Something Different to Try

To Publish or Not to Publish- Ethics in Photojournalism A mixture of Mind Mission activity and DBQ strategy, To Publish or Not to Publish- Ethics in Photojournalism honors the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s in Birmingham, Alabama. As photo editors, students analyze an archival photo and a current photo in order to choose the one they think best commemorates the anniversaries of the 1963 Children’s March that followed the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Debat

Talking History- Interviewing an Older Adult In this study, a student interviews an older adult in order to compare life now and in the past and creates a book or other product to share the learning. The lessons include templates, parent letter, student pages, rubric, directions, student examples. A differentiated project for multi-skill/age levels, Talking History includes:  -questioning skills  -interpersonal skills  -encouragement of intergenerational understanding -multiple pe

Generic Research Menu Think there is no time for creativity in this time of high-stakes testing? Tired of the same old research products? This generic research menu study extends learning and retention through creative activities based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, Creative Productive Thinking, and Sandra Kaplan’s Depth and Complexity icons. It allows for differentiation for all students through Pace, Process, and Product Choice and can be used

Archaeology is like a picture puzzle in which scientists try to piece together the story of a past people group using artifacts from the dig site. Often puzzle pieces are missing or there is no expected picture to cue understanding. That story then becomes simply a good hypothesis. In this Something Different to Try simulation, students become archeologists who analyze and interpret their own dig sites and learn what it is like to depend on artifacts to tell the story of a culture. Relying

Number Patterns Menu Did your pre-test find students who already understand skip counting, number patterns, and all the other skills in your number sense lessons? Well, here is Something Different to Try to keep those little minds from tuning out, yet allow the others time to practice and learn. This menu study extends learning and retention through activities based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, Creative Productive Thinking, and Sandra Kaplan’s Depth and

Do you know students who love all things of Ancient Egypt? This menu study is for them. It extends learning and retention through creative activities based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, Creative Productive Thinking, and Sandra Kaplan’s Depth and Complexity icons. It allows for differentiation for all students through Pace, Process, and Product Choice and can be used as an extension for students who have demonstrated mastery through pretesting. It’s Something

The citizens of Fairy Tale City are all atwitter because their beloved mayor Jack N. Beanstalk has to retire due to term limits. Will their new mayor be I. M. Hogg, Redda R. Hood, or Goldie Locke? Who can the citizens trust to be the best leader? How can the citizens vote smart? Student citizens determine the qualities of a good, positive leader and analyze the candidates through primary sources such as their bio-blurbs, campaign posters, newspaper interviews, and the student deter

Big as Texas- The A to Z Tour of Texas Cities and Places “Is so!” “Is not!” “I’ll bet you that Texas is so big that there’s a city or place in Texas for every letter of the alphabet.” “Okay, prove it!” And so they do- all the way through Big as Texas- The A to Z Tour of Texas Cities and Places. Written for my fourth grade classroom, I packed it full of geography, history, and lots of Texas details along with black line illustrations suitable for coloring. Now out of print, I shar

Measurement Menu Study Think there is no time for creativity in this time of high-stakes testing? Tired of the same old assignments? Well, so are a lot of students. This Measurement Menu study extends learning and retention through creative activities based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, Creative Productive Thinking, and Sandra Kaplan’s Depth and Complexity icons. It allows for differentiation for all students through Pace, Process, and Product Choice and

Adopting a Family at Holiday Time- A Math / Language Arts Portfolio Study Throw in a little Random Acts of Kindness / service learning with your holiday math and language arts. This Something Different to Try lesson involves basic math, reading, and writing in a creative, attention-grabbing way through shopping. Using toy and gift ads, students vicariously shop for a needy family while practicing skills such as -basic math procedures, -filling out order forms, -rea

Spelling Menu 1 Here is Something Different to Try in place of the usual spelling assignments. This generic, multi-level menu study extends learning and retention through activities based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, Creative Productive Thinking, and Sandra Kaplan’s Depth and Complexity icons. It allows for differentiation for all students through Pace, Process, and Product Choice and can be used as an extension for all students or as an alternate assignment for stude

Are you tired of the same old first day of school get-to-know-you introductions? So are your students. This Something Different to Try menu inserts a little creativity and fun while providing challenging student choices with activities based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, Creative Productive Thinking, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, and Sandra Kaplan’s Depth and Complexity Icons.

Most curriculums include some sort of lessons on what makes a community. Want Something Different to Try? Creating a Town is a multi-purpose, multi-level unit of study that can be a menu study for individual students or a teacher directed set of lessons or a technology-based study that introduces MS Publisher or even a mixture of all 3 versions. Included are 20 pages of forms, rubrics, lesson plans, teaching hints, illustrations of sample products, and a chart of higher level thinking sk

Photography Portfolio Need an answer to “Teacher, what can I do now that I’m through?” Want a fun way to practice teamwork, critical thinking, and problem solving? What about a new way to check for learning? This Photography Portfolio is definitely Something Different to Try. Help students view the world in a different way…to really see and not just look. In teams (not the competitive “ I won/You lost” kind of teams), students scavenge their campus through the eyes of a camera to f

Do you think that more emphasis should be placed on vocabulary study? Here is Something Different to Try in place of the usual vocabulary assignments. This menu study extends learning and retention through activities based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, Creative Productive Thinking, and Sandra Kaplan’s Depth and Complexity icons. It allows for differentiation for all students through Pace, Process, and Product Choice and can be used as an alternate assignment or an exte

A NEWS BEGINNING – STARTING THE SCHOOL YEAR WITH NEWSPAPERS It’s the beginning of the school year, and you still don’t have all your textbooks and materials. Why not try using print media? The newspaper (hard copy or digital) provides a twist on the usual autobiography and My Summer Vacation type of get acquainted assignments while promoting higher level thinking and reading skills with a high interest, real life text. This Something Different to Try includes 7 multi-level lessons which prac

Math-ku -Math for the Poet in Everyone- Math-ku is a blending of math, poetry, writing, and syllabication inspired by the book Guyku-A Year of Haiku for Boys by Bob Raczka and Peter H. Reynolds, What a way to assess what students know by using a higher-level thinking format! The 1st page guides them through the writing process with directions and examples. The 2nd sheet is to celebrate their creations. The 3rd page is a link to the Bob Raczka and Peter H. Reynolds website. It’s Something Di

OPERATION BILL OF RIGHTS We are on a mission, an operation to better understand the importance of our U.S. Bill of Rights through comparison of its old language with our new, exploration of other bills of rights, and ending with Operation Bill of Rights in which student groups are challenged to use what they have learned to create their own bills of rights for animals. Oh, did I mention the writing, problem solving, movement, cooperation, art, and acting involved? And

Encouraging Your Child’s Thinking Skills Parents often ask, “What can I do to help my child be a better thinker and learner? What can I do to add challenge?” Rather than offering textbooks or flash cards, this 2-page handout is a handy-dandy tool you can put into their hands. It is chocked full of easy, practical, effective, and fun ideas to increase creativity and problem-solving skills for all students. It’s Something Different to Try.

Your class has students who struggle, yet others who already know most of the curriculum. Is it fair to hold the fast movers back while the others try to catch up? No! Every child deserves to achieve a year of learning growth. What to Do When They Already Know It includes a menu of ideas for the student who has already mastered the curriculum, a student planning chart, a student/ teacher contract, and pages of helpful pre-testing hints for those star teachers who let kids shine at their highe