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Grade 8

CCSS ELA Standard: 8.W.2

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

Order to Chaos: Dominoes or Dam?
Order to Chaos: Dominoes or Dam?
Sometimes outside forces turn order into chaos. But sometimes chaos comes from within.
Gr 2-8
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.
Gr 1-8
An Under-Appreciated Planet
An Under-Appreciated Planet
Students write from the point of view of the most under-appreciated planet.
Gr 1-8
Order and Chaos Hide Inside Each Other
Order and Chaos Hide Inside Each Other
Chaos can contain order. Order can contain chaos! Is chaos ever truly random?
Gr 3-8
Halloween Worksheets
Halloween Worksheets
Crosswords, image analysis, and writing prompts for Halloween!
Gr 1-8
Who has more power: the Queen Bee or the Hive?
Who has more power: the Queen Bee or the Hive?
Sometimes power is concentrated in one place. Other times it is spread out.
Gr 1-8
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).
Gr 1-8
Power Big Idea Worksheets
Power Big Idea Worksheets
Your students will investigate statements like: Power leads to change, Power comes in many forms, Power can be used or abused.
Gr 2-8
Order, Chaos, and the Holiday Season
Order, Chaos, and the Holiday Season
Let’s write a holiday song about order and chaos!
Gr 1-8
Mother’s Day Cards
Mother’s Day Cards
Let’s write the cleverest Mother’s Day cards you’ve ever seen!
Gr 1-8
Zig Zag Cipher (Codes Part 3)
Zig Zag Cipher (Codes Part 3)
Let’s try a cipher that doesn’t substitute new letters or shapes. We just mix things up.
Gr 1-8
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.
Gr 1-8
Create A Civilization: Currency
Create A Civilization: Currency
What type of currency will your civilization use? What symbols will be on it? Why are they significant?
Gr 1-8
Create A Civilization: Design A Flag
Create A Civilization: Design A Flag
What makes for a good flag? What makes a bad flag?
Gr 1-8
Ultimate (or Inception) Tic Tac Toe
Ultimate (or Inception) Tic Tac Toe
What if each square on a Tic-Tac-Toe board had another Tic-Tac-Toe board inside of it?
Gr 1-8
Analyze Paragraphs: Empire State Building
Analyze Paragraphs: Empire State Building
Three paragraphs about the Empire State Building. They all cover the same topic — so what makes each one different? Now combine them into one super-paragraph.
Gr 1-8
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.
Gr 1-8
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.
Gr 1-8
Investigating Christmas Trees
Investigating Christmas Trees
Start with facts about Christmas trees. Group them. Label them. Can you boil it all down to one big idea?
Gr 1-8
Upgrading Compare and Contrast Writing
Upgrading Compare and Contrast Writing
Upgrade compare and contrast writing with just a couple of key words.
Gr 2-8
Building Creative Analogies
Building Creative Analogies
We’ll take two seemingly unrelated pieces of content (say volcanoes and the human body) and then build analogies to connect the two ideas. In the end, students can create a skit, comic, or story relating the two concepts.
Gr 1-8
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!
Gr 1-8
Content Imperatives: Contribuition
Content Imperatives: Contribuition
Pull on one thread and watch the whole topic move. Contribution asks: what single factor is quietly shaping everything else?
Gr 1-8
Content Imperatives: Origin
Content Imperatives: Origin
Take students back to the beginning by using the Content Imperative ⏺️ Origin.
Gr 2-8
Depth and Complexity: ⏳ Change Over Time
Depth and Complexity: ⏳ Change Over Time
Want to get students thinking about how a topic has changed or might change in the future? The ⏳ Change Over Time thinking tool is just what you need!
Gr 2-8
Create A Civilization Introduction
Create A Civilization Introduction
Your students build a civilization from scratch — rivers, flags, calendars, currency, government. Social studies, science, and writing woven into one year-long project.
Gr 1-8
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.
Gr 1-8
Educational Valentines
Educational Valentines
Let’s make valentines with an educational twist!
Gr 1-8
An App For A Historical Figure
An App For A Historical Figure
What kind of an app could have helped Abe Lincoln accomplish his goals?
Gr 1-8
Reduce Anxiety: Brain Plate (Tool 3)
Reduce Anxiety: Brain Plate (Tool 3)
When a student’s brain is full of worries, everything feels urgent. Brain Plate helps them sort what’s real from what’s noise — and actually do something about it.
Gr 1-8
Reduce Anxiety: Square Breathing (Tool 1)
Reduce Anxiety: Square Breathing (Tool 1)
Reduce anxiety by breathing in a square pattern.
Gr 1-8
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?
Gr 1-8