Grade 6
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Language
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Reading: Informational
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Reading: Literature
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Speaking & Listening
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Writing
Arizona ELA Standard: 6.SL.1.d
Review the key ideas expressed, draw conclusions, and demonstrate understanding of multiple perspectives through reflection and paraphrasing.
Power and Traditions
We compare the power of traditions shared by millions with smaller traditions shared by perhaps just one family.
Power in Autumn
Autumn was once powerful because of the harvest. What gives Fall its power now?
Power can be Visible or Invisible
What are examples of unseen Power? And can invisible power be more powerful than visible power?
Hero or Not A Hero?
Students will determine what makes a hero a hero.
That Quote’s Not Quite Right: Albert Einstein
When I see a quote, I often think, “That’s not quite right!”
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?
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
Once students know the prompts of Depth and Complexity, let’s take them much higher up Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Domesticated Animals Tournament
Which domesticated animal will win the tournament?
Van Gogh Self-Portrait Tournament
Who will win the tournament of Van Gogh self-portraits!?
A Character’s Playlist
What playlist of songs best goes with a character’s change over time?
Robot Writing: Volcano
Read three pieces of writing from three different robots about the same beautiful painting of a volcano. Who wrote it best?
Robot Writing: Acropolis
One painting of ruins. Three robots. Three pieces of writing. Who wrote it best?
Robot Writing: The Bridge
One painting of a bridge. Three robots. Who wrote it best?
Robot Writing: Orchestra
Read three pieces of writing from three different robots based on a beautiful painting and decide who wins!
New Uses For A Chair
So, what can a chair be used for other than, you know, sitting in?
New Uses For An Aluminum Can
So, what CAN a CAN be used for other than storing liquids?
Zig Zag Cipher (Codes Part 3)
Let’s try a cipher that doesn’t substitute new letters or shapes. We just mix things up.
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?
Discussing An Important Decision from History
How would people with two different perspectives discuss a decision from history?
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.
Back to School: Rewriting The Beatles’ “Help!”
Can your students come up with a one-syllable word to sum up their time away from school? And then rewrite The Beatles’ song Help!?
Notice, Wonder: Swirls
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Exploration Technology Tournament
Which of these pieces of exploration technology is most important? Most underrated? Most long-lasting?
Habitable Planets and Moons Tournament
Which object in the solar system is most habitable?
Anti-Checkers
Sure, anyone can win at checkers… but can you lose!?
Four Player Chess
Tired of boring ol’ chess? Then you need to try FOUR PLAYER chess!
Analyze Characters Using Philosophy
What is the Brick Pig’s philosophy? How would he apply it to the characters in Harry Potter?
Notice, Wonder: An Orange Thing
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Think Like A Philosopher
What would Socrates have thought if he watched Frozen?
Impostor Syndrome
How high-performing students can often feel like they aren’t really that great.
Virtue or Vice?
Aristotle noted that positive traits and negative traits are often the same thing, but just in different amounts. The right amount is a virtue, but too much or too little and it’s a vice.
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.
How Renewable Is That Resource?
Which resource is more renewable? And which is easier to find?
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!
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?
The Resiliency Tournament
Your students will set up a tournament to determine which person or character best demonstrated resiliency.
Propaganda and Logical Fallacies
Let’s see how propaganda techniques can make even something great seem bad.
Improving Presentations 1: Watching The Greats
Get better at giving presentations by studying the greats!
Content Imperatives: Convergence
Add complexity by considering how multiple factors 🔄 Converge within one topic.
Content Imperatives: Parallel
Get students thinking broadly by exploring similarities across multiple topics. Combine with Depth and Complexity for bonus points!
Persuasion and Packaging: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos
How does a drink’s packaging affect us emotionally and logically?
Depth and Complexity: ❓ Unanswered Questions
This underutilized tool focuses students on what we don’t yet know and even what we can’t know.
Depth and Complexity: ⚖️ Ethics
Want to add drama to any topic? Use the Ethics prompt!
Depth and Complexity: 📚 Across Disciplines
No topic is an island! With the 📚 Across Disciplines prompt, students note connections within and across multiple fields.
Depth and Complexity: 👓 Multiple Perspectives
Every topic looks different depending on who’s looking. This prompt teaches students to see through someone else’s eyes.
Characters’ Talents and Multiple Intelligences
How do characters from novels line up with Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences?
Asynchrony: Developing At Different Rates (For Students)
For students! In some areas, a student may be shockingly advanced, while in others… surprisingly average. This is asynchrony in action.
Motivation and Moral Development
Can someone do the right thing, but for the wrong reason?
Writing Summaries in Haiku
Let’s write a summary. A very short summary. With VERY strict rules.
Intellectual Intensity
Do you know someone who becomes a bit overexcited by ideas?
Think Like An Economist
How would an economist read Goldilocks? How would they see a rainforest? How would they study the American Revolution?
Add Layers To Direct Instruction
Take direction instruction beyond a monotonous practice of the same skill over and over.