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

Alabama ELA Standard: 5.LF.10.a

Review the key ideas expressed and draw conclusions in light of information and knowledge gained from discussion.

Chaos Makes Sense (Later)
Chaos Makes Sense (Later)
In the moment, a chaotic event makes no sense. But later, that same event can feel like it was part of a larger story.
Notice, Wonder: Fountain
Notice, Wonder: Fountain
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Dazzle
Notice, Wonder: Dazzle
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Burton Island
Notice, Wonder: Burton Island
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Tenzing
Notice, Wonder: Tenzing
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Chaos Can Be Positive or Negative
Chaos Can Be Positive or Negative
Sometimes we want order, but sometimes we need chaos!
Power in Autumn
Power in Autumn
Autumn was once powerful because of the harvest. What gives Fall its power now?
Who has more power: the Queen Bee or the Hive?
Who has more power: the Queen Bee or the Hive?
Who really runs the hive: the queen, or the thousands of bees around her?
Indirect Power – Lighthouse vs Magnetism
Indirect Power – Lighthouse vs Magnetism
Students explore the idea of indirect power – which can be both visible (a lighthouse) or invisible (magnetism).
Power – Blue Whale vs Krill
Power – Blue Whale vs Krill
Sure, a Blue Whale is huge. But does a tiny krill have more power?
Power can be Visible or Invisible
Power can be Visible or Invisible
What are examples of unseen Power? And can invisible power be more powerful than visible power?
Notice, Wonder: Brooklyn
Notice, Wonder: Brooklyn
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
New Uses For A Cardboard Tube
New Uses For A Cardboard Tube
So, what can a cardboard tube be used for other than holding wrapping paper?
Student Introductions With Depth, Complexity, and Frames: Level Two
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.
Natural Disasters 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
Van Gogh Self-Portrait Tournament
Who will win the tournament of Van Gogh self-portraits!?
Notice, Wonder: Sombrero
Notice, Wonder: Sombrero
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Silver Torch
Notice, Wonder: Silver Torch
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Barringer
Notice, Wonder: Barringer
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Rosetta
Notice, Wonder: Rosetta
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Categorize and Re-Categorize Animals
Categorize and Re-Categorize Animals
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?
Discussing An Important Decision from History
Discussing An Important Decision from History
How would people with two different perspectives discuss a decision from history?
Famous Structures
Famous Structures
The Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House — group them, pick the best from each group, then design your own.
Notice, Wonder: Critter
Notice, Wonder: Critter
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Introducing Universal Theme of Conflict
Introducing Universal Theme of Conflict
So what could you do with a Universal Theme of Conflict? Well, here’s an introduction that will get your students’ brains sweating.
Notice, Wonder: A House
Notice, Wonder: A House
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Chess Variant: Monster Chess
Chess Variant: Monster Chess
What if you had really weak chess pieces, but you could always move twice?
Introducing Universal Theme of Change
Introducing Universal Theme of Change
Everything changes. But how does it change? Students brainstorm dozens of examples and boil them down to one big idea.
Introducing Universal Theme of Systems
Introducing Universal Theme of Systems
So what could you do with a Universal Theme of Systems? Well, here’s an introduction that will get your students’ brains sweating.
Introducing Universal Theme of Power
Introducing Universal Theme of Power
So what could you do with a Universal Theme of Power? Well, here’s an introduction that will get your students’ brains sweating.
Notice, Wonder: SLS Test
Notice, Wonder: SLS Test
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Butterball
Notice, Wonder: Butterball
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Ramses
Notice, Wonder: Ramses
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Craters
Notice, Wonder: Craters
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Bloom
Notice, Wonder: Bloom
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Skylight
Notice, Wonder: Skylight
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Charge of the Light Brigade – Chess Variant
Charge of the Light Brigade – Chess Variant
What if one side played with THREE QUEENS and the other had SEVEN KNIGHTS!? What if?
Notice, Wonder: Krzywy Las
Notice, Wonder: Krzywy Las
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Scales
Notice, Wonder: Scales
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Vortices
Notice, Wonder: Vortices
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Swirls
Notice, Wonder: Swirls
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Witch’s Fingers
Notice, Wonder: Witch’s Fingers
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Green Circles
Notice, Wonder: Green Circles
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: An Orange Thing
Notice, Wonder: An Orange Thing
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Thinking With Art: Head Down
Thinking With Art: Head Down
One artist, two paintings. Notice details, compare, synthesize, then find a parallel in another creator’s work.
Inferring With Art: A Couple
Inferring With Art: A Couple
What’s going on in this room? There are shoes everywhere! Are those… oranges? Let’s make some inferences!
Inferring With Art: Two Women
Inferring With Art: Two Women
What are these two women up to? What’s that thing she’s holding? Let’s make some inferences!
Notice, Wonder: Kuiseb
Notice, Wonder: Kuiseb
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Game: Snakes
Game: Snakes
In this grid-based strategy game, who will be the last to add to the snake?
Notice, Wonder: A Long Line
Notice, Wonder: A Long Line
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Blood Falls
Notice, Wonder: Blood Falls
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Think Like A Philosopher
Think Like A Philosopher
What would Socrates have thought if he watched Frozen?
Generalization: Change Leads to More Change
Generalization: Change Leads to More Change
Can you think of a time in your life when “Change lead to more change?”
Generalization: Problems Lead to New Rules, Which Lead to New Problems
Generalization: Problems Lead to New Rules, Which Lead to New Problems
Problems create rules. Rules create new problems. Can you trace the cycle in history, stories, and your own life?
Invisible Power Can Have Visible Effects
Invisible Power Can Have Visible Effects
Can you think of times when power is unseen, but we can clearly see its effects?
How Renewable Is That Resource?
How Renewable Is That Resource?
Which resource is more renewable? And which is easier to find?
Notice, Wonder: Forest
Notice, Wonder: Forest
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Akron
Notice, Wonder: Akron
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Electronics
Notice, Wonder: Electronics
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Turbine
Notice, Wonder: Turbine
Your students will be surprised by the size of this turbine… and by what’s hanging from it!
Notice, Wonder: Z-Machine
Notice, Wonder: Z-Machine
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Climber
Notice, Wonder: Climber
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: A River
Notice, Wonder: A River
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: The Cliff
Notice, Wonder: The Cliff
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Michael
Notice, Wonder: Michael
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Etna
Notice, Wonder: Etna
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Plateau
Notice, Wonder: Plateau
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: A Ship
Notice, Wonder: A Ship
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Paradox: The Barber’s Paradox
Paradox: The Barber’s Paradox
The barber shaves everybody who doesn’t themselves. So… does the barber shave himself?
Paradox: Crocodile Dilemma
Paradox: Crocodile Dilemma
A crocodile makes a deal. But the deal creates a paradox. Can your students untangle a 2,000-year-old logic puzzle?
Paradox: The Liar’s Paradox
Paradox: The Liar’s Paradox
Nothing like a paradox to get your kids brains exploding 🤯! This one starts with five simple words: “This statement is a lie.”
Col – A Strategy Game
Col – A Strategy Game
The first person to run out of regions loses in this strategy game.
The Thinking Hats
The Thinking Hats
So… do your students moan when forced to work in a group? Part of the problem is that lack the structure to work well with peers. Edward de Bono’s Thinking Hats are a perfect tool to help with this problem.
Depth and Complexity: ❓ Unanswered Questions
Depth and Complexity: ❓ Unanswered Questions
This underutilized tool focuses students on what we don’t yet know and even what we can’t know.
Creating A Realistic Flower and Pollinator
Creating A Realistic Flower and Pollinator
Your students will create a new flower, designed to attract a specific pollinator.
Creating A Classroom Motto
Creating A Classroom Motto
Starting with specific examples of fantastic classroom behavior, your class will end up with one sentence summing up their expectations. It’s a classroom motto!
Think Like An Economist
Think Like An Economist
How would an economist read Goldilocks? How would they see a rainforest? How would they study the American Revolution?