Our Shark Tank Simulation: A Multi-Week Unit with Surprising Results!

by Lindsay Lord Linday Lord, GT teacher in St. Tammany Parish in Louisiana, made quite a splash when she shared about her students’ Shark Tank experience in a social media group! I wasn’t the only one who wanted more details, and I’m thrilled that she agreed to share more in a guest blog post. Thank … Read more

Mystery, Art, and Magical Media: A Unique Mini-Unit based on Edward Munch’s The Scream

My Texas friend and colleague, Stefanie Schropp, is a Gifted, Talented, and Enrichment Coordinator (PreK-8th) and she’s been a generous contributor to this blog. In this post, she shares a cross-curricular mini-unit that is perfect for October, and the culmination is a media project that your students will love. Her previous posts can be found … Read more

Stretching Out Thinking: How to Make the Most of a Word Game (K-8th)

In a previous post, The Math Behind the Fun and Games, I shared “lessons for masterminds who love Wordle.” Our students love puzzles, games, and brainteasers. So, as long as we’re sharing these with students, we might as well squeeze out as much learning and thinking as possible! Here’s a game you have probably played. … Read more

UAV (Drone) Technology for Kids ~ Learning Activities, Videos, and a Dialogue

Recently, as I did some research for this puzzle, I learned a lot about unmanned aerial vehicles, (drones). Right away, I saw the potential for critical and creative thinking. Drones are assisting in all kinds of endeavors, some of which might surprise you, such as monitoring coastlines for sharks and delivering medicines to remote areas. … Read more

Connect the Dots! Meaningful Learning Activities for International Dot Day

This year, International Dot Day (Sept. 15-ish) is celebrating fifteen years! I thought it would be a good time to create a landing page for any “dotty brainwork” featured on the website. The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds, inspires wonderful “dotty artwork,” and you can find TONS of ideas online. If you’d like to make … Read more

Our Student-Created Interactive Museum: Where Imagination Took Center Stage

by Stefanie Schropp My colleague and friend Stefanie Schropp continues to amaze me. She is the Gifted, Talented, and Enrichment Coordinator on her pre-K through 8th-grade campus and she’s previously shared on the blog about her student Padlet porftolios. Recently, her GT students hosted an extraordinary hands-on interactive museum, and I had the pleasure of visiting and experiencing … Read more

End-of-Year Showcase Events ~ 3 Simple Ways to Enhance the Experience!

In the post All the World’s a Stage ~ Spotlight Your Students’ Learning, I shared some of my favorite ways to spotlight student work either throughout the year or at an EOY showcase event. In this post, I’ve elaborated on three ways to make a showcase more exciting for your students to create and more … Read more

S.C.A.M.P.E.R. the 24 Game for 2024

If you’ve tried some of the time and date patterns shared in Happy New Year Kick it Off with Time and Date Patterns! then you’ll quickly catch on to what I share in this post. At the time of this writing, we are moving into the year ’24, and I thought it would be fun … Read more

Teachers with a Design Mindset ~ Join the “Share and Tell”

As we begin the spring semester, many of you are planning with the END in mind– the end being May / June for most of us. Shout out, though, to my international and Australian subscribers who are planning for a brand new year. It may be different for you, but for me, this time of … Read more

Learn a Calendar Trick ~ Explain the Math!

Welcome, New Year! The first week back in January is a great time to introduce your students to the fun patterns in calendars and teach them a few tricks they can perform at home. Previously I’ve shared about incorporating “math magic” in the classroom and some fun math card tricks in Learn a Card Trick … Read more