Playlist: Bookmarks
Words Within Words: RAINBOW
How many words can you find within rainbow?
Aquamorphotron (Greek and Latin)
What on earth is a Aquamorphotron? Break apart the Greek and Latin roots, figure out what it should mean, then invent what it describes.
Chronosonarium (Greek and Latin)
What on earth is a Chronosonarium? Break apart the Greek and Latin roots, figure out what it should mean, then invent what it describes.
Factors and Codes (Episode 1)
Let’s use factors to encode and decode words.
Cooking In Space
Watch astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti cook a meal in zero gravity on the International Space Station.
Parts of Speech Party – Gift
How many different ways can we use the word “gift” in a single paragraph? Let’s find out in this Parts of Speech Party!
Parts of Speech Party: Introduction (Check)
How many ways can we use “check” in a paragraph? And can your students spot when it’s a verb, or a noun, or an adjective?
Words Within Words: ORNAMENT
How many words can you find within ORNAMENT?
Words Within Words: CRANBERRY
How many words can you find within “cranberry”?
Squiggles Introduction
What do you see in this squiggle?
Word Pyramids
Start with a one letter word, add another letter, then add another. How tall can you make the pyramid?
Words Within Words: TROMBONE
How many words can you find within TROMBONE?
Find The Pattern: Multiply Fractions
What if you set the stage for students to discover how to multiply fractions?
Earthquakes – Mixed Up Paragraph
Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about earthquakes back into the correct order?
Fizz Buzz: A Counting and Divisibility Game
Ready for a tricky counting and divisibility game?
Fancier Figurative Language: Use the Opposite
Let’s start with “As cold as fire.”
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: Cucumbers
Three paragraphs about cucumbers. They all cover the same topic — so what makes each one different? Now combine them into one super-paragraph.
Word Ladder: East to West (4 Steps)
COLD to COOL. BAND to SING. Change one letter at a time — can you find the path?
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?
Math Game: Heaps
Try this a simple (but surprisingly strategic) subtraction game!
Word Ladders Introduction
You won’t believe how this spelling and vocabulary puzzle will get kids’ brains sweating over the smallest of words.
Math Curiosity: Ulam Spiral
What if we make a huge spiral of numbers and then highlight only the primes? Well, a bunch of weird patterns show up!
Characters Dressed as Other Characters for Halloween
What if one character dressed up as another for Halloween? Would the Cat in the Hat pick Captain Jack Sparrow, because they’re both chaotic yet good-natured people? Would Elsa dress up as The Ice King since they are both lonely?
Parentheses: How big of a change can they make!?
Two tiny parentheses. One expression. How big of a change can they make? Bigger than you think.
Paragraphs: Systems of Sentences
Blow up a paragraph into individual sentences. Now reassemble it. The clues hiding in each sentence will surprise you.
How Many Ways: Fraction Equivalence
How many different ways can you make this math statement true using only the digits one through nine?
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!
Dots and Boxes
Who can make the most boxes from dots in this strategy game?
Grouping Quadrilaterals In A Hierarchy
Can we classify quadrilaterals like we classify living things?
Universal Themes
For TeachersUniversal Themes are an easy way to connect lessons, units, and content areas, even going across grade levels, and into students’ personal interests.
Math Curiosity: Primes and Squares
Can any perfect square be written as the sum of two primes?
Visualizing Fraction Multiplication
What does it look like to multiply fractions?
Ways to Start a Sentence – Level 1
‘Add more variety!’ teachers say. But how? This lesson gives students actual techniques instead of vague advice.
Greekymon
Rather than just memorizing word parts, students will use those word parts to create four possible products.
Writing Summaries in Haiku
Let’s write a summary. A very short summary. With VERY strict rules.
Teach Non-Fiction Writing Structure With Fractals
Did you ever notice that the structure of an essay is very similar to the structure of a paragraph? Hmm…