TEKS ELA Standard: 4.11.B

Any Shape With Just One Cut

Mechanical Dinosaur Costume

from a single piece of paper

Apple Harvesting Machine

Backdraft in Slow Motion

hot coffee as ice cubes are added

creating faux-shadows on street

one piece of rolled-up paper

working Lego car

toss leftover tea in -40°C

Wood Bending Machine

Hair Dryer Kinetic Art

Making a Chain Link From a Red-Hot Rod

Writing Compound Sentences

Students work with subjects, predicates, and conjunctions to write compound sentences.

Halloween Problems and Solutions

When we try to solve a problem, sometimes we end up creating new problems. Which lead to new solutions. Which lead to new problems.

Improving Shakespeare’s Repetition

Let’s help William Shakespeare with his use of repetition.

Rainclouds – Mixed Up Paragraph

Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about rain clouds back into the correct order?

A Halloween Costume Gone Wrong

Let’s go roller skating in a Halloween costume! What could possibly go wrong?

Super Specific Similes: Quick Baby

Let’s make this simile about a quick baby even more specific.

Super Specific Similes: Stinky Seaweed

Start with a basic simile. Now make it more specific. Now even more. Watch how much better writing gets with each round.

What If… Unreliable Water?

What would the consequences be if a town’s tap water became… unreliable?

What If… No Sleep?

What would the consequences be if no one had to sleep anymore?

Writing About Art: Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons

Look closely at Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.

Writing About Art: Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog

Look closely at Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.

Changing Coordinating Conjunctions

What happens when we switch out a “but” with a “so”? An “and” with a “for”? How can such tiny words make such big differences?

Writing Technique: Triple Anadiplosis!

Have students mastered the art of anadiplosis: ending one sentence with the beginning of the next? Now it’s time to take it to the next level!

Doubling Up Writing: Anadiplosis

Repeating words can be what you want, if what you want is an interesting effect. (Psst, that’s an example of anadiplosis!)

Writing Sample: A Christmas Carol (Cold)

A passage from White Fang to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.

Writing Technique: 3 Dependent Clauses

A specific technique to help students add some spice to their writing. We’ll be writing sentences with three dependent clauses.

Paragraphs: Systems of Sentences

Blow up a paragraph into individual sentences. Now reassemble it. The clues hiding in each sentence will surprise you.

Pronouns With Too Many Antecedents

What happens when a pronoun could refer to more than one noun? Big problems!

Upgrading Compare and Contrast Writing

Upgrade compare and contrast writing with just a couple of key words.

Improving Presentations 3: The Storyboard and Slides

It’s time to turn that outline into a storyboard and then some actual slides.

Writing Clear Directions

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