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

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Grade 8

KAS ELA Standard: RI.8.3

Analyze how an author uses comparisons, analogies or categories to make connections among and distinctions between ideas over the course of a text.

Power and Symbols
Power and Symbols
When does a simple symbol have more power than a word?
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
What Happens In Your Brain When You’re Worried or Afraid
What Happens In Your Brain When You’re Worried or Afraid
Allison Edwards explains how blood flow in your brain affects your decision-making
Gr 1-8
Pig Pen Cipher (Codes Part 2)
Pig Pen Cipher (Codes Part 2)
Let’s encode some secret messages with a cipher that was actually used during the American Civil War!
Gr 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8
Trains – Mixed Up Paragraph
Trains – Mixed Up Paragraph
Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about trains back into the correct order?
Gr 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
Think Like A Historian
Think Like A Historian
Here’s how effects be causes and causes can be effects!
Gr 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 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
Paradox: Rebuilding A Ship
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?
Gr 1-8
Think Like A Philosopher
Think Like A Philosopher
What would Socrates have thought if he watched Frozen?
Gr 2-8
Invisible Power Can Have Visible Effects
Invisible Power Can Have Visible Effects
Can you think of times when power is unseen, but we can clearly see its effects?
Gr 1-8
What’s In My Brain: May vs May
What’s In My Brain: May vs May
The word “may” can be used for possibility or permission. It’s a modal auxiliary verb!
Gr 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8
Content Imperatives: Paradox
Content Imperatives: Paradox
How can one idea pull in opposite directions, being both true and false or right and wrong at the same time? It’s time to explore Paradoxes!
Gr 1-8
Content Imperatives: Parallel
Content Imperatives: Parallel
Get students thinking broadly by exploring similarities across multiple topics. Combine with Depth and Complexity for bonus points!
Gr 1-8
Depth and Complexity: 📈 Trends
Depth and Complexity: 📈 Trends
Has something been changing recently? What might be causing that? What are the effects?
Gr 2-8
Depth and Complexity: 🚦 Rules
Depth and Complexity: 🚦 Rules
Is there a consequence for not doing something? You may have found a rule!
Gr 1-8
Depth and Complexity: 📚 Across Disciplines
Depth and Complexity: 📚 Across Disciplines
No topic is an island! With the 📚 Across Disciplines prompt, students note connections within and across multiple fields.
Gr 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Depth and Complexity: Patterns
Depth and Complexity: Patterns
Can your students spot anything that repeats? Or that has stopped repeating?
Gr 2-8
Educational Valentines
Educational Valentines
Let’s make valentines with an educational twist!
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: Change The Channel (Tool 2)
Reduce Anxiety: Change The Channel (Tool 2)
Reduce anxiety by learning to “change the channel.”
Gr 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Reduce Anxiety: Square Breathing (Tool 1)
Reduce Anxiety: Square Breathing (Tool 1)
Reduce anxiety by breathing in a square pattern.
Gr 1-8
Think Like An Economist
Think Like An Economist
How would an economist read Goldilocks? How would they see a rainforest? How would they study the American Revolution?
Gr 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8