Last year, I shared some of my favorite activities for the first days of school in Back to School 2020 ~ A Few Ideas to Surprise and Delight. Many of you asked if I could elaborate on how these activities introduced and connected to the universal themes in 3rd, 4th, and 5th.
| Learn more here about Planning for the Year and using universal themes. |
Universal themes are one-word abstract concepts and, as Ian Byrd says in Gifted Guild’s Guide to Depth and Complexity, “they can apply to any topic you teach.” That’s why they’re called ‘universal’ themes. It’s also why the content is always dynamic and can change from year to year.
In each video below, I’ve shared some of the questions I asked and conversations we had as students worked through the first-day activities. Before you watch the grade-level videos, please watch the introductory one! I share briefly about bellringers.
INTRODUCTORY VIDEO (5 min.)
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| Find videos for introducing universal themes in K-2nd grade HERE. |
3rd Grade ~ SYSTEMS
First-day activities include: (1) Jigsaw Puzzle Challenge (read more here), (2) Mathemagic Mind Reader Trick (read more here), (3) Create a System (lesson plan here), (4) Powers of Ten video (here). We sometimes also did an Impossible Challenge: Walk Through a Postcard (not mentioned in the video). You can find it here. / YEAR-LONG OVERVIEW HERE
3rd GRADE (8 min.)
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TWO-MINUTE VIDEO ABOUT SYSTEMS THINKING
4th Grade ~ MYSTERIES (QUESTIONS / DISCOVERY)
First-day activities include: : (1) Impossible Challenge (straw through potato here), (2) Blind Men and the Elephant activity, (3) Jumping to Conclusions (TPT-$2.00 here), (4) Contrasting Facts / A Mathematical Mystery Tour, (5) One-Minute Mysteries (read more here), (5) Question-storming and Scavenger Hunt, (6) Powers of Ten video (here) (7) Mystery of Me project (here) / YEAR-LONG OVERVIEW HERE
4th-GRADE (8 min.)
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ALL ABOUT THE MAGIC and POWER of CHALLENGING WHAT IS “KNOWN” and WHAT IS POSSIBLE! IT GETS REALLY GOOD WHEN HE WALKS ON WATER…
5th Grade ~ IMPACT
This post explains a lot about the IMPACT theme and how it was introduced. First-day activities include:(1) Impossible Challenge (measure flagpole outdoors- read more here), (4) Introduction to philosophy, (5) Math Mind Bender (read more here), (6) A Greek Root is Worth 1,000 Words (read more here), (7) Virus Simulation (details here); (8) Powers of Ten video (here). / See also Invention Impact / YEAR-LONG OVERVIEW HERE
| You can find many back-to-school activities on the Holiday/Seasonal page as well! |
5th-GRADE (8 min.)
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INSPIRING STUDENT-INITIATED PROJECTS THAT HAD POSITIVE IMPACTS.
I stumbled across this article, Thought Tinters: 8 Things That Impact Your Thinking, and I think teachers could share these ideas with students throughout the year, though I’m not suggesting you share the article itself. Being aware of all the things that impact your thinking can help promote a positive mindset and ties in well with the IMPACT theme.
I hope the universal themes are a little easier to understand! We would love to hear about your thematic studies! If you modify some of the above activities or have others you can share, leave your comments below! Have a fantastic school year and be reassured that you make a difference every single day in the lives of children.