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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”

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!

Getting Ridiculous with Parts of Speech

Getting Ridiculous with Parts of Speech

Here's how you can add some spice to an otherwise dull study of parts of speech.

Math Project: Disneyland Parking Structure

Math Project: Disneyland Parking Structure

Let's develop a math project to challenge students who have demonstrated a mastery of multiplication and are ready to explore its applications. We'll count the parking spaces in the Disneyland parking structure!

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.

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!

Thinking Like Equivalent Fractions

Thinking Like Equivalent Fractions

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

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.

Just How Much Pasta Could I Cook…

Just How Much Pasta Could I Cook…

So, just how much pasta could I cook in an Olympic-sized pool?

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.

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).