If you want students to memorize, you can’t aim for memorize. You have to aim higher – and then memorization comes along for free.
Differentiation TechniqueFind The Controversy
Read The OverviewFind The Controversy in Any Topic
By leveraging a point of contention, we can get students interested in just about any topic. Yes, even boring old spelling has controversy we can exploit!
Specific Examples of “Find The Controversy”
How *Not* To Ask Questions About A Novel
These “discussion questions” highlight so many of the problems we’ve been looking at.
Two Questions I Won’t Ask About A Famous Quote
Let’s do more than ask, “What did this person mean?”
Healthy Donuts!? Framing a Math Project with a Big Idea
Instead of jumping straight to calculations, what if we framed this math concept with a big idea?
Universal Themes and… Punctuation!?
Here’s how can we move a punctuation lesson beyond mere memorization and towards actually interesting thinking.
Which is longer: a Ray or a Line?
Let’s move beyond memorizing definitions and get kids grappling with the fascinating concept of infinity!
What could we do with this Wax Museum event?
How one might revamp a “Wax Museum” project into something that focuses more on thinking than product.
The Surprises Within a Triangle’s Angles
Discovering what is interesting and unexpected about a triangle’s angles. What twists have I unintentionally spoiled for my students over the years?
Make A *Better* Calendar!
The calendar is a source of fantastic factoring problems with many social studies add-ons. Why 12 months? Why 30 (or 31 or 28) days? Why are weeks 7 days long? Why don’t they fit into the months (or the year!)? Why did we do this to ourselves!?
Running A Curiosity Project
Merlin Mann stated that employees’ motivation increases when they get to “build a robot” once in a while. That is, do something creative beyond regular work. Can we do this at school? Offices have “casual Fridays,” can we have “curiosity Fridays?”