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.

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!?

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!

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?

Notice, Wonder: Swirls

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

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.

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 Teachers

Ask 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.