Long-Term Planning for Deep and Complex Studies: A Work Always in Progress

“Everyone wants to connect content across subject areas… but how do we create an overarching idea that unifies our content over an entire semester or a year? Few of us have a tool to make this happen. This is why Universal Themes are a key – but tragically underused – part of the Depth and … Read more

“Thinking Outside the Box” ~ A Lesson (3rd -8th)

It’s been around for decades and is still used frequently in business and education, but many people can’t really articulate the meaning of the phrase “thinking outside the box,” and some wonder if it should be reframed. In GT classes, lateral thinking is often a key curricular component introduced in early grades (see Six-Hat Thinking), … Read more

Beyond Sudoku, Part 2: Hashi and Hitori Puzzles

In a previous post, I shared instructions, tutorials, and links for introducing two types of Japanese number logic puzzles to your students: Kakuro and Futoshiki. Here are two additional types that are also less well known, along with tutorials and free resources you can use in your classroom. Hashiwokakero or Hashi o kakero means “building … Read more

Beyond Sudoku: Kakuro and Futoshiki

Teachers, if you cannot access the puzzles or tutorials, please contact your district about approving this website or access through a personal Gmail account. Even if you “request access,” some of the school servers block access. MESSAGE if you have a question! It’s been a couple of decades since Sudoku first appeared in newspapers in … Read more

Invention Impact / Unintended Consequences: A Critical-Thinking Activity

I didn’t expect to encounter Socrates in the book #Do Not Disturb: How I Ghosted My Cell Phone to Take Back My Life (affiliate link), but it brought back to mind a powerful critical thinking exercise that should be a part of every 21st-century curriculum. Apparently, the ancient Greek philosopher was worried that the invention … Read more