TEKS ELA Standard: 8.10.B

Any Shape With Just One Cut

Mechanical Dinosaur Costume

from a single piece of paper

Apple Harvesting Machine

Backdraft in Slow Motion

toss leftover tea in -40°C

Wood Bending Machine

Hair Dryer Kinetic Art

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.

Change A Story’s Genre

What if we rewrote a story’s climax into a totally different genre?

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?

Holiday Writing: Packing Crates

An old photograph. A holiday scene. Pick one object in the picture and write from its point of view.

Famous Structures

The Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House — group them, pick the best from each group, then design your own.

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: Chōshi in Shimosha

Get your students writing some pretty darn impressive poetry based on Japan’s most famous artist.

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.

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.

Story Starter: Out To Eat

Students pick from 12 random phrases to create a story about an incident in a restaurant.

Story Starter: Somewhere In Space

Students use 12 random phrases to create a story that takes place in space!

SCAMPER: Scaffolding Creativity

Asking students to “think creatively” won’t get you far. They won’t know how to start, they’ll get stuck with simple ideas, or they’ll just go completely wild. SCAMPER is a tool for scaffolding the process of creativity.

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.

Improving Presentations 2: Planning The Outline

After watching some great presenters, let’s outline your presentation!

Writing Clear Directions

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