Playlist: 5th grade
What Am I? Science Riddles
Four clues and one hidden science word. Then students write riddles of their own.
Struggle Makes Us Stronger
How the lotus can teach your young students about resiliency.
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?
Rainclouds – Mixed Up Paragraph
Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about rain clouds back into the correct order?
Crossing Every Bridge Exactly Once (aka Eulerian Paths)
How can you cross each bridge in this city exactly once?
What’s In My Brain!? Japan vs Jamaica
Is it an island or an archipelago?
Olympics: Winter vs Summer Medal Count
Which country has a great balance between their summer and winter Olympic medals?
Not Like The Others: Birds of the Desert
Four desert birds. One doesn’t belong. But which one? That depends on your argument.
Writing About Art: Impression, Sunrise
Look closely at Impression, Sunrise. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.
Drawing An Impossible Triangle
Here’s how you can draw The Penrose Triangle, an example of an impossible shape.
Parabolic Curve Art
Create mathematical art with curves that, well, aren’t curvy.
A Lunar Survival Mission
A favorite of mine! This task is delightfully complex and ambiguous, forcing students to make choices without enough information and with no right answer. How will they survive on the moon for three days?
The Pros and Cons of Producers and Consumers
Sure, students might know the difference between a producer and a consumer… but have they considered how they feel about each other? What, in a producer’s opinion, are the pros and cons of a consumer?
How Many Ways: Times Equals Minus
How many different ways can you make this math statement true using only the digits one through nine?
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.
Student Introductions With Depth and Frames
Want to introduce the tools of Depth and Complexity and learn more about your students and introduce the Frame graphic organizer? Have I got the activity for you!
Building Creative Analogies
We’ll take two seemingly unrelated pieces of content (say volcanoes and the human body) and then build analogies to connect the two ideas. In the end, students can create a skit, comic, or story relating the two concepts.
Fractals: Koch Snowflake
You could keep zooming in on this snowflake forever!
The Thinking Hats
So… do your students moan when forced to work in a group? Part of the problem is that lack the structure to work well with peers. Edward de Bono’s Thinking Hats are a perfect tool to help with this problem.
Creating A Realistic Flower and Pollinator
Your students will create a new flower, designed to attract a specific pollinator.
Create A Creature
Create a new creature based on the adaptations of existing creatures from the same biome.
Math Curiosity: Palindromic Number Conjecture
Using this one weird trick, it seems that you can turn any number into a palindrome!
Creating A Classroom Motto
Starting with specific examples of fantastic classroom behavior, your class will end up with one sentence summing up their expectations. It’s a classroom motto!
Furnishing A Hotel
Design and furnish hotel rooms on a budget. Real math, real constraints, real decisions. Then pitch your hotel to investors.
Writing Clear Directions
Can you write directions so clear that a group of kids can put a toy together with no illustrations?
Math Project: What If I Bought Apple Stock Instead?
What if you had an original iPod and sold it compared to if you had bought the equivalent amount of Apple stock and sold that?
Engineering: Build A Bridge
Using real bridges as their starting point, students will construct bridges out of straws and paperclips.