So once your students can calculate volume… what do you have them do next? In this math project, kids will look up historic laptops, calculate their volumes, and note how technology has changed over time.
Year: 2020
My Big Mistake with Frames and Depth and Complexity
Frames, a graphic organizer often used with the Depth and Complexity framework, have one big trap that I fell into for years.
Synonym Graphs
Use a two-dimensional scatter plot to dig into the nuances of several synonyms.
How Much To Fill ‘Er Up With Clam Chowder? (A Math Project)
Sure gasoline seems expensive. Until you try to fill your car up with printer ink.
2019 Year In Review
It’s that time of year when I look back and look forward. I’ve been writing these since 2011 and it’s always rewarding to look back at what I was thinking in the past and how it’s changed over the years. What Stuck (and What Didn’t) As I reviewed the past, here’s what I stuck with: […]
Moving Beyond The Cliché With Alliteration
One mark of an advanced writer is their use of figurative language. An on-level writer might use figurative language correctly but will rely heavily on clichés. An advanced writer will surprise us with interesting, often more nuanced use of figurative language. And nowhere is this more apparent than with alliteration.
Making Awful Graphs
Sometimes we can learn a lot by doing something the wrong way. Here are six ways your students can purposefully design awful, misleading graphs.
Building Unexpected Analogies
Want to encourage students to find unexpected connections across content? Here’s a quick framework based on the most important terms from both bits of content.
Creating A New Mathematical Operation
Do your students realize that addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are all examples of the same idea: an operation? And that it’s quite possible to create a brand new operation? Let’s do it!
Finding the Fun in “It’s” vs “Its”
How do we differentiate a dull lesson like “its” vs “it’s”? I decided to push it to an extreme (and include some unexpected novelty).
