❮ Back to: All Differentiation Techniques

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”

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.

Thinking Like Equivalent Fractions

Thinking Like Equivalent Fractions

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

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!

Writing in Pi-lish

Writing in Pi-lish

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

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?

A Millionaire By Doubling Pennies

How long will it take to get a million dollars if you start with a penny and double it?

Prime Number Explorations

Students learn about prime numbers early in their careers, but the true, quirky nature of these numbers isn't really explored unless kids go on to become math majors. Here are three fun prime explorations suitable for even young students.

Think Like A Disciplinarian: The Common Problems

Think Like A Disciplinarian is a method for teaching students to approach concepts from an expert's point of view. You'll expose you class to new modes of thinking, teach subject–specific language, and develop questions that delve deeper into problems. As a bonus, students will learn about potential careers.

Thinking From Anything’s Perspective

How a small change, with very little effort on the teacher's part, leads to a delightfully complex task that can will get students thinking.

Beyond “Describe How This Changed Over Time”

I want to go beyond just listing how a character changed. Let's get students thinking about that change!

« Previous Page