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Depth and Complexity Icons: The Copyright Question

Are you allowed to use Depth and Complexity? Who owns the copyright? Do you need permission?

My Smart Kid Is Suddenly Struggling!

Smart students should have started struggling back in kindergarten!

Define Yourself By What You DON’T Do

OF COURSE they don’t have cheap carnival rides at Disneyland! What would be equally unacceptable in your gifted program?

100%s Are A Red Flag

Endless 100%s tell us one thing: we are aiming too low.

Red Flag Phrases

If you’re hearing these phrases around the school, you are certainly alienating the parents of your most advanced students.

PD Should Either Prepare or Debrief

Any whole-group talk should either lead into a classroom demonstration or debrief a classroom demonstration.

My #1 Rule For Professional Development

Does your PD solve a problem? Or does it just give more information?

The Best Critique of My PD

I was a very popular speaker, but then someone pointed out my big flaw.

Leading By Spreadsheet

You cannot make decisions by looking at a spreadsheet.

What Teachers Told Me What They Want

The message from teachers is pretty darn clear! They don’t need yet another differentiation framework.

The Keynote That Changed My Mind

A keynote presenter once told me, “Everyone should code!” But that person did not know how to code. Nor had they ever taught anyone to code.

Grade Level Standards Are A Requirement, Not A Goal

Imagine a restaurant with one goal: “Pass The Health Inspection!”
Imagine a school with one goal: “Meet Grade Level Standards!”

Taking Flashcards Up To “Analyze”

We had a pack of animal flashcards. But my kid can already read. So here’s how we took these low-level cards up to Analyze – in three different ways.

Help my students remember these confusing terms!

If you want students to memorize, you can’t aim for memorize. You have to aim higher – and then memorization comes along for free.

When A Math Puzzle Isn’t Very Puzzling

It looks like a fun puzzle. But it’s actually just a low-level worksheet in disguise!

Don’t just list examples of writing techniques. Let’s improve Shakespeare!

I stopped and started with “What 👄 special writing techniques does the author use? List examples.”

Over-Scaffolding Writing

Here’s what happens when we make a scaffold the final product.

How Not To Ask Questions About A Novel

These “discussion questions” highlight so many of the problems we’ve been looking at.

Taking A Zoologist Across Disciplines

All I did was ask students to list and explain three “disciplines.” Let’s take it a bit further!

My class listed two Unanswered Questions. Now what?

It seems obvious, but if someone tells me what they’re wondering about, I shouldn’t move on to another topic!

Two Questions I Won’t Ask About A Famous Quote

Let’s do more than ask, “What did this person mean?”

What Makes An Antagonist Effective?

It’s really fun to take an already good sequence, tweak it, and get something even better!

Going Beyond “Define These Terms In Your Own Words”

“Define these terms in your own words” may contain depth and complexity… but it’s neither deep nor complex!

Multiple Perspectives Gone Mad!!

Yes, I actually gave my students this question: “How could two experts’ 👓 perspectives regarding information from this reading selection differ from one another?” yikes.

Beyond “Describe How This Changed Over Time”

I want to go beyond just listing how a character changed. Let’s get students thinking about that change!

A Depth and Complexity ELA Worksheet with Problems

Here’s a Depth and Complexity worksheet I used to use with my students: I look at it now and shudder. I was making so many mistakes here. Let’s just zoom out and imagine that I asked the same questions at a book club with fellow adults. Me: What is this story’s main theme? Him: Oh, […]

Don’t Just List ⚖️ Ethical Issues

Let’s improve this “make a list” question to incorporate high level thinking.

Going Beyond “Identify a Story’s Problem”

My students were stuck telling me a story’s problem and solution. Let’s get thinking!

Improving “What’s The Chapter’s 🏛️ Big Idea?”

Let’s improve this bland Depth and Complexity question by getting really specific.

I just asked, “Do You Notice Any Patterns?”

Here’s another question from a worksheet I used to use: Do you notice any 🌀 patterns in this book? And then the next question moved on to another topic. Do you notice any 🌀 patterns in this book? Were there any ⚖️ ethical issues? What was the 🏛️ big idea? I was leaving so much […]

Beware Vague Questions

I’ve been doing tons of work to re-write old questions. You can see all of my updated questions here and, since you’re a Depth and Complexity person, you can see my Depth and Complexity re-writes here. I’ve gotten pretty good at spotting how I can fix my bland, low-level questions. But one problem is un-fixable. […]

Fixing my “Think Like A Statistician” Frame

I used a Depth and Complexity Frame like this with my math students. Let’s look at how we could improve this. Some problems: It asks four unrelated questions. I want to build a sequence of questions that climbs Bloom’s Taxonomy. Most of the questions are naturally answered with “yes” or “no” or a list. Questions […]

I didn’t proofread my questions.

When I look back at the questions I asked students, one thing really pops out. I did not try answering my own questions. As a result, my students got untested rough drafts.

Matching Flowers and Pollinators

How to add a couple of Analyze-level tasks to this Synthesize activity.

Don’t Differentiate A Scaffold

When you develop an advanced version of a task? When do you just let the student move on to the next thing?

Don’t Just Paraphrase A Poem!

What if, instead, we re-wrote the poem in the style of a different poet?

Upgrading “Put The Events In Order”

I often see this question on language arts and social studies worksheets: “Put these events in order.” Yes, it’s low-level, but the real problem is that it’s a one-off. Let’s make a sequence of questions about the order of events.

Updating Old Questions: Addition With Missing Pieces

How can I go beyond asking 20 variations of 622 + 77 = ___?

I asked about Caesar vs Alexander, but somehow skipped Analyze.

A big ol’ table that looks like comparing, but it’s really more about remembering.

Updating Old Questions: A math question that’s TOO high level?!

What happens when we ask a math level that scares off 83% of our students? Don’t lower the ceiling! Lower the floor through scaffolding.

Multiple Perspectives on Veterans’ Day

We can’t just list multiple perspectives.

Improving A Task About Designing A Character’s Bedroom

An under-developed task in which students designed a character’s room.

A Math Question That Moves Around on Bloom’s

I was aiming for engagement rather than higher-level thinking.

Updating Old Questions: A Mere Model of a Cell

Why are my best biologists just restating facts we already know?

Going Beyond “Name That Genre!”

What can we do once students correctly identify a story’s genre?

Improving Identify the Figurative Language

What do we do after a student can identify the type of figurative language?

What’s Your Problem!?

If you haven’t taken the time to clearly define your problem, you will chase your tail adding more and more onto teachers’ plates.

Updating Old Questions: The Planets’ Order

Oops! I just asked my students to put the planets in order! Here’s what I could do differently…

Updating Old Questions: Volcano from Two Perspectives

Just because we have two perspectives doesn’t mean we have a great question!

How I Think About Bloom’s Taxonomy

Here’s how I think about Bloom’s Taxonomy. And I think about it a lot! Just ask my wife.

Making Categories of Famous Structures

A task about famous structures that stops at the bottom of Bloom’s.

Practice Context Clues with Classics

Most context clue worksheets have incredibly low expectations.

Updating Old Questions: A Congress At School?

Let’s go beyond listing Congress’ powers and consider fairness if a school had a legislative branch.

Differentiation is Built-In, Not Bolted On

You know you’re in trouble when you’re reading a lesson plan and it has a section called: “Differentiation”.

Guide Students, Don’t Let Them Wander

I so often let my most advanced students pick their own paths. What I thought was empowering, actually led to stagnation. Students need guides!

Depth and Complexity: The Icons, the Framework, and How to Actually Use Them

My biggest problem when implementing Depth and Complexity? I used them in a shallow and simple way!

When “Hands-On” Goes Wrong

My mentor pointed out that “hands-on” often means “brains-off.”

Details Should Lead To A Big Idea

Here are two questions I’d ask students about a story What are three important 🌼 details about the main character? What is the story’s 🏛️ moral? Now, details naturally lead to big ideas. But in this case, I switched topics from “main character” to “big idea, ” which broke the natural movement. If I ask […]

Perspectives on Friendship in Charlotte’s Web

Asking students to “explain the importance” wasn’t as high-level as I thought.

Language of the Discipline Gone Wrong

A teacher sent this one in. They had a ring of pre-written Depth and Complexity questions. They suspected something was wrong. They were right!!

Picture Books and Stories for Introducing Depth and Complexity

Three picture books that I’ve used (or would use) to introduce Depth and Complexity to students of any age.

Three Jobs of Teaching

Which of the three jobs brings you joy? And which one sucks the life from you?

Introducing Ourselves With Depth and Complexity and Frames

A go-to activity to introduce the prompts of depth and complexity to students while they also introduce themselves to their new classmates.

Why I Love “Analyze”

Bloom’s Taxonomy is my favorite tool for teaching. And Analyze is my favorite level of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Climbing Blooms With A Science Lesson

How I’d push a mere science demonstration to higher level of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Writing Lesson Objectives: The Resources

When writing a lesson’s objective, we have to pick specific resources so that students can do the thinking we want from them.

How To Figure Out What Matters

Most of the things we do won’t matter next month. But a few will matter even in a few decades. How do we figure out what actually matters?

Feedback: Go Beyond Typos!

I once co-wrote a book (I’ve since sold the rights to my co-author so it’s fine if you don’t buy it 😝). The most interesting part of the whole experience was the feedback that teachers sent in. The feedback I wanted: “Ian, I love the idea of using unanswered questions to open a lesson. I’ve […]

Our District Is Shutting Down The Gifted Program!

When you shut down your gifted program, parents will just move their very bright children to the neighboring district that kept their gifted program.

A Playlist That Shows A Character’s Change

Here’s how I’d take one task from my choice board and focus on making it great!

The Problem with Depth and Complexity Handouts

These common Depth and Complexity handouts are packed with questions that don’t even make sense!

Healthy Donuts!? Framing a Math Project with a Big Idea

Instead of jumping straight to calculations, what if we framed this math concept with a big idea?

Beware Information! Look For Solutions.

As a teacher, I painted myself into a corner by constantly looking for more information. I’d read books by university professors, I’d go to conferences and listen to people talk, I’d subscribe to newsletters, and listen to podcasts. What did all of this information give me? Confusion. Anxiety. And the feeling of being overwhelmed. After […]

Want to improve? Work on your scales.

Professional musicians still practice scales. The best NBA player still practices dribbling. What is the core skill a teacher should hone every day of their career?

Not Every Student Should Do Everything

If you want to differentiate, you have to be ok that not every student will do every single task.

Plan Around Thinking, Not Just Content

Teachers who are most successful at differentiation plan for thinking, not merely for content.

Free Verse from A Particular Point of View

My go-to writing task is a free verse poem written from a particular perspective. I learned this idea from my boss, Sandi, who learned it from Joan Franklin Smutny (I think!). You can use ANYTHING as your prompt. A piece of art works well to introduce the idea, but you can move to writing once […]

Upgrading A Research Report

So many “research reports” are really just “regurgitation re-writes.” Here’s one way to take a research report to a much more interesting level.

Pop Quiz! Rock Cycle Depth and Complexity

Here are a set of questions someone sent in. What do you think?

I Compared Characters, Yet Stayed At “Remember”

I set up an Analyze question, but never actually asked it! All of these questions are at the “remember” level.

Create A Civilization: The Flag

Let’s design a flag for your students’ civilizations. But let’s do it right! We’ll dig into the language of vexillology, analyze real flags, form some opinions, and only then create our own flag.

Create A Civilization: Pick The Location

As we begin the project, students first consider where on earth their civilization will begin.

Create A Civilization: From Hunters and Gatherers to Farmers

Now, let’s see how your students’ civilization transitions from hunters to gatherers.

Create A Civilization: The River

Most humans want to live near fresh water, which means that most civilizations settled near a river! Let’s add a river to your students’ civilizations.

Create A Civilization: Designing The Capital City

Will your students’ capital city develop organically like Paris over hundreds of years? Will it have a nicely designed grid like Washington DC? Will it be in the middle of a darn lake like
Tenochtitlan?

How Do We Make On-Level Writers Into Advanced Writers?

I knew how to help my below-level writers become on-level. But how the heck do you make the next step?

Time Will Tell You What’s Important

Things that have already stood the test of time are likely to continue standing the test of time. Old ideas in education are almost always better than new ideas, because they’ve been tested and filtered already for you.

How To Find Your Next PD Topic

You won’t find your next PD topic by reading a book, going to a conference, or browsing Twitter!

PD: Cookbooks vs Cooking Videos

I have lots of cookbooks. But I rarely use them. With a cookbook, I’m always a little unsure. Am I doing this right? Did the writer skip a step? Am I just bad at reading? Why are there no pictures? There’s so much room for confusion and misinterpretation. Heck, the writer could also be making […]

I Didn’t Need More Ideas

As a teacher, I’d start by grabbing new ideas. But I didn’t need more ideas. I already had too many!

How To Run A Novel Study

When you read a book with students, avoid getting bogged down with the nitty-gritty. Just pick one big idea and have fun reading! No quizzes, no memorizing, no essays. Just develop your students’ love of reading.

Curiosity Skill: Encouraging Students to Ask Other Students

If you want to make a massive change in the culture of your classroom, move from teachers asking students all of the questions to students asking each other questions!

High Level Thinking in Math

When differentiating for my most brilliant mathematicians, there are two traps I fell into: Just making it harder. (Use more numbers or more steps.) Turning it into an art project. (Design a bedroom!) On Bloom’s Taxonomy, my math tasks always maxed out at Apply or would leap away to a fluffy creative task. I think […]