“I use Byrdseed TV to differentiate for my clustered students. I LOVE all the ideas!” ~ a teacher in Washington

Writing Haiku in Primary

Writing Haiku in Primary

Your youngest students will learn to write Japanese Haiku poetry.

Halloween Problems and Solutions

Halloween Problems and Solutions

When we try to solve a problem, sometimes we end up creating new problems. Which lead to new solutions. Which lead to new problems.

Improving Shakespeare’s Repetition

Improving Shakespeare’s Repetition

Let’s help William Shakespeare with his use of repetition.

Getting Specific With St. Patrick’s Day Writing

Getting Specific With St. Patrick’s Day Writing

Let’s take a starting phrase about St. Patrick’s Day and get specific. No, even more specific!

Change A Story’s Genre

Change A Story’s Genre

What if we rewrote a story’s climax into a totally different genre?

Order, Chaos, and the Holiday Season

Order, Chaos, and the Holiday Season

Let’s write a holiday song about order and chaos!

Greekymon Studies – Round 3

Greekymon Studies – Round 3

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

Mother’s Day Cards

Mother’s Day Cards

Let’s write the cleverest Mother’s Day cards you’ve ever seen!

A Halloween Costume Gone Wrong

A Halloween Costume Gone Wrong

Let’s go roller skating in a Halloween costume! What could possibly go wrong?

What If… Unreliable Water?

What If… Unreliable Water?

What would the consequences be if a town’s tap water became… unreliable?

What If… Long Life?

What If… Long Life?

What would the consequences be if all people lived much, much longer?

New Uses For An Aluminum Can

New Uses For An Aluminum Can

So, what CAN a CAN be used for other than storing liquids?

Think Like An Author: Hemingway vs Dickens

Think Like An Author: Hemingway vs Dickens

What if your students rewrote Dickens in the style of Hemingway and vice versa?

Random Emoji Prompt Generator

Random Emoji Prompt Generator

Click up an interesting, visual writing prompt suitable for any grade or purpose.

Thanksgiving Photo Writing

Thanksgiving Photo Writing

Starting with an old-timey photo, students will write from a particular item’s point of view.

Writing About Art: Impression, Sunrise

Writing About Art: Impression, Sunrise

Look closely at Impression, Sunrise. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.

Writing About Art: Chōshi in Shimosha

Writing About Art: Chōshi in Shimosha

Get your students writing some pretty darn impressive poetry based on Japan’s most famous artist.

Writing About Art: Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog

Writing About Art: Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog

Look closely at Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.

New Uses for a Paperclip

New Uses for a Paperclip

So what are some new ways to use a paperclip?

A Lunar Survival Mission

A Lunar Survival Mission

A favorite of mine! This task is delightfully complex and ambiguous, forcing students to make choices without enough information and with no right answer. How will they survive on the moon for three days?

Writing A Thanksgiving Letter

Writing A Thanksgiving Letter

What if an inanimate object could express thanks for a special person in your life? What would it write?

SCAMPER: Scaffolding Creativity

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.

Writing Seuss Style Poetry

Writing Seuss Style Poetry

Sure, Dr. Seuss wrote for young students, but can older students analyze his writing and learn to mimic his style? THEN, they can produce Seuss-style poetry about any topic: Ancient China, the electromagnetic spectrum, Pride and Prejudice, and (yes) fraction division!

Elements of The Fantasy Genre

Elements of The Fantasy Genre

Every fantasy story has patterns hiding underneath the magic. Once your students see the elements, they’ll spot them everywhere — and use them in their own writing.

Create A Creature

Create A Creature

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

Greekymon

Greekymon

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

Writing Clear Directions

Writing Clear Directions

Can you write directions so clear that a group of kids can put a toy together with no illustrations?