On the Hunt for Maggie O’Brady, Storybook Lady ~ Virtual Scavenger Hunt

Like previous scavenger hunts shared on this site, On the Hunt for Maggie O’Brady is an educational virtual field trip that includes a mystery element: Maggie goes on a trip around the world and is now missing. Students gather information as they retrace her journey via Google Earth, and then solve a puzzle and a … Read more

Math and Science and their IMPACT on the World!

I’ve previously shared about Ed Zaccaro’s book The 10 Things All Future Mathematicians and Scientists Should Know (But Are Rarely Taught), and how I introduced and reinforced the BIG IDEAS in these lessons over a two-year span with my 4th and 5th grade GT students. You can read the first post I shared HERE. In this post, … Read more

Kid-Created Google Earth Projects ~ Virtual Scavenger Hunts and More

See the KID-CREATED category for additional tutorials and projects that invite students to create original puzzles, presentations, events, and more. If your upper elementary or middle school students have enjoyed any of these Google Earth virtual scavenger hunts, it might be interesting to have them try to create their own as part of a unit … Read more

Kids Help to Spotlight Work and Share with Parents through Padlet Portfolios

by Stefanie Schropp Stefanie Schropp is the Gifted, Talented, and Enrichment Coordinator on her pre-K through 8th-grade campus. In addition to teaching pull-out classes for 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade G/T students, she also “pushes in” to teach whole-class enrichment lessons in all elementary and pre-K classes. On top of that, she teaches a G/T middle … Read more

Open-Ended Triple-A Analogies ~ High Ceiling / Low Floor

Here is a math activity that can serve as a quick brain teaser or an ongoing whole-class activity to use throughout the school year. First, if you aren’t familiar with what I call Triple-A Analogies, watch the video tutorial below, first shared in this post. It’s a great place to start and you’ll find ready-to-share … Read more

On the Hunt for Amazing Beach Wildlife ~ Another Virtual Scavenger Hunt

Here is another virtual scavenger hunt, but this one is a bit different from previous ones I’ve shared on this site. With just ONE CLICK, your students will be off on their journey! The scavenger hunt experience is much the same- students “travel” from place to place around the world, via Google Earth, hunting for … Read more

Valentine Cryptograms (1st and Up)

Kids love secret messages! In this activity, students use color to “fix” the code below and then write a secret Valentine’s Day message using their own code. This activity is a great complement to this lesson found in the P.E.T.S. (Primary Education Thinking Skills) program. If your students have no prior experience with deciphering, you … Read more

“I’m Ceiling Fad” and “Floofy-Doof” ~ S.C.A.M.P.E.R. with Poetry

S.C.A.M.P.E.R. is a thinking technique that can be applied to any creative endeavor. Using it as a lens through which to explore poetry is a novel approach and adds a fun dimension to a poetry mini-unit. in previous posts, I’ve shared about S.C.A.M.P.E.R. If it’s new to you, please read S.C.A.M.P.E.R. Across the Disciplines ~ … Read more

Dashing Through the Snow ~ A Virtual Scavenger Hunt for “Treasure”

Here’s a fun activity to welcome students back after the winter holiday break. I think our students can always use more geography, so like Oh the Places You May Go and The Grinch Who Stole the Christmas Star, this virtual scavenger hunt will take your students around the world via Google Earth to gather clues. … Read more

The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month ~ A Quick Guessing Game for Veterans Day (Nov. 11th)

Falling between Halloween and Thanksgiving, Veterans Day doesn’t get as much attention. But if you can spare 15 minutes on November 11th, I think your students would benefit from this brief explanation of Veteran’s Day. It’s part of this lesson plan intended for secondary students, and I’ve included a logic puzzle to commemorate the day … Read more