While "engagement" is fun, it shouldn't be our main goal.
So your students can identify a story's problem and solution. Then what?
Go beyond merely explaining strengths and weaknesses and get students thinking in interesting ways.
A big, impressive product doesn't mean that there was big, impressive thinking.
Comparing fraction strategies? Let's take it even further!
A high level of thinking also requires the support of thoughtful scaffolding.
Put these countries into groups. Then do it again. Then… do it one more time. How does re-re-grouping the same places reveal new patterns and give new insights?
Let's write from multiple perspectives using an old timey holiday photo!
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?
Students will look closely at this old image and write a short, structured poem.
Your special friends sure have some unique gift needs!
Students will be working with examples and non-examples to deduce the topic of archipelagos.
Why just "identifying patterns" isn't deep enough.
Rather than just learning about one structure, let's climb Bloom's and think more deeply.
Students will determine which US National Park is not like the others.
Starting with an old-timey photo, students will write from a particular item's point of view.
Have you ever noticed that some stories have awfully similar problems? What if we looked for the most unusual way of solving a repeating problem?
How would people with two different perspectives discuss a decision from history?
Students explore famous structures from around the world, put them into related categories, pick some winners, and then design their own.
The word "Create" can mask low-level tasks. Here's why I avoid using it in objectives.
Students will be working with examples and non-examples to deduce the topic of electrical conductors!
Students will be working with examples and non-examples to arrive at the topic of living vs non-living things.
A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!
Just because a task is "creative" doesn't mean students are at the top of Bloom's Taxonomy.
Can your students figure out how to add fractions by looking for a pattern?
So what could you do with a Universal Theme of Conflict? Well, here's an introduction that will get your students' brains sweating.
A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!
Want your students to ask better questions? Why not train them to inquire!?
Can your students come up with a one-syllable word to sum up their time away from school? And then rewrite The Beatles' song Help!?
What if you set the stage for students to discover how to multiply fractions?
How have the ages of three countries' populations changed from 1950 to 2020? And what problems might that create?
Students will be working with examples and non-examples to arrive at the topic of invertebrates vs vertebrates.
What exactly does adding -less do to a word?
Do big countries always have the most medals? Which smaller countries rank surprisingly high in the Olympics?
Which country has a great balance between their summer and winter Olympic medals?
What if you had really weak chess pieces, but you could always move twice?
So what could you do with a Universal Theme of Change? Well, here's an introduction that will get your students' brains sweating.
So what could you do with a Universal Theme of Systems? Well, here's an introduction that will get your students' brains sweating.
So what could you do with a Universal Theme of Power? Well, here's an introduction that will get your students' brains sweating.
Why buy premade posters when you can show off your students' thinking about Depth and Complexity?
A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!
In a Concept Attainment lesson, we give students examples and non-examples of a concept -- without telling them what that concept is!
Students will create a pretty darn interesting poem about Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons.
Students will determine which of these types of diseases is not like the others.
Students will determine which desert bird is not like the others.
Students will determine which type of penguin is not like the others.
Students will determine which of these tiny countries is not like the others.
How fast do you get your mathematical car going without crashing?
Students will create a surprisingly good poem based on Monet's Impression, Sunrise.
How long would it take to mow a very large lawn with a push-mower?
Students will determine which of these microorganisms is not like the others.
As a new teacher, I only knew one model of instruction: Direct Instruction. I was like a chef who only knew how to deep fry!
A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!
A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!
Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about automobiles back into the correct order?
Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about Washington, DC back into the correct order?
Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about trains back into the correct order?
Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about earthquakes back into the correct order?
How many words can you find within airplane?
How many words can you find within "leopard"?
How many words can you find within Saturn?
Here's how you can draw The Penrose Triangle, an example of an impossible shape.
Who will win in a tournament of eight plants with Interesting adaptations!?
A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!
A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!
Ready for a tricky counting and divisibility game?
You're implementing Depth and Complexity, but how do you know if you're doing it well? Five things to look for.
A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!
I spent about a decade making some pretty major mistakes in my use of depth and complexity.
What if we played chess on a board that's only 4×5?
What if one side played with THREE QUEENS and the other had SEVEN KNIGHTS!? What if?
What if one player had, say, 32 pawns?
How to draw the final version of the twisty Henri Matisse knot!
How to draw a more complex version of this twisty Henri Matisse knot!
How to draw a simple version of this twisty Henri Matisse knot!
Which location is the most wondrous place in the solar system?
A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!
Students will determine which type of ant is not like the others.
Who will win the tournament of European countries!?
A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!
Two sets of idioms related to numbers.
A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!
Which of these eight wonders deserves to become the Eighth Wonder of the World!?
A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!
A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!
Five sets of idioms related to birds (and bugs).
Add a letter at each step to form a new word. Can you connect the starting point and ending point?
Add a letter at each step to form a new word. Can you connect T and PLANET?
Add a letter at each step to form a new word. Can you connect the starting point and ending point?
Add a letter at each step to form a new word. Can you connect the starting point and ending point?
Who will win the tournament of African Countries!?
Five sets of five idioms, all related to body parts!
Five sets of five idioms, all related to food.
Who will win the tournament of North American countries!?
Which of these pieces of exploration technology is most important? Most underrated? Most long-lasting?
Add a letter at each step to form a new word. Can you connect the starting point and ending point?
Add a letter at each step to form a new word. Can you connect the starting point and ending point?
Is creating nine, two-sentence tasks really an effective way to differentiate?
How can we go from Biology to Immobile?
Eight types of precipitation battle it out in this tournament.
Create mathematical art with curves that, well, aren't curvy.
Which of these inventions of the ancient world is most influential? Least useful today? Most taken-for-granted?
Which animal has the most interesting, most valuable, or strangest adaptations?
Which object in the solar system is most habitable?
Which part of speech is most useful? Interesting? Strange?
Here are a bunch of ways to quickly practice creativity with your students for zero dollars.
How many different ways can you make this fraction subtraction statement true using only the digits one through nine?
How many different ways can you make this fraction addition statement true using only the digits one through nine?
How many different ways can you make this fraction division statement true using only the digits one through nine?
How many different ways can you make this fraction multiplication statement true using only the digits one through nine?
How many different ways can you make this fraction division math statement true using only the digits one through nine?
How many different ways can you make this fraction multiplication statement true using only the digits one through nine?
How many different ways can you make this math statement true using only the digits one through nine?
Pi can go beyond circles! What if you wrote using the digits of pi as your guide?
Get your students writing some pretty darn impressive poetry based on Japan's most famous artist.
Which of these types of volcanoes is not like the others?
Students will look closely at a piece of art and then write a structured poem about it.
Which of these rocks is not like the others?
We think of gifted kids as only having academic needs, but - in their own words - they also have many needs of the heart.
Students will determine which snake of the rainforest is not like the others.
Students will write about a beautiful painting from Frederic Edwin Church.
Which of these deserts is not like the others?
Which of these rainforests is not like the others?
How is each of these stars not like the others?
How is each of these states not like the others?
Giving a definition just doesn't cut it! Use the Frayer Model to explain (and assess!) vocabulary.
Which of these mountains is not like the others?
Which of these four birds is not like the others?
How is each part of the United States Government not like the other parts?
So what are some new ways to use a paperclip?
What type of currency will your civilization use? What symbols will be on it? Why are they significant?
What makes for a good flag? What makes a bad flag?
Does the antonym of an antonym bring us back to the same meaning?
So who was the strangest of these eight presidents?
Let's start with "As cold as fire."
What if we started a sentence with the simile?
When differentiating, most teachers simply start in the wrong place!
Lisa explains how Log Cabin Living changed her classroom environment. Sort of.
Do you know a student who's a little bit… intense?
Here's how effects be causes and causes can be effects!
A delightfully ambiguous framework that is quick to prepare, but can last forever!
Sure, anyone can win at checkers… but can you lose!?
Tired of boring ol' chess? Then you need to try FOUR PLAYER chess!
So many of us say, "I want to challenge my students!" But, would you want a job that you describe as "challenging"?
How to go deep into conflict using the Content Imperatives.