“This was the best money I have ever spent on a teaching tool.” ~ a teacher in Wisconsin
Students will analyze examples and non-examples to deduce the topic: inventions vs discoveries.
First, students get a set of items categorized in two groups.
Then they get a set of ungrouped items. Which columns will they go in?
Finally, I reveal the topic: inventions vs discoveries.
Students will analyze examples and non-examples to deduce the topic: Magnetic vs. Non-Magnetic.
First, students get a set of items categorized in two groups.
Then they get a set of ungrouped items. Which columns will they go in?
Finally, I reveal the topic: Magnetic vs. Non-Magnetic.
Students will analyze examples and non-examples to deduce the topic: carnivores and omnivores.
First, students get a set of items categorized in two groups.
Then they get a set of ungrouped items. Which columns will they go in?
Finally, I reveal the topic: carnivores and omnivores
Students will analyze examples and non-examples to deduce the topic: misnomers.
First, students see a set of items categorized in two groups.
Then they get a set of ungrouped items. Which columns will they go in?
Finally, I reveal the topic: misnomers! Guinea pigs are not pigs.
Students will judge with criteria to decide which of these not-so-famous inventors is the winner.
First, students work through the first round of the tournament, knocking out four inventors and inventions.
Then, they’ll continue through Round 2 before deciding on their champion!
Students will compare a cell to another example of a system, looking at how components serve the same job.
First, students think of another example of a system and note several of its components.
Next, they look for parts of their system that have similar jobs to parts of a cell. They note parts of a cell that have no counterpart in their system.
Finally, they’ll write a conversation between a cell and their second system in which the two systems discuss their related components.
Students will analyze examples and non-examples to deduce the topic: Kinetic vs Potential Energy.
First, students get a set of items categorized in two groups.
Then they get a set of ungrouped items. Which columns will they go in?
Finally, I reveal the topic: Kinetic vs Potential Energy.
Students will judge with criteria to decide which type of energy is the winner.
First, students work through the initial round of the tournament.
Then, they complete the remaining rounds and decide on their winner!
Students will research and analyze four National Parks, finding at least one reason why each one is not like the others.
Research four US national parks and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how Denali has sled dogs and the tallest peak in North America, Yellowstone is a supervolcano with 500 geysers, Yosemite has giant sequoias and moonbows, and the Everglades has both alligators and crocodiles.
Students will analyze examples and non-examples to deduce the topic of conductors.
First, students get a set of examples and non-examples to analyze.
Then they get a set of ungrouped items. Which are examples and which are non-examples?
Finally, I reveal the topic of conductors vs non-conductors.
Students will research and analyze types of diseases and find at least one reason why each one is not like the others.
Research four types of diseases and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how bacterial diseases respond to antibiotics, viral diseases blur the line between living and non-living, deficiency diseases stem from missing nutrients, and hereditary diseases are passed down genetically.
Students will research and analyze four microorganisms, finding at least one reason why each one is not like the others.
Research four microorganisms and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how bacteria support gut health, viruses replicate inside other cells, fungi produce antibiotics, and algae can photosynthesize.
Students will come up with at least one reason why each of the states of matter is not like the others.
Research the four states of matter and explain why each one is unique.
Students will analyze real bridges and then use straws to build their own.
First, students will analyze photos of bridges, looking for structural patterns.
Next, they’ll play with their materials: straight drinking straws and small paperclips.
Finally, they’ll create a blueprint and then build a model of a new bridge.
Students will analyze examples and non-examples to deduce the topic: Reptiles vs Amphibians.
First, students get a set of items categorized in two groups.
Then they get a set of ungrouped items. Which columns will they go in?
Finally, I reveal the topic: Reptiles vs Amphibians.
Students will analyze examples and non-examples to deduce the topic: Arctic vs Antarctic.
First, students get a set of items categorized in two groups.
Then they get a set of ungrouped items. Which columns will they go in?
Finally, I reveal the topic: Arctic vs Antarctic
Students will judge with criteria to decide which natural disaster is the winner.
Students will analyze examples and non-examples to deduce the topic of archipelagos.
First, students get a set of examples and non-examples to analyze.
Then they get a set of ungrouped items. Which are examples and which are non-examples?
Finally, I reveal the topic.
Students will rank how renewable natural resources are along with how easy it is to find each resource. They will produce a two-dimensional scatter plot.
Students place post-it notes for each of the natural resources onto their graph.
They answer questions about their thinking: Which resources were easiest/trickiest to place on the graph? What new ideas did you think of while working on the graph?
Students will analyze examples and non-examples to deduce the topic: Plants.
First, students get a set of items categorized in two groups.
Then they get a set of ungrouped items. Which columns will they go in?
Finally, I reveal the topics: Plants.
Students decide which adaptations would help an animal if it switched locations – and which would hurt it.
First, students research how one animal is adapted to its environment.
Then, they pick a related animal from a totally different biome and research its adaptations.
Imagine that the two animals switch locations. Which adaptations will now be an advantage, neutral, or a disadvantage?
Finally they write the story of the two animals switching places.
Students will research and analyze four cephalopods, finding at least one reason why each one is not like the others.
Research four cephalopods and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how the octopus has no skeleton, the cuttlefish has an internal cuttlebone, the squid has a hard gladius, and the nautilus has an external shell.
Students will research and analyze flowers, finding at least one reason why each one is not like the others.
Research four flowers and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how the sunflower tracks the sun, the corpse flower rarely blooms and reeks, the bee orchid mimics an insect, and the welwitschia lives a thousand years on just two leaves.
Students will analyze examples and non-examples to deduce the topic: Saltwater vs Freshwater Organisms.
First, students get a set of items categorized in two groups.
Then they get a set of ungrouped items. Which columns will they go in?
Finally, I reveal the topic: Saltwater vs Freshwater Organisms.
Students will analyze examples and non-examples to deduce the topic: Deciduous vs Coniferous.
First, students get a set of items categorized in two groups.
Then they get a set of ungrouped items. Which columns will they go in?
Finally, I reveal the topic: Deciduous vs Coniferous.
Using examples and non-examples, students will attempt to infer the concept of living vs non-living things.
First, students will listen to examples and non-examples of a topic, next they will think about the pattern in those examples, then they can discuss their ideas with others, and finally, they will return for more items to explore.
First, students will listen to three items without knowing if they are examples or non-examples of a topic; next, they will decide which items fit each category; then, they can discuss their choices with friends; finally, they will return for the conclusion.
First, students will identify examples like avocados and logs, next they will distinguish these from non-examples like waterfalls, then they will understand that examples are living or once-living things, and finally they will classify items as living or non-living.
Using examples and non-examples, students will attempt to infer the concept of invertebrates.
First, students will listen to examples and non-examples to guess a topic, next they will think about the patterns in these items, then they can discuss their ideas with others, and finally they will prepare to see more items in the next video.
First, the teacher will present three items without telling students if they are examples or non-examples, next, students will decide which category each item belongs to, then they can discuss their choices with friends, and finally, they will return for the closing video.
First, students will identify jellyfish as examples of invertebrates, then they will recognize snakes and dolphins as non-examples because they have backbones, and finally, they will learn that invertebrates do not possess backbones while vertebrates do.
Students will research and analyze desert birds, finding at least one reason why each one is not like the others.
Research four desert birds and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how the roadrunner eats tarantula hawk wasps, the ostrich is flightless and two-toed, the lesser nighthawk rolls its eggs for shade, and the turkey vulture hunts by smell.
Students will research and analyze types of penguins, finding at least one reason why each one is not like the others.
Research four types of penguins and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how the Galapagos penguin lives near the equator, the little penguin is the smallest and only blue species, the Adelie migrates 8,000 miles yearly, and the emperor breeds in Antarctic winter.
Students will judge with criteria to decide which plant’s adaptations stand out.
First, students work through the initial round of the tournament.
Then, they complete the remaining rounds and decide on their winner!
Students will research and analyze four types of ants, finding at least one reason why each one is not like the others.
Research four types of ants and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how the titanomyrma is an extinct giant, the Saharan silver ant survives extreme heat, the bullet ant has the most painful sting, and the acacia ant protects its host plant.
Students will work through a tournament to determine the most interesting, most valuable, or strangest animal adaptations.
First, students work through the initial round of the tournament.
Then, they complete the remaining rounds and decide on their winner!
Students will research and analyze four snakes, finding at least one reason why each one is not like the others.
Research four rainforest snakes and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how the golden flying snake can glide through the air, the green anaconda is the heaviest snake and lives in water, the Amazon tree boa releases musk like a skunk, and the Gaboon viper has potentially fatal venom.
Students will research four deserts, analyze their findings, and determine why each one is not like the others.
Research four deserts and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how the Gobi is a rainshadow desert, the Sahara helps create hurricanes, Antarctica is a desert and a continent, and the Namib is a coastal desert that may be the oldest in the world.
Students will research and analyze four rainforests to find at least one reason why each is unique.
Research four rainforests and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how the temperate rainforest can receive snow, the Amazon has uncontacted tribes, the Congo has tall sparse trees, and Borneo is home to orangutans and pygmy elephants.
Students will analyze four birds from the rainforest and determine why each is unique.
Research four tropical rainforest birds and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how the toucan regulates blood flow to its beak, the macaw mimics human speech, the quetzal lives in cloud forests, and the kingfisher spears fish with its beak.
Students will analyze examples and non-examples to deduce the topic: nocturnal animals.
First, students get a set of examples and non-examples to analyze.
Then they get a set of ungrouped items. Which are examples and which are non-examples?
Finally, I reveal the topic: nocturnal vs diurnal animals.
Students will think from the perspective of producers and consumers, judging each other’s positive and negative contributions to the ecosystem.
Students will gather information about producers and consumers.
Then they analyze that information and write down the positive and negative contributions of producers and consumers to an ecosystem.
Students create a script in which a producer and a consumer have an honest talk about what they appreciate about each other but also what they other could improve.
Finally, students add in the decomposers! They’ll research decomposers, consider their positive and negative contributions, and then add them to the script.
Students will research and analyze creatures of the tundra, finding at least one reason why each one is not like the others.
Research four tundra creatures and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how the Eurasian wolf is the only canine pack hunter, the snowy owl is the only non-mammal, the caribou can see ultraviolet light, and the polar bear is protected by an international treaty.
Students will evaluate eight biomes in a tournament format. They’ll justify their thinking as they go and, in the end, will crown a champion!
First, students work through the initial round of the tournament.
Then, they complete the remaining rounds and decide on their winner!
Students will create a new flower designed to attract a specific pollinator.
First, students research five flowers to see how they attract particular pollinators.
Next, they design their own flower and pollinator.
Finally, they team up with other classmates to create a pollinator garden. After viewing the other gardens, they will create an award for themselves.
Students develop a realistic (but fictional), extinct creature that could really have lived in the biome of their choosing.
Students identify existing adaptations of creatures in a particular biome.
They design a new creature that would be successful in this biome.
They write about a day in the life of that new creature.
Students will research and analyze four types of volcanoes.
Research four types of volcanoes and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how cinder cones grow on other volcanoes, stratovolcanoes erupt explosively, shield volcanoes create lava tubes, and lava domes can trigger massive landslides.
Students will research and analyze four types of rocks, finding at least one reason why each one is not like the other three.
Research four types of rocks and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how obsidian is volcanic glass and the sharpest rock, pumice floats and is used for skin care, limestone built the pyramids, and lodestone is naturally magnetic.
Students will research and analyze four types of natural disasters, finding at least one reason why each one is not like the others.
Research four types of natural disasters and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how earthquakes are invisible, tornadoes emit an electric field, hurricanes must form over an ocean, and volcanic ash can ground air travel worldwide.
Using details about each type of rock, students will develop personalities and, eventually, a story about the rocks.
Students create personalities for the three types of rocks using.
Building on the rocks’ personalities, students will craft the problem (and solution) to a story
Students will research and analyze four rivers, finding at least one reason why each one is not like the others.
Research the Nile, Amazon, Mississippi, and Yangtze rivers and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how the Nile flows northward, the Amazon has over a thousand tributaries, the Mississippi shaped the steamboat era, and the Yangtze powers the Three Gorges Dam.
Students will judge using criteria and determine which type of precipitation wins the tournament.
First, students work through the initial round of the tournament.
Then, they complete the remaining rounds and decide on their winner!
Students will develop a realistic river for their civilization.
Students will research and analyze four types of natural disasters, finding at least one reason why each one is not like the others.
Research four types of natural disasters and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how earthquakes are invisible, tornadoes emit an electric field, hurricanes must form over an ocean, and volcanic ash can ground air travel worldwide.
Students will analyze examples and non-examples to deduce the topic: simple vs compound machines.
First, students get a set of items categorized in two groups.
Then they get a set of ungrouped items. Which columns will they go in?
Finally, I reveal the topic: simple vs compound machines.
Your students will be surprised by the size of this turbine… and by what’s hanging from it!
Students will determine which location in the solar system is the most wonderful.
First, students work through the initial round of the tournament.
Then, they complete the remaining rounds and decide on their winner!
Students will work through a tournament to determine which object in the solar system is the most habitable.
First, students work through the initial round of the tournament.
Then, they complete the remaining rounds and decide on their winner!
Students will research and analyze four different stars and decide why each one of them is unlike the others.
Research four stars and explain why each one is unique.
Discover how the Crab Pulsar is a rotating star inside a nebula, Betelgeuse is a red supergiant that could engulf Jupiter, Methuselah formed right after the Big Bang, and Alpha Centauri is a triple-star system with possible Earth-like planets.
Students decide which of these items will help them survive on the moon and which would be useless.
First, students decide which items are essential, helpful, and useless.
Then, they decide how they could actually use their “useless” items.
Finally, they can create a story (published however you’d like) about how they used the items to survive for three days on the moon.
Students will research and analyze four planets to determine which is not like the others.
Research Mercury, Neptune, Saturn, and Mars and explain why each planet is unique.