What’s In My Brain: Ramp vs Bike
Two columns. One is an example, one isn’t. Can you figure out the hidden rule before the big reveal?
What’s In My Brain: Grass vs Mold
Two columns. One is an example, one isn’t. Can you figure out the hidden rule before the big reveal?
Notice, Wonder: Burton Island
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Order and Chaos Hide Inside Each Other
Chaos can contain order. Order can contain chaos! Is chaos ever truly random?
What’s In My Brain: Inventions vs Discovery
We’re looking at inventions vs discoveries.
What’s In My Brain: Paperclip vs Straw
We’re looking at magnetic vs. non-magnetic materials.
What’s In My Brain: Lion vs Bear
We’re looking at carnivores vs omnivores.
What’s In My Brain: Guinea Pig vs Potbelly
What do guinea pigs, shooting stars, and seahorses have in common? They’re all misnomers!
What’s In My Brain: Spain vs Germany
One column is an example. The other isn’t. Can your students figure out the hidden rule before the reveal?
A System Similar to a Cell
Which parts of a cell serve a similar job to the parts of a cruise ship, human body, computer, or other system?
What’s In My Brain: Austin vs Los Angeles
We’re looking at capital cities.
What’s In My Brain: Italy vs Normandy
We’re looking at countries vs states (and other smaller regions).
What’s In My Brain: Crocodile vs Tree Frog
Is it a reptile or an amphibian?
What’s In My Brain: Narwhal vs Penguin
We’re looking at the arctic vs the antarctic.
The Great Sphinx – Mixed Up Paragraph
Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about The Great Sphinx back into the correct order?
What’s In My Brain!? Japan vs Jamaica
Is it an island or an archipelago?
Notice, Wonder: A House
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: SLS Test
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Washington, DC – Mixed Up Paragraph
These sentences about Washington, DC got scrambled. Can you put them back in order using nothing but context clues?
Trains – Mixed Up Paragraph
Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about trains back into the correct order?
Earthquakes – Mixed Up Paragraph
Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about earthquakes back into the correct order?
Concept Attainment: Art
Can your students tell the difference between cubism and abstract art?
Analyze Paragraphs: Empire State Building
Three paragraphs about the Empire State Building. They all cover the same topic — so what makes each one different? Now combine them into one super-paragraph.
Analyze Paragraphs: Tomatoes
Three paragraphs about tomatoes. They all cover the same topic — so what makes each one different? Now combine them into one super-paragraph.
Paragraphs: Systems of Sentences
Blow up a paragraph into individual sentences. Now reassemble it. The clues hiding in each sentence will surprise you.
Notice Wonder: Z-Machine
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: A Ship
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
What Would Poetry Think About Prose?
Poetry and Prose meet at a party. What would they say to each other? How would they feel about each other’s style?
Depth and Complexity: Patterns
Can your students spot anything that repeats? Or that has stopped repeating?
Teach Non-Fiction Writing Structure With Fractals
Did you ever notice that the structure of an essay is very similar to the structure of a paragraph? Hmm…
Better Stories Part 5: Plot Structure
Ever read a student’s story that was just event after event after event and then a very sudden ending? They lack an understanding of a plot’s structure. With the help of Finding Nemo, I break down how to set up a well-structured plot.
Better Stories Part 1: The Big Idea
We open our unit on narrative writing with a big idea: “structure increases creativity.” I show how this is true by bringing in examples from across all disciplines.