CCSS ELA Standard: 8.W.1

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

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

Chaos can contain order. Order can contain chaos! Is chaos ever truly random?

We compare the power of traditions shared by millions with smaller traditions shared by perhaps just one family.

Autumn was once powerful because of the harvest. What gives Fall its power now?

Crosswords, image analysis, and writing prompts for Halloween!

When does a simple symbol have more power than a word?

Sometimes power is concentrated in one place. Other times it is spread out.

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

Sure, a Blue Whale is huge. But does a tiny krill have more power?

Your students will investigate statements like: Power leads to change, Power comes in many forms, Power can be used or abused.

Power may seem loud and fast, but it can also be slow and quiet.

Students will determine what makes a hero a hero.

When I see a quote, I often think, “That’s not quite right!”

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

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

Who will win the tournament of mythological creatures!?

Which inventor and invention will win the tournament?

Which domesticated animal will win the tournament?

Which type of energy will win the tournament!?

Who will win the tournament of Natural Disasters!?

How would people with two different perspectives discuss a decision from history?

Who will win in a tournament of eight plants with Interesting adaptations!?

Which location is the most wondrous place in the solar system?

Which of these eight wonders deserves to become the Eighth Wonder of the World!?

Which of these pieces of exploration technology is most important? Most underrated? Most long-lasting?

Eight types of precipitation battle it out in this tournament.

Which of these inventions of the ancient world is most influential? Least useful today? Most taken-for-granted?

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

Which object in the solar system is most habitable?

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

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

Which of these deserts is not like the others?

So who was the strangest of these eight presidents?

A favorite of mine! This task is delightfully complex and ambiguous, forcing students to make choices without enough information and with no right answer. How will they survive on the moon for three days?

What would Socrates have thought if he watched Frozen?

What if one character dressed up as another for Halloween? Would the Cat in the Hat pick Captain Jack Sparrow, because they’re both chaotic yet good-natured people? Would Elsa dress up as The Ice King since they are both lonely?

Asking students to “think creatively” won’t get you far. They won’t know how to start, they’ll get stuck with simple ideas, or they’ll just go completely wild. SCAMPER is a tool for scaffolding the process of creativity.

Want to move beyond memorizing the characteristics of biomes? In this lesson, students work through a Tournament of Biomes, explaining which biome wins in each round (based on criteria you choose). In the end, they crown a 👑 Champion Biome!

Imagine being a character in a story. Are you worried that your story’s narrator may inaccurately describe you? What if they reveal something you wanted to be kept secret? Do narrators have too much power!?

Which set of fractions would be the trickiest to order from least to greatest? Let’s have a tournament!

Your students will set up a tournament to determine which person or character best demonstrated resiliency.

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

How does a drink’s packaging affect us emotionally and logically?

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