What’s In My Brain: Primary Sources
Two columns. One is an example, one isn’t. Can you figure out the hidden rule before the big reveal?
Notice, Wonder: Fountain
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Dazzle
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Burton Island
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Tenzing
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Power in Autumn
Autumn was once powerful because of the harvest. What gives Fall its power now?
Power – Blue Whale vs Krill
Sure, a Blue Whale is huge. But does a tiny krill have more power?
Power Can Be Fast, Slow, Loud, or Quiet
Power may seem loud and fast, but it can also be slow and quiet.
Power can be Visible or Invisible
What are examples of unseen Power? And can invisible power be more powerful than visible power?
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!
Hero or Not A Hero?
Students will determine what makes a hero a hero.
What’s In My Brain: Lion vs Bear
We’re looking at carnivores vs omnivores.
Notice, Wonder: Brooklyn
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
What’s In My Brain: Guinea Pig vs Potbelly
What do guinea pigs, shooting stars, and seahorses have in common? They’re all misnomers!
St. Patrick and Other Legends
How would real people feel about the legends that have been created about them?
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?
New Uses For A Cardboard Tube
So, what can a cardboard tube be used for other than holding wrapping paper?
What’s In My Brain: Narwhal vs Penguin
We’re looking at the arctic vs the antarctic.
Student Introductions With Depth, Complexity, and Frames: Level Two
Once students know the prompts of Depth and Complexity, let’s take them much higher up Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Greekymon Studies – Round 1
What might a creature named “Ursolunascope” be like?
Van Gogh Self-Portrait Tournament
Who will win the tournament of Van Gogh self-portraits!?
Notice, Wonder: Sombrero
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Squiggles Collection 3
Everyone starts with the same squiggle. No two drawings end up the same. What do you see?
Robot Writing: Acropolis
One painting of ruins. Three robots. Three pieces of writing. Who wrote it best?
Squiggles Introduction
What do you see in this squiggle?
Squiggles Collection 2
Everyone starts with the same squiggle. No two drawings end up the same. What do you see?
Pig Pen Cipher (Codes Part 2)
Let’s encode some secret messages with a cipher that was actually used during the American Civil War!
Notice, Wonder: Silver Torch
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Barringer
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Phrases to Join a Discussion
Want your classroom discussions to go a bit more smoothly? Train students to use a few simple phrases and it’ll make all the difference in the world.
Discussing An Important Decision from History
How would people with two different perspectives discuss a decision from history?
What’s In My Brain!? Walnut vs Clouds
Let’s look at living vs non-living things.
Notice, Wonder: Critter
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Back to School: Rewriting The Beatles’ “Help!”
Can your students come up with a one-syllable word to sum up their time away from school? And then rewrite The Beatles’ song Help!?
Concept Attainment: Hornet vs Tiger
Can your class spot the vertebrates vs invertebrates?
Chess Variant: Monster Chess
What if you had really weak chess pieces, but you could always move twice?
Notice, Wonder: SLS Test
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Butterball
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Ramses
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Drawing An Impossible Triangle
Here’s how you can draw The Penrose Triangle, an example of an impossible shape.
Plant Adaptation Tournament
Who will win in a tournament of eight plants with Interesting adaptations!?
Notice, Wonder: Craters
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Bloom
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Skylight
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Drawing Knots, Level 2
How to draw a more complex version of this twisty Henri Matisse knot!
Drawing Knots, Level 1
How to draw a simple version of this twisty Henri Matisse knot!
Notice, Wonder: Krzywy Las
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Scales
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Vortices
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
The 8th Wonder of the World Tournament
Which of these eight wonders deserves to become the Eighth Wonder of the World!?
Notice, Wonder: Swirls
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Witch’s Fingers
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Parabolic Curve Art
Create mathematical art with curves that, well, aren’t curvy.
Animal Adaptation Tournament
Which animal has the most interesting, most valuable, or strangest adaptations?
Habitable Planets and Moons Tournament
Which object in the solar system is most habitable?
Four Player Chess
Tired of boring ol’ chess? Then you need to try FOUR PLAYER chess!
Looping Grid Art
Pick a few numbers, draw some corresponding lines on grid paper, and you’ll end up with some interesting, looping math-y art!
Notice, Wonder: Green Circles
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: An Orange Thing
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Paradox: Rebuilding A Ship
What if we completely rebuild something slowly? What if we completely rebuild it all at once? Is it still the same thing?
Inferring With Art: A Couple
What’s going on in this room? There are shoes everywhere! Are those… oranges? Let’s make some inferences!
Inferring With Art: Two Women
What are these two women up to? What’s that thing she’s holding? Let’s make some inferences!
Game: Wild Tic Tac Toe
Imagine Tic-Tac-Toe, but both players can both play as both X and O throughout the whole game!
Art Lesson: Two-Point Perspective
Let’s get students’ art really popping with two-point perspective!
An Escher-Style Tessellation Project
Create a piece of repeating art in the style of MC Escher!
Self Portraits Part One: Line Drawings
Anyone, yes anyone, can create a (somewhat) realistic self-portrait using these steps. Anyone!
Notice, Wonder: Kuiseb
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Game: Snakes
In this grid-based strategy game, who will be the last to add to the snake?
Math Game: Heaps
Try this a simple (but surprisingly strategic) subtraction game!
Writing Sample: The Jungle Book (Bagheera)
A passage from The Jungle Book to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Notice, Wonder: A Long Line
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice Wonder: Blood Falls
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Think Like A Philosopher
What would Socrates have thought if he watched Frozen?
Virtue or Vice?
Aristotle noted that positive traits and negative traits are often the same thing, but just in different amounts. The right amount is a virtue, but too much or too little and it’s a vice.
How Renewable Is That Resource?
Which resource is more renewable? And which is easier to find?
Notice, Wonder: Forest
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Akron
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Create A Civilization: A Change In Government
It’s a great moment for your civilization! Power is moving from the hands of a few to a more democratic government.
The Tournament of Biomes
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!
Notice Wonder: Electronics
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice Wonder: Turbine
Your students will be surprised by the size of this turbine… and by what’s hanging from it!
Writing Sample: Peter Pan
A passage from “Peter Pan” to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Notice, Wonder: Climber
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: The Cliff
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
What’s In My Brain: Cute Baby vs Fast Cheetah
Can students spot similes vs metaphors?
Notice, Wonder: Michael
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Etna
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Bulls and Cows
How quickly can you break the numeric code?
Notice, Wonder: Plateau
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: A Ship
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Simple or Compound Sentences – What’s In My Brain?
Can your students spot simple sentences vs compound sentences?
Paradox: The Barber’s Paradox
The barber shaves everybody who doesn’t themselves. So… does the barber shave himself?
What’s In My Brain – The Park vs The Museum
We’re looking at the past progressive tense and the simple past tense.
Student Introductions with Complexity and Frames
How have you changed over time? Students introduce themselves through the lens of change — and learn a Depth and Complexity tool in the process.
Paradox: Crocodile Dilemma
A crocodile makes a deal. But the deal creates a paradox. Can your students untangle a 2,000-year-old logic puzzle?
Paradox: The Liar’s Paradox
Nothing like a paradox to get your kids brains exploding 🤯! This one starts with five simple words: “This statement is a lie.”
Chomp
Chomp away at your opponent in this grid-based strategy game.
Game: Notakto
What if you only played Tic-Tac-Toe with Xs and you could play on multiple boards?
Dots and Boxes
Who can make the most boxes from dots in this strategy game?
More Specific than “Smart”
When students are told that they’re “smart”, what does this word actually mean to them? (Psst. It isn’t what we intended.)