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Differentiation TechniqueFind The Controversy

Read The Overview: Find 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”

Two Questions I Won’t Ask About A Famous Quote

Two Questions I Won’t Ask About A Famous Quote

Let's do more than ask, "What did this person mean?"

How *Not* To Ask Questions About A Novel

How Not To Ask Questions About A Novel

These "discussion questions" highlight so many of the problems we've been looking at.

The Surprises Within a Triangle’s Angles

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?

3 More Paradoxes

Last month’s paradox post was very popular, so here’s another. These are a blast to share with kids. Use them to help students think through a complex problem, finding all possibilities. Work on the ability to articulate thinking. And, naturally, have them find and create their own.

A Clock Math Project?

A reader wrote in, asking how to differentiate for a task like reading analog clocks. What to do with a student who has mastered this skill? What's a good math clock project?

Ask Them Which Is Better

Moving from analysis to evaluation sure makes things more fun. Why? Check out these examples. Which would you rather answer?

Paradox: Does Majority Rule?

A quick, but challenging discussion topic for any age: "Is it always fair to make decisions based on a majority vote?"

3 More Paradoxes, Part III

Here are even more amazing paradoxes to baffle your students: Buridan's Bridge, the Bootstrap Paradox, and the Barber Paradox.

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?"

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.

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