“Everything is so linear, but this makes me think diagonally!” ~ a student describing Byrdseed.TV
Let’s rewrite Einstein’s quote about simplicity to make it more accurate.
Students rewrite Einstein’s quote to make it simple for a five-year-old and identify when the quote might be incorrect.
Now they’ll rewrite the quote, creating a rough version and a few “catchy” versions.
Next, they write to Einstein, explaining their revised quote.
Finally, they write back as Einstein who defends his original wording.
Students will make an argument that a holiday should be on certain date or a certain day of the week.
First, students list holidays in categories based on their date.
Next they come up with pros and cons for the different categories of holidays.
Now they’ll decide which holidays would work better in a different category.
Next they’ll write out an argument for one holiday.
Finally they’ll develop a slogan and a poster to help make their argument.
Students will write a clever paragraph connecting how their mom helps them and something else she’s great at.
First, students brainstorm things that their mom is great at and ways she helps them.
Then, they combine those ideas to write small blurbs about their mom.
Next, they’ll pick a blurb or two and sharpen their writing, getting increasingly specific.
Finally, they’ll turn their best idea into an illustrated card.
Using old photos as a starting point, students will write about Thanksgiving from a particular item’s point of view.
Students spend time noting details in their photo.
They brainstorm possible perspectives within their photo.
Next, they write down sensory details using that perspective.
Students write a piece from the perspective of their chosen object, using sensory details to bring it to life.
Students will write from the perspective of an object using specific details about a special person.
Students choose a person to thank and an object that appreciates what that person does.
They revisit their initial letter to get more specific about why the object is so thankful for their special person.
Students will analyze and judge a holiday from the perspective of another holiday’s mascot.
Students choose their two holidays and the mascot they’ll be using.
Students brainstorm facts about both holidays using three categories that they choose (food, songs, decorations, clothing, etc).
Using their mascot’s perspective, students write about each of those categories.
Students take that writing and turn it into a final product of your (or their) choosing.
Students upgrade their bland research questions using prompts of depth and complexity and then create a sequence of questions using concepts from Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Students pick a topic and create 3 – 5 questions.
They upgrade those questions by adding in a prompt of depth and complexity.
Students create a sequence of questions by comparing their topic to another related topic to deepen their understanding.
Students will use key words to upgrade their compare and contrast writing from a mere list of facts to a deeper analysis.
Students brainstorm details about two ideas, aiming for at least twenty-five interesting facts while avoiding obvious or trivial information.
Students look for three patterns in their brainstormed facts, these will eventually become the paragraphs students write.
They add one of five keywords to their patterns to add a layer of analysis.
Students write out a paragraph using the keyword plus pattern.
Students will use propaganda techniques and logical fallacies to argue against something great.
Students identify and discuss examples of ad hominem arguments, focusing on how they attack a person instead of the topic.
Students learn about the Slippery Slope technique, see some of my examples, and brainstorm some of their own.
Next, students learn about Stacking the Deck.
The fourth technique is Bandwagoning.
And the final technique is Appeal to Fear.
Students create posters, skits, or videos that use logical fallacies to argue against something universally loved and respected.
Students will decide what one piece of content would appreciate about another.
Students will analyze the package of a healthy drink, searching for evidence of ethos, pathos, and logos.
First, students are introduced to the concepts of ethos (authority), pathos (emotion), and logos (logic).
Next, they will survey their peers about healthy drinks.
Finally, they’ll redesign the drinks’ packaging, building on the persuasive tools they have learned.
Students will notice the parallel between an essay’s overall structure and the structure of an individual paragraph.
Students will write (and re-write) directions to build a simple toy.
Students design a simple toy using ten random pieces and name it as if it were a real set.
Students write clear directions outlining how to assemble their small toy using simple terminology for easy understanding.
Students read their toy directions aloud while their group follows along, identifying confusing parts to improve the instructions.
Now, they practice with groups of younger students, take notes, and then revise again.
Finally, they publish a final version of their directions.