer… but have they considered how they feel about each other? What, in a producer’s opinion, are the pros and cons of a consumer?

How high-performing students can often feel like they aren’t really that great.

Which resource is more renewable? And which is easier to find?

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!

Why 12 months? Why 30ish days? Why 7 days in a week? Your civilization could organize a year in any way you want!

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

The Nile, the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Seine, the Thames, and now… your river!

Your students build a civilization from scratch — rivers, flags, calendars, currency, government. Social studies, science, and writing woven into one year-long project.

Your students will create a new flower, designed to attract a specific pollinator.

How would people from history have interacted online? Students will develop a conversation online between people involved in the same event from history.

Create a new creature based on the adaptations of existing creatures from the same biome.

What kind of an app could have helped Abe Lincoln accomplish his goals?

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

The story of the Fabergé Eggs is heartbreaking. It’s also the perfect way to build empathy in your classroom.

Using real bridges as their starting point, students will construct bridges out of straws and paperclips.