Playlist: Bookmarks
Introduction to Puzzlements
For TeachersHow I accidentally discouraged curiosity in my classroom.
Geometry Image: Esplanade Theaters
What odd and interesting shapes can your students find in this geometric image?
Random Emoji Prompt Generator
Click up an interesting, visual writing prompt suitable for any grade or purpose.
Lipogram: Rewrite “Twinkle, Twinkle”
What if we rewrote a piece of writing without using certain letters?
Looking Closely at Holiday Photos
Let’s write from multiple perspectives using an old timey holiday photo!
Categorize and Re-Categorize Animals
Put these animals into groups. Then do it again. Then… do it one more time. How does re-re-grouping the same creatures reveal new patterns and give new insights?
Writing Concept Attainment Lessons
For TeachersIn a Concept Attainment lesson, we give students examples and non-examples of a concept — without telling them what that concept is!
Fizz Buzz: A Counting and Divisibility Game
Ready for a tricky counting and divisibility game?
Notice, Wonder: Scales
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Notice, Wonder: Swirls
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Writing About Art: The Scream
Your students will turn the iconic painting The Scream into a vivid, sensory poem.
Inferring With Art: A Man
What’s going on in this painting? Who is that guy? What’s his job? And where’s his other boot?
Addition: 3 Digits Plus 2 Digits (Multiple Solutions)
Typical practice problems don’t move students up Bloom’s Taxonomy. With this framework, you’ll see kids stop and really think about how to approach multi-digit addition.
Running A “Notice, Wonder” Lesson
For TeachersUse these puzzling images to build a classroom culture that is comfortable with curiosity, ambiguity, and taking intellectual risks.
How Many Ways: Fraction Equivalence
How many different ways can you make this math statement true using only the digits one through nine?
Notice, Wonder: A Ship
A mysterious image. Reveal it slowly. Let your students wonder!
Math Curiosity: Magic Squares
Imagine a 3×3 square in which every row, column, and diagonal have the same sum. That’s a magic square!
Climbing Bloom’s with Depth and Complexity
For TeachersBloom’s tells you how high to aim. Depth and Complexity tells you where to look. Combine them and things get interesting.
Running A Group Investigation Lesson
For TeachersLearn to lead a lesson that is built entirely on student curiosity.
Inductively Analyze Website Reliability
For TeachersRather than giving students rules to apply to websites, let them analyze websites to create rules.
Analyze and Create Misleading Graphs
Let’s make some intentionally bad graphs to learn how to spot poorly made graphs.