Serving advanced learners (and their teachers) since 2012.

CCSS ELA Standard: 4.W.2

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Depth and Complexity Frame Intro: Order

Depth and Complexity Frame Intro: Order

Willy Wonka’s factory looks like madness, but underneath it all is a careful plan. Students watch Wonka fill out a frame about himself, then fill out their own: their roles, their patterns, their rules, and their hardest decisions.

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.

Indirect Power – Lighthouse vs Magnetism

Indirect Power – Lighthouse vs Magnetism

Students explore the idea of indirect power – which can be both visible (a lighthouse) or invisible (magnetism).

Founding The Colonies

Founding The Colonies

13 colonies activities including a word search and task cards packed with facts. Plus, students will create their own colony with a name, story, and map!

Two Animals Switch Biomes

Two Animals Switch Biomes

What if a capybara and a kangaroo rat switched homes? Would their adaptations be helpful at all?

A System Similar to a Cell

A System Similar to a Cell

Which parts of a cell serve a similar job to the parts of a cruise ship, human body, computer, or other system?

Mother’s Day Cards

Mother’s Day Cards

Let’s write the cleverest Mother’s Day cards you’ve ever seen!

Create A Civ: Capital City

Create A Civ: Capital City

Every great capital is part geography, part human design. Research real ones, then build your own from scratch.

Create A Civilization: Design A Flag

Create A Civilization: Design A Flag

What makes for a good flag? What makes a bad flag?

Analyze Paragraphs: Cucumbers

Analyze Paragraphs: Cucumbers

Three paragraphs about cucumbers. They all cover the same topic — so what makes each one different? Now combine them into one super-paragraph.

Analyze Paragraphs: Wolverines

Analyze Paragraphs: Wolverines

Three paragraphs about wolverines. They all cover the same topic — so what makes each one different? Now combine them into one super-paragraph.

Holiday vs Holiday (from a Mascot’s Perspective)

Holiday vs Holiday (from a Mascot’s Perspective)

Want something to do during the holiday season that is both fun and involves thinking? Get students writing about what a snowman would think about Halloween or what a ghost would think about Thanksgiving.

Create A Civilization: Calendars

Create A Civilization: Calendars

Why 12 months? Why 30ish days? Why 7 days in a week? Your civilization could organize a year in any way you want!

Creating A Realistic Flower and Pollinator

Creating A Realistic Flower and Pollinator

Your students will create a new flower, designed to attract a specific pollinator.

Teach Non-Fiction Writing Structure With Fractals

Teach Non-Fiction Writing Structure With Fractals

Did you ever notice that the structure of an essay is very similar to the structure of a paragraph? Hmm…

Writing Clear Directions

Writing Clear Directions

Can you write directions so clear that a group of kids can put a toy together with no illustrations?