Donna Lasher I considered it a compliment when a colleague said to me, “You not only seek out professional development, you always take something you learn, even if it’s only one small thing, and try to incorporate it somehow into what you are already doing with your students.” I guess I’m what you call an “action researcher”- … Read more
A funny thing happened when I was creating a new resource for you. About a year ago, I began working on an idea for vocabulary enrichment that would “sneak” advanced vocabulary into activities students enjoy. I know many students love hidden words, wordplay, and puzzles. I thought it might be fun to create a resource … Read more
In celebration of the month of May, here is a virtual scavenger hunt that will take your students to unique destinations around the world. As they journey, students will collect what they need to solve a paired puzzle. The solution to the puzzle will provide them with a ticket number for their flight home. Like … Read more
I’m a huge fan of Nathan Pyle’s Strange Planet comic series. I see so much potential for its use in the classroom that I had to devote an entire post to it! Who hasn’t pondered the idea of how strange and silly some of our customs and earthly activities would look to extraterrestrial aliens? The … Read more
by Natalie Medolla Natalie Medolla is an elementary Enrichment Program coordinator in New Jersey working with students in grades K-5. We began exchanging emails when she sent me a video link she thought I might like to add to POWERS of TEN and COSMIC EYE: Mind-Expanding for All Students. She mentioned that she and her … Read more
In The Math Behind the Fun and Games ~ Lessons for Masterminds Who Love Wordle, the focus was on introducing students to combinatorics, the branch of math that is behind many popular daily puzzles. Here I’ll share three different ways to present daily math puzzles so that younger students can join in and older students … Read more
The nine weeks or so between spring break and the end of the year can sail by really fast. A legacy project is one way to inspire students in the final months of school. It can take many forms and be presented at any grade level. Maybe these ideas will inspire you in the last … Read more
If your students enjoy a little friendly competition, this Mini Think-a-Thon is fun to do at the end of the year or when students have been through several days of testing! I have previously shared about it HERE, as part of an all-day event, but thought it might be helpful to create a landing page … Read more
You may have noticed a cultural phenomenon taking place – a guessing game craze. Wordle is everywhere, sparking interest in similar games such as Mastermind, Oodle, and Mathler. If you and your students enjoy any of these games, this would be a great time to introduce them to a branch of mathematics called combinatorics and … Read more
As a society, we are obsessed with ranking. Watch the news, scan social media, or recommend a book or movie to a friend, and – there it is- a list of the top ten in any category, a poll to determine the “GOAT” in any given sport, or a list of celebrities by net worth. … Read more
