Inductive Thinking in Spelling and Vocabulary Let's look at a couple ways to bring inductive thinking into word studies. We'll examine simple plural rules all the way up to etymology of foreign words in English.
Analyzing Suffixes Inductively The year opens with a vocabulary skill analyzing "Suffixes: -ful, -less, -ly." I adjusted this lesson to examine how these suffixes change the part of speech of words, rather than the meaning.
Matilda – Book Study Ideas Roald Dahl's Matilda, a childhood favorite of mine, opens up some fantastic discussions about adults, being brave, and how power can be used and abused.
Picture Books and Stories for Introducing Depth and Complexity Three picture books that I've used (or would use) to introduce Depth and Complexity to students of any age.
Exploring Palindromes in ELA and Math Palindromes are one of those fun ideas that some gifted kids just latch onto. We'll check out palindromic words, phrases, and even numbers in this article.
Think Like An Anthropologist to Make Inferences Like all HM comprehension skills, "Making Inferences" appears yearly beginning in kindergarten, so I know my 6th graders have practiced, and may well have mastered, the skill. To differentiate, I turned to the model of "Thinking Like a Disciplinarian."
Content Imperatives And Conflict Conflict is an essential tool for analyzing literature, understanding history, and improving as a writer. Each year, my 6th graders discuss the types of conflict commonly found in stories and analyze writing using the content imperatives.
Multiple Perspectives: Right And Wrong At The Same Time? It's essential to teach our students to think flexibly and consider multiple points of view. Flexible thinking leads to product innovation, diplomacy between nations, and advances in science. School, however, often encourages students to settle into a "one right answer" mindset.
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.
What Did You (Not) Do During Summer Break? Ask your students to write about their summer breaks, but remix their activities into a new genre or setting. Perhaps they vacationed at Hogwarts, Mordor, or Tatooine? Not interested in a writing assignment?
