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?
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.
Compare and Create New Year’s Traditions
Hey! Our New Year traditions have a lot in common.
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?
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.
Not Like The Others: Penguins
Four penguins. 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.
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.
Animal Adaptation Tournament
Which animal has the most interesting, most valuable, or strangest adaptations?
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: 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?
Create A Civilization: Design A Flag
What makes for a good flag? What makes a bad flag?
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.
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?
How Renewable Is That Resource?
Which resource is more renewable? And which is easier to find?
Not Like The Others: Creatures of the Tundra
Four tundra creatures. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
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!
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.
The Resiliency Tournament
Your students will set up a tournament to determine which person or character best demonstrated resiliency.
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!
Depth and Complexity: ❓ Unanswered Questions
This underutilized tool focuses students on what we don’t yet know and even what we can’t know.
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.
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.
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.