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Playlist: Bookmarks

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.

St. Patrick and Other Legends

How would real people feel about the legends that have been created about them?

Context Clues and Classics

For Teachers

How to use a classic to revamp a study of context clues.

Words Within Words: ORNAMENT

How many words can you find within ORNAMENT?

Words Within Words: SCARECROW

How many words can you find within “scarecrow”?

Words Within Words: Intro (SOLDIER)

How many words can you find within SOLDIER? 20? 35? 50? Even more!?

Think Like a Disciplinarian (or an Expert!)

For Teachers

Here’s how I got better at using the Think Like An Expert technique.

Engagement Isn’t The Goal

For Teachers

While “engagement” is fun, it shouldn’t be our main goal.

Writing in Pilish

Pi can go beyond circles! What if you wrote using the digits of pi as your guide?

Looping Grid Art

Pick a few numbers, draw some corresponding lines on grid paper, and you’ll end up with some interesting, looping math-y art!

Ultimate (or Inception) Tic Tac Toe

What if each square on a Tic-Tac-Toe board had another Tic-Tac-Toe board inside of it?

Analyze Paragraphs: Baseball

Three paragraphs about baseball. They all cover the same topic — so what makes each one different? Now combine them into one super-paragraph.

An Escher-Style Tessellation Project

Create a piece of repeating art in the style of MC Escher!

Writing A Thanksgiving Letter

What if an inanimate object could express thanks for a special person in your life? What would it write?

Generalization: Change Leads to More Change

Can you think of a time in your life when “Change lead to more change?”

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.

Disneyland Parking Structure Math Project

Your students will use estimation strategies to figure out how many parking spots are there in the parking structure at Disneyland? And you bet I reveal the real answer!

How Renewable Is That Resource?

Which resource is more renewable? And which is easier to find?

Paragraphs: Systems of Sentences

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

What’s In My Brain: Cute Baby vs Fast Cheetah

Can students spot similes vs metaphors?

Upgrade Research Questions With Depth and Complexity

Ever ask students to create research questions? Were their ideas a bit… blah? My own students had a very hard time writing questions they didn’t already know the answer to! This video is how I solved that problem: upgrade research questions with depth and complexity.

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!

More Specific than “Smart”

When students are told that they’re “smart”, what does this word actually mean to them? (Psst. It isn’t what we intended.)

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.

Propaganda and Logical Fallacies

Let’s see how propaganda techniques can make even something great seem bad.

Depth and Complexity: 📈 Trends

Has something been changing recently? What might be causing that? What are the effects?

Depth and Complexity: 👄 Language of the Discipline

Imagine a construction worker who doesn’t know the name of a screwdriver or a doctor who can’t remember what to call your neck. It’s pretty hard to communicate well without knowing the 👄 Language of the Discipline!

Depth and Complexity: ❓ Unanswered Questions

This underutilized tool focuses students on what we don’t yet know and even what we can’t know.

Depth and Complexity: 📚 Across Disciplines

No topic is an island! With the 📚 Across Disciplines prompt, students note connections within and across multiple fields.

Depth and Complexity: ⏳ Change Over Time

Want to get students thinking about how a topic has changed or might change in the future? The ⏳ Change Over Time thinking tool is just what you need!

Depth and Complexity: Patterns

Can your students spot anything that repeats? Or that has stopped repeating?

Discovering Pi With Sticky Notes

Pi is mysterious and strange! Why not let students discover it on their own?

Exploring Circumference With Famous Circles

Let’s find how the diameter and circumference of famous circles are related.

Greekymon

Rather than just memorizing word parts, students will use those word parts to create four possible products.

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!

Teaching Empathy With Faberge Eggs

The story of the Fabergé Eggs is heartbreaking. It’s also the perfect way to build empathy in your classroom.