“I use Byrdseed TV to differentiate for my clustered students. I LOVE all the ideas!” ~ a teacher in Washington

CCSS ELA Standard: 2.W.1

Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

Change can be positive and negative

Change can be positive and negative

A beaver’s dam is a nice home and a terrible flood. Students pick a change and note how it can be both positive and negative.

Power Can Be Visible or Invisible (Primary)

Power Can Be Visible or Invisible (Primary)

Some power you can point at. Some you can only feel. Which one is stronger?

Order and Chaos: Recipe or Instinct?

Order and Chaos: Recipe or Instinct?

Two cooks make the same dinner. One follows the recipe to the exact gram. The other just throws things in by feel. Whose food turns out better — the ordered cook or the chaotic cook?

Order and Chaos: The Perfect Heartbeat

Order and Chaos: The Perfect Heartbeat

A heartbeat sounds steady, but a perfectly regular one is a warning sign — healthy hearts speed up and slow down a little. Is a healthy heart ordered or chaotic?

Order and Chaos: The Shuffle

Order and Chaos: The Shuffle

Shuffling follows exact steps to make cards random. Are you creating chaos, or doing something very orderly?

Order and Chaos: No Traffic Lights

Order and Chaos: No Traffic Lights

One town runs its intersections with signals. Another has no lights at all — drivers just work it out. Which town’s traffic is more orderly?

Order and Chaos: The Snowflake

Order and Chaos: The Snowflake

A snowflake always has six sides, yet no two have ever matched. Is a snowflake order, or chaos?

Systems: Grandpa’s Axe

Systems: Grandpa’s Axe

Grandpa’s axe broke, so he put on a new head. Years later the handle cracked, so he replaced that too. Now no original piece is left. Is it still the same axe, or a new one?

Systems: The Thermostat

Systems: The Thermostat

A thermostat fights to keep a room the same — open a window and it just cranks the heat to undo you. In a system that pushes back like that, can you ever really change just one thing?

Systems: Watch vs. Forest

Systems: Watch vs. Forest

A watch stops dead if one tiny gear breaks. A forest can lose a whole species and barely notice. Which is the better-built system — the one where every part matters, or the one where no part is essential?

Systems: The Traffic Jam

Systems: The Traffic Jam

Picture a jam where no one crashed and no one even stopped on purpose — everyone crawls for an hour, then it clears for no reason. Did anyone actually cause this traffic jam?

Systems: Pull One Thread

Systems: Pull One Thread

A sweater is really one long thread looped a thousand times. Pull the right loose end and the whole thing unravels in seconds. So is a system like that strong or fragile?

Change: The Caterpillar’s Bargain

Change: The Caterpillar’s Bargain

To become a butterfly, a caterpillar doesn’t just sprout wings — inside the cocoon it dissolves into liquid first, almost nothing left, then rebuilds. Would you trade everything you are now to become something far greater?

Change: The Sealed Jar

Change: The Sealed Jar

You love a flower so much you seal it in a jar to keep it exactly as it is, forever. A month later it’s brown and crumbling. Did sealing it stop the change, or just hide it?

Change: The Tree’s Scar

Change: The Tree’s Scar

A nail got hammered into a young tree. The tree didn’t push it out — it grew around it, sealing the nail inside a knot of new wood. Was that change the tree healing, or the tree getting damaged?

Change: One Domino

Change: One Domino

You nudge one domino. It tips the next, which tips two more, which tip four, until a thousand have fallen. Did you cause one change, or a thousand?

Change: Canyon vs. Earthquake

Change: Canyon vs. Earthquake

It took a river six million years to carve the Grand Canyon. An earthquake can drop a cliff into the sea in ten seconds. Which one changed the land more — the slow river or the fast quake?

Earth’s Layers: Who Contributes The Most?

Earth’s Layers: Who Contributes The Most?

Earth’s layers will disagree about which one contributes the most to the planet’s success.

An Under-Appreciated Planet

An Under-Appreciated Planet

Students write from the point of view of the most under-appreciated planet.

Holiday Shuffle – Day vs Date

Holiday Shuffle – Day vs Date

Wouldn’t some holidays be better on a certain day of the week? Should Thanksgiving have a set date?

Not Like The Others: Rivers

Not Like The Others: Rivers

Four rivers. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Cephalopods

Not Like The Others: Cephalopods

Four cephalopods. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Flowers

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

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

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

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.

Robot Writing: Volcano

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

Robot Writing: Acropolis

One painting of ruins. Three robots. Three pieces of writing. Who wrote it best?

Robot Writing: The Bridge

Robot Writing: The Bridge

One painting of a bridge. Three robots. Who wrote it best?

Robot Writing: Orchestra

Robot Writing: Orchestra

Read three pieces of writing from three different robots based on a beautiful painting and decide who wins!

Not Like The Others: African Nations

Not Like The Others: African Nations

Four African nations. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: US National Parks

Not Like The Others: US National Parks

Four US national parks. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Types of Diseases

Not Like The Others: Types of Diseases

Four diseases. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Birds of the Desert

Not Like The Others: Birds of the Desert

Four desert birds. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Penguins

Not Like The Others: Penguins

Four penguins. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Microstates of Europe

Not Like The Others: Microstates of Europe

Four of the tiniest countries in Europe. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Microorganisms

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

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!

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

Animal Adaptation Tournament

Which animal has the most interesting, most valuable, or strangest adaptations?

Parts of Speech Tournament

Parts of Speech Tournament

Which part of speech is most useful? Interesting? Strange?

Not Like The Others: Types of Volcanoes

Not Like The Others: Types of Volcanoes

Which of these types of volcanoes is not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Types of Rocks

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

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

Not Like The Others: Deserts

Which of these deserts is not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Rainforests

Not Like The Others: Rainforests

Which of these rainforests is not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Stars

Not Like The Others: Stars

How is each of these stars not like the others?

Not Like The Others: US States

Not Like The Others: US States

How is each of these states not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Mountains

Not Like The Others: Mountains

Which of these mountains is not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Birds of the Tropical Rainforest

Not Like The Others: Birds of the Tropical Rainforest

Which of these four birds is not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Branches of the US Government

Not Like The Others: Branches of the US Government

How is each part of the United States Government not like the other parts?

New Uses for a Paperclip

New Uses for a Paperclip

So what are some new ways to use a paperclip?

Not Like The Others: Natural Disasters

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

Not Like The Others: States of Matter

How is each of the states of matter not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Countries

Not Like The Others: Countries

How is each of these four countries not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Charlotte’s Web

Not Like The Others: Charlotte’s Web

Four Charlotte’s Web characters. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Creatures of the Tundra

Not Like The Others: Creatures of the Tundra

Four tundra creatures. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: US Presidents

Not Like The Others: US Presidents

Four US presidents. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.

Not Like The Others: Planets

Not Like The Others: Planets

Which of these planets is not like others? Well, it sure looks simple at first. But each option could be the one that doesn’t fit in.

Propaganda and Logical Fallacies

Propaganda and Logical Fallacies

Let’s see how propaganda techniques can make even something great seem bad.

Academic Love Letters

Academic Love Letters

What if Kylo Ren wrote a love letter to Abe Lincoln or the Sahara Desert wrote one to the Moon?