Earth’s Layers: Who Contributes The Most?

Earth’s layers will disagree about which one contributes the most to the planet’s success.

Chaos Can Be Positive or Negative

Sometimes we want order, but sometimes we need chaos!

Introducing Order and Chaos

Introduce Order by exploring “written” vs “unwritten” rules.

Who has more power: the Queen Bee or the Hive?

Sometimes power is concentrated in one place. Other times it is spread out.

Founding The Colonies

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!

Two Animals Switch Biomes

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

Holiday Shuffle – Day vs Date

Wouldn’t some holidays be better on a certain day of the week? Should Thanksgiving have a set date?

Tournament of Not-So-Famous Inventors

Which inventor and invention will win the tournament?

Not Like The Others: Rivers

Four rivers. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Cephalopods

Four cephalopods. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Flowers

Four flowers. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: 19th Century Presidents

Four 19th century presidents. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: 20th Century Presidents – Group B

Four 20th century presidents. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: 20th Century Presidents – Group A

Four 20th century presidents. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

New Uses For A Cardboard Tube

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

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

Who will win the tournament of Van Gogh self-portraits!?

What Happens In Your Brain When You’re Worried or Afraid

Allison Edwards explains how blood flow in your brain affects your decision-making

Compare and Create New Year’s Traditions

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

Create A Civ: Capital City

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

Idiom Tasks

Four fantastically terrific tasks for a weekly idiom study.

Not Like The Others: African Nations

Four African nations. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Categorize and Re-Categorize Countries

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?

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?

Not Like The Others: US National Parks

Four US national parks. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Famous Structures

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

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

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

Not Like The Others: Types of Diseases

Four diseases. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Birds of the Desert

Four desert birds. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Penguins

Four penguins. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Microstates of Europe

Four of the tiniest countries in Europe. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Microorganisms

Four microorganisms. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Plant Adaptation Tournament

Who will win in a tournament of eight plants with Interesting adaptations!?

Notice, Wonder: Craters

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

Tournament: 8 Wonders of the Solar System

Which location is the most wondrous place in the solar system?

Not Like The Others: Ants of the World!

Four ants from around the world. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

The 8th Wonder of the World Tournament

Which of these eight wonders deserves to become the Eighth Wonder of the World!?

Exploration Technology Tournament

Which of these pieces of exploration technology is most important? Most underrated? Most long-lasting?

Precipitation Tournament

Eight types of precipitation battle it out in this tournament.

Tournament of Ancient Inventions

Which of these inventions of the ancient world is most influential? Least useful today? Most taken-for-granted?

Animal Adaptation Tournament

Which animal has the most interesting, most valuable, or strangest adaptations?

Habitable Planets and Moons Tournament

Which object in the solar system is most habitable?

Not Like The Others: Types of Volcanoes

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

Not Like The Others: Types of Rocks

Igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic — and one that doesn’t fit. But which one? Depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Snakes of the Rainforest

Four rainforest snakes. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Deserts

Which of these deserts is not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Rainforests

Which of these rainforests is not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Stars

How is each of these stars not like the others?

Not Like The Others: US States

How is each of these states not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Mountains

Which of these mountains is not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Birds of the Tropical Rainforest

Which of these four birds is not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Branches of the US Government

How is each part of the United States Government not like the other parts?

Create A Civilization: Currency

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

Create A Civilization: Design A Flag

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

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!

The Pros and Cons of Producers and Consumers

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?

Not Like The Others: Natural Disasters

Four natural disasters. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Notice, Wonder: Kuiseb

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

Not Like The Others: States of Matter

How is each of the states of matter not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Countries

How is each of these four countries not like the others?

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.

Generalization: Systems Are Made up of Other Systems

A clock is a system. So is a rainforest. So is your school. Once you see systems inside systems, you can’t unsee it.

Not Like The Others: Creatures of the Tundra

Four tundra creatures. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: US Presidents

Four US presidents. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Planets

Which of these planets is not like others? Well, it sure looks simple at first. But each option could be the one that doesn’t fit in.

Create A Civilization: A Change In Government

It’s a great moment for your civilization! Power is moving from the hands of a few to a more democratic government.

The Tournament of Biomes

Want to move beyond memorizing the characteristics of biomes? In this lesson, students work through a Tournament of Biomes, explaining which biome wins in each round (based on criteria you choose). In the end, they crown a 👑 Champion Biome!

Notice Wonder: Turbine

Your students will be surprised by the size of this turbine… and by what’s hanging from it!

Notice, Wonder: A River

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

Upgrade Research Questions With Depth and Complexity

Ever ask students to create research questions? Were their ideas a bit… blah? My own students had a very hard time writing questions they didn’t already know the answer to! This video is how I solved that problem: upgrade research questions with depth and complexity.

Notice, Wonder: A Ship

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

Investigating Christmas Trees

Start with facts about Christmas trees. Group them. Label them. Can you boil it all down to one big idea?

Game: Notakto

What if you only played Tic-Tac-Toe with Xs and you could play on multiple boards?

The Resiliency Tournament

Your students will set up a tournament to determine which person or character best demonstrated resiliency.

Building Creative Analogies

We’ll take two seemingly unrelated pieces of content (say volcanoes and the human body) and then build analogies to connect the two ideas. In the end, students can create a skit, comic, or story relating the two concepts.

Create A Civilization: Calendars

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

Developing Extension Questions: Zooming In

Every topic has details that get glossed over in a sentence. Zoom in on one and you’ve got an entire unit hiding inside a paragraph.

Developing Extension Questions: Panning

Your textbook covers a topic in one paragraph. But what’s next door? Pan the camera and you’ve got a question worth exploring for weeks.

Create A Civilization: From Hunter Gatherers to Farmers

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

Create A Civilization: The River

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

Using Creativity Tools To Develop A Learning Exploration: Step Three

How do you turn “go research something” into a structured, creative learning exploration? Kathryn Haydon walks through it step by step.

Using Creativity Tools To Develop A Learning Exploration: Step Two

How do you turn “go research something” into a structured, creative learning exploration? Kathryn Haydon walks through it step by step.

Using Creativity Tools To Develop A Learning Exploration: Step One

How do you turn “go research something” into a structured, creative learning exploration? Kathryn Haydon walks through it step by step.

Create A Civilization Introduction

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

Creating A Realistic Flower and Pollinator

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

Historic Social Media

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

Drawing Natural Curves Like Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy turns leaves and stones into art. Your students will learn to draw his signature natural curves — then build on them.

Create A Creature

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

Building Brush Bots and Art Bots

What if we turned a tooth brush into a robot… that could do art?

Disneyland Parking Tram Math Project

A full parking structure. Thousands of people. Trams that hold a few dozen. How many trips? Real math with a place kids actually care about.

Engineering: Build A Bridge

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