Playlist: Bookmarks
Crossing Every Bridge Exactly Once (aka Eulerian Paths)
How can you cross each bridge in this city exactly once?
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?
Depth and Complexity and Graphic Organizers
For TeachersLet’s see a few examples of how Depth and Complexity slides nicely into any graphic organizer.
Idioms about Weather
Five sets of idioms related to the weather.
Phrases to Join a Discussion
Want your classroom discussions to go a bit more smoothly? Train students to use a few simple phrases and it’ll make all the difference in the world.
Special Gifts with Special Requirements
Your special friends sure have some unique gift needs!
What’s In My Brain!? Japan vs Jamaica
Is it an island or an archipelago?
What’s In My Brain!? Gold vs Wood
Some of these examples are conductors and some are insulators!
What’s In My Brain!? Walnut vs Clouds
Let’s look at living vs non-living things.
Concept Attainment: Hornet vs Tiger
Can your class spot the vertebrates vs invertebrates?
Fancier Figurative Language: Move the Simile
What if we started a sentence with the simile?
What’s In My Brain: Owl vs Eagle
Some of these animals are nocturnal and some are diurnal.
Concept Attainment: Art
Can your students tell the difference between cubism and abstract art?
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.
Depth and Complexity – An Introduction for Teachers
For TeachersDepth and Complexity is the most powerful framework most teachers have never heard of. Here’s what it actually is — and isn’t.
How Many Ways: Times Equals Minus
How many different ways can you make this math statement true using only the digits one through nine?
What’s In My Brain: Cute Baby vs Fast Cheetah
Can students spot similes vs metaphors?
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!
Rounding Numbers (But Not To 10)
What could we possibly do to make rounding more interesting for students who already get it? In this series, students consider how they might round to values other than “the nearest 10.” How, for example, do we round to the nearest 9? 7? 15?
Dots and Boxes
Who can make the most boxes from dots in this strategy game?
Showing A Character’s Trait
We tell students to ‘show, not tell’ — but that advice is useless until they experience the difference. This lesson makes it click.
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: ⚖️ Ethics
Want to add drama to any topic? Use the Ethics prompt!
Depth and Complexity: 🚦 Rules
Is there a consequence for not doing something? You may have found a rule!
Depth and Complexity: 🏛️ Big Idea
Let’s get students thinking big and focusing on more abstract ideas.
Create A Civilization Introduction
Your students build a civilization from scratch — rivers, flags, calendars, currency, government. Social studies, science, and writing woven into one year-long project.