A fantastic fuzzy problem to start the year. Students use pasta and tape to try to get a marshmallow up as high as possible.
All AboutCross Disciplinary
Projects that take students across multiple disciplines, asking them to synthesize information and create their own ideas.
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Other Cross Disciplinary Articles
Evaluate with Academic Tournaments
The bracketed tournament isn’t just for college basketball. Set up a tournament to determine best president, state, element, or literary character and challenge your students to make interesting judgements.
Which One Is Not Like The Others
When we ask kids “which one is not like the others”, our cleverest students love to find ways to pick the non-obvious answer. So why not use this as a framework for pushing students deeper into our content.
Mathy Art
A few artists who create awesome mathematical art!
Thinking Hats and Lunar Survival Skills
How Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats helped me solve a problem with my favorite group discussion task.
Phrases to Open Up a Discussion (Lunar Survival Skills Part 2)
One of my favorite open-ended, creative activities becomes even better with careful phrasing on my part. These three questions will help you be the facilitator of a discussion, rather than the authority.
Start A Lesson With A Music Video
I love collecting intriguing images and videos – things that stop me in my tracks and pique my curiosity. I always figure that if it fascinates me, students would probably be interested also. Often, these visuals work as wonderful hooks for a lesson you need to teach.
Taxes, Language Arts, and Social Studies
It’s tax season here in the US! The obvious classroom application is a math lesson about percents, but taxes can lead to an even more interesting discussion within language arts and social studies.
Create A Civ: Governments
My students, as part of their Create A Civilization project, had to select a type of government and explain its consequences. So I loved finding this list of all the different types of government.
Create A Holiday
Take students beyond the decorations and ask them to identify what a holiday reveals about a culture’s values. Then, push them further as they develop their own holidays.
Skits With Constraints
For many years, I shied away from skits, because they typically de-evolved into silly giggle-fests. For teaching grammar, however, they became an essential tool once I gave students clear constraints.
Create Your Own Civilization Project
Each year, my students created their own civilization to mirror what we were learning about Rome, China, India, and beyond.
An Academic Twist on Valentines
Want to have some February fun? Let’s merge the idea of “going together like milk and cookies” with curriculum to create Academic Valentine’s Day cards!
Coats of Arms, Seals, and Other Heraldry
Symbolic seals, crests, and coats of arms are a common concept across cultures. From the simplicity of Japanese mon to the regality of English coats of arms all the way to America’s Great Seal, humans around the world create graphical representations of themselves.
Inspiration From Socrates
As my students learn about Socrates, countless avenues of discussion open up. Time does not permit a deep enough study, so here are three raw ideas inspired by Socrates: taking a stand, the truth of history, and the power of questions. Have fun!
Multiple Perspectives: Lunar Calendars
Looking at calendars throughout history is an interesting way to explore multiple perspectives. Nothing is as ingrained in our lives as seven day weeks, twelve months, and 365 days per year. Challenge your students’ perceptions by investigating various solar, lunar, and lunisolar calendars.
Lunar Survival Skills
We’re supposed to rank fifteen items according to usefulness if we were stranded on the light-side of the moon. The items range from pistols to powdered milk. Some seem useful, but are actually worthless while others seem unnecessary on earth, but are actually vital when stuck on the moon. However, the structure of the activity as a website is not optimal. Let’s improve this and make it an awesome problem–solving exercise for our class.
From Silent Reading To Creating Art
I’ve been continuing the idea to explore classic music during silent reaing, and incorporated Gustav Holsts’ “The Planets.” My students, who have an affinity for memorizing gods and goddesses, took a special interest in this idea. I figured, let’s see how far their interests will take us?
Getting More Out Of Silent Reading
After recess, my students have a ten minute chunk of time to read a book and listen to some relaxing music. This serves as a “settle down” period as well as a time for me to check homework or finish up other administrative tasks. Why not add in a way to expose students to something interesting as well?
Towel Folding Robot
Tell me your students won’t be fascinating and inspired by this video of a robot capable of folding hand towels.
Today We’ll Analyze Video Game Systems!
How many ways can you think of to use a gallery of one hundred video game systems in your gifted classroom?
No Street Names In Japan?
Do your learners use the tool 👓 multiple perspectives to analyze stories, problems, and historical events? Here’s a TED Talk about real-life multiple perspectives that will make your students (and you!) reconsider basic assumptions.