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Differentiation TechniqueGet Ridiculous

Read The Overview: Get Ridiculous!

One technique for finding complexity in a topic is to look for the edge cases, the outliers, the really big or small versions.

Specific Examples of “Get Ridiculous”

Could we fit 1,000 kids on the playground? 10,000?

Could we fit 1,000 kids on the playground? 10,000?

If your students can find the area of a square then, armed with Google Earth, they can also figure out how many students you could pack into your school's playground.

Fill ‘er up with Clam Chowder!

Fill ‘er up with Clam Chowder!

Sure gasoline seems expensive. Until you try to fill your car up with other liquids!

Writing in Pi-lish

Writing in Pi-lish

Here's the perfect constraint for March! Writing with the digits of Pi.

Making Awful Graphs

Making Awful Graphs

Sometimes we can learn a lot by doing something the wrong way. Here are six ways your students can purposefully design awful, misleading graphs.

Thinking Like Equivalent Fractions

Thinking Like Equivalent Fractions

Go across disciplines by asking students to write a story about fraction equivalence.

Studying Ambiguous Sentences

Studying Ambiguous Sentences

This type of sentence has great possibilities for classroom application because of its two different interpretations. It's a perfect tool to: demonstrate careful reading, showcase the need for editing while writing, and encourage creativity and divergent thinking.

Academic Love Letters

Academic Love Letters

We're going to take the Academic Valentine idea from earlier, and extend it into a full blown love letter – just in time for Valentine's Day!

Rewrite It, But Don’t Use “E”

Rewrite It, But Don’t Use “E”

Here's an interesting way to move students past mundane patterns in their writing. Ask for a rewrite, but without a letter (or two).

Going Beyond “Challenge Words” In Spelling

Going Beyond “Challenge Words” In Spelling

Many students blow past grade-level spelling and vocabulary at a young age. Unfortunately, a common technique to "challenge" them is to find harder and more obscure words for their spelling list. Instead, let's take advantage of the built-in complexity of common words with multiple-meanings.

Thinking Like Producers About Consumers

Thinking Like Producers About Consumers

Here's how I'd use ethics and multiple perspectives to get students thinking about producers, consumers, and decomposers in new and interesting ways.