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

TEKS ELA Standard: 5.6.D

create mental images to deepen understanding

Rebus Puzzles Gr 1-8
a clam burrow
Robin Eley paints Vermeer’s The Milkmaid
Zhongshuge Bookstore Walkthrough
surreal woolen carpets
hollow mask optical illusion
hot coffee as ice cubes are added
pancakes that look like bacon and eggs
60,000 magnetic spheres
Gears that form a cube
Hand-Painted Rock Portrait
optical-illusion sculptures
Blanket Octopus unfurl its colorful skin
100,000-Photo Composite of the Moon
a familiar Van Gogh scene
blend into its surroundings
inside a volcano
inside the sun’s corona
portrait of Jackie Chan
Dinosaur Optical Illusion
Deep Ocean Creatures Without Names
Recursive Island
Recursive Island
Vulcan Point Island is an island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island
Power can be Visible or Invisible
Power can be Visible or Invisible
What are examples of unseen Power? And can invisible power be more powerful than visible power?
Gr 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Drawing A 3D Staircase
Drawing A 3D Staircase
This optical illusion looks like a 3D staircase, but it’s all drawn on a plain piece of paper.
Optical Illusion: Two Tables
Optical Illusion: Two Tables
These two tables are the same size. But how!?
Martial Arts in Space
Martial Arts in Space
Shaolin kung fu students as seen from a satellite.
Emoji Stories 👁️
Emoji Stories 👁️
Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?
Gr 2-8
Van Gogh on Water
Van Gogh on Water
Oil paint floats on water and becomes a familiar scene.
How to Reset Your Brain When You’re Flooded
How to Reset Your Brain When You’re Flooded
Allison Edwards explains how changing your senses can reset your brain.
Gr 1-8
Frozen Bubble
Frozen Bubble
What happens when you blow a bubble in below-freezing temperatures?
Lego Shadow Spinner
Lego Shadow Spinner
Watch this block of Lego cast three completely different shadows of three distinctly different objects! How’d he do it?
Super Specific Similes – Slimy Broccoli
Super Specific Similes – Slimy Broccoli
Start with a basic simile. Now make it more specific. Now even more. Watch how much better writing gets with each round.
Gr 1-8
Squiggles Introduction
Squiggles Introduction
What do you see in this squiggle?
Gr 1-3
Squiggles Collection 2
Squiggles Collection 2
Everyone starts with the same squiggle. No two drawings end up the same. What do you see?
Gr 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8
Drawing An Impossible Triangle
Drawing An Impossible Triangle
Here’s how you can draw The Penrose Triangle, an example of an impossible shape.
Gr 1-2
Microchess (Chess Variant)
Microchess (Chess Variant)
What if we played chess on a board that’s only 4×5?
Gr 1-8
Drawing Knots, Level 3
Drawing Knots, Level 3
How to draw the final version of the twisty Henri Matisse knot!
Gr 1-2
Drawing Knots, Level 2
Drawing Knots, Level 2
How to draw a more complex version of this twisty Henri Matisse knot!
Gr 1-2
Drawing Knots, Level 1
Drawing Knots, Level 1
How to draw a simple version of this twisty Henri Matisse knot!
Gr 1-2
Fancier Figurative Language: Use the Opposite
Fancier Figurative Language: Use the Opposite
Let’s start with “As cold as fire.”
Gr 1-8
Thinking With Art: Head Down
Thinking With Art: Head Down
One artist, two paintings. Notice details, compare, synthesize, then find a parallel in another creator’s work.
Gr 1-8
Inferring With Art: A Couple
Inferring With Art: A Couple
What’s going on in this room? There are shoes everywhere! Are those… oranges? Let’s make some inferences!
Gr 1-8
Art Lesson: One-Point Perspective
Art Lesson: One-Point Perspective
Let’s give our students an art history lesson while teaching them how to enhance their drawings using one-point perspective.
Gr 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
Art Lesson: Two-Point Perspective
Art Lesson: Two-Point Perspective
Let’s get students’ art really popping with two-point perspective!
Gr 1-8
Self Portraits: Pointillism
Self Portraits: Pointillism
Turn your students into a bunch of Monets with q-tips and some tempera paint.
Gr 1-8
What’s In My Brain: Cute Baby vs Fast Cheetah
What’s In My Brain: Cute Baby vs Fast Cheetah
Can students spot similes vs metaphors?
Gr 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Drawing Natural Curves Like Andy Goldsworthy
Drawing Natural Curves Like Andy Goldsworthy
Andy Goldsworthy turns leaves and stones into art. Your students will learn to draw his signature natural curves — then build on them.
Gr 1-8
How to Play Go
How to Play Go
Ready to learn a 2,500-year-old Chinese board game? Let’s… Go!
Gr 1-8
Introduce Symbolism with Pixel Art
Introduce Symbolism with Pixel Art
Create a pixelated icon that represents the essence of a character!
Gr 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 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
Add Layers To Direct Instruction
Add Layers To Direct Instruction
Take direction instruction beyond a monotonous practice of the same skill over and over.
Gr 1-8