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).
A Remix Library A list of stories inspired by older stories to teach your students about the history of reusing ideas.
Garden Path Sentences Garden Path Sentences seem to begin one way, but quickly fall apart, forcing the reader to start over and interpret words in a new way. A simple example is: "The old man the boat."
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."
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.
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?
Multiple Perspectives Gone Mad!! Yes, I actually gave my students this question: "How could two experts’ 👓 perspectives regarding information from this reading selection differ from one another?" yikes.
I Compared Characters, Yet Stayed At “Remember” I set up an Analyze question, but never actually asked it! All of these questions are at the "remember" level.
All About Character Archetypes Another example of "structure that increases creativity" is character archetypes. An archetype, according to Wikipedia, is "an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated." Let's use an inductive lesson to teach our students about these literary tools.
