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Hexagonal Tile
3-12, Creative Thinking, Language Arts, Writing

Hexagonal Thinking and Poetry

Terri Eichholz

Since I’ve been doing a few Hexagonal Thinking workshops lately and April is National Poetry month here in the United States, I thought that I would see if any teachers have suggestions for how Hexagonal Thinking could be used to analyze and write poetry. I found this post on Teach Living Poets where the author describes how her students used Hexagonal Thinking to make connections between 15 poems that they had been assigned to read.

Though this idea is not specifically about poetry, I like this TikTok from Emily Pool (@toopoolforschool), where she explains how each student grabs a hexagon as they enter the classroom and puts it on the whiteboard at the front of the room, explaining any connections that they make. This is not only incentive to get to class early if you are an introvert, but also a fun retrieval practice idea. Place words on the hexagons from a poem you’ve been reading or titles of several poems to see what relationships the students perceive.

How could we use Hexagonal Thinking to write poetry? Of course, Hexagonal Thinking can be used for brainstorming. You could give small groups of students a set of 8-10 blank hexagons, and have them brainstorm a word for each one on a theme, such as “things that grow” or “things you do in Spring”. Download my free Spring S.C.A.M.P.E.R. packet for more Spring Brainstorming ideas. Then ask the group to connect the hexagons discussing commonalities they share besides the original theme. You can either challenge them to write a group poem then, or assign them to choose three words that were connected to write their own individual poems. If the students need a bit of help, they can try this AI powered poetry creator from Google, Verse by Verse.

Another idea might be to “find” some words in a piece of literature you have been reading to add to the hexagons, and then create a poem from the connected “found words,” similar to the idea in this post.

Perhaps you provide them with the connections, and students are challenged to write poetry that hops from hexagon to one that adjoins it, going in any direction they choose but with a specified minimum of “hops.” In the image below, for example, the student would be given the triangle with words, and choose four that are connected to consider metaphorically. They can brainstorm in the spaces underneath, then write their poem.

Hexagonal Poetry

Or, students create an actual poem within the hexagons. There are so many ways to use Hexagonal Thinking. Do you have any suggestions?

Interested in learning more about Hexagonal Thinking? I provide workshops in several formats. Work at your own pace with my online course, or invite me to present virtually or face to face to your district or group!

Screen Shot from Day of AI Video of teacher with 2 young children in front of a computer
Computer Science, K-12, Teaching Tools

Learn More About AI from MIT (For Free!)

Terri Eichholz

MIT has posted its free materials for the 2023 Day of AI, and I feel like anyone, from children to adults, should take advantage of it. In fact, the home page of the website invites everyone to participate with, “Open to all. No experience needed” as the top. All you need to do is register to get the password, and you don’t have to be an educator.

Even though this isn’t the first year MIT has hosted its Day of AI, I think it might be the most important, considering how discussions of AI have dominated the headlines in the last couple of months. With these resources, for grade K-12, you can step in wherever you feel comfortable and learn more about what AI is and what it isn’t — yet. And if you are an educator, you can help your students to be more informed about this technology that is rapidly growing more and more powerful whether you are interested in using it or not.

In a recent discussion that I had with Socrates, we debated the benefits and dangers of AI. (Okay, it wasn’t really Socrates, just his AI persona on Character.AI.) We both agreed that AI will be dangerous in the hands of those who prize profits above ethics. And we both agreed that there will also be some people who have compassion and greater purposes who will wield AI in the effort to change the world for the better. But the latter is not going to happen if only a small group of people understand the implications of AI. Widespread education is vital in order to apply critical thinking to decisions that may seem to have nothing to do with AI, but could be directly impacted in the future.

Many educators have been visiting my posts on Conker.AI and Curipod because these tools can increase their productivity immensely. If you can take a moment with some of the time you’ve saved using those AI tools, I hope you will consider learning more about AI and guiding your students with these lesson plans, slide presentations, and videos that MIT’s Day of AI provides. There are even tutorial videos for the teachers in case you want a walkthrough. Though MIT is planning to officially celebrate Day of AI on May 18, 2023, you can incorporate these lessons any time (maybe a great idea post-standardized testing?). Still not convinced? Watch their intro video below, and then head on over to their page!

close up of human hand
Books, Creative Thinking, K-12, Problem Solving, Writing

The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination

Terri Eichholz

I love the entire concept of the newest book from Brad Montague, The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination. Montague, if you recall, was the creator of the Kid President web series, and also wrote the book, Kid President’s Guide to Being Awesome, with his Kid President brother-in-law, Robby Novak. Brad and his wife, Kristi, have a creative studio called Montague Workshop, and they worked together to create The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination.

Here is the description you will find on your favorite book site:

From New York Times bestselling author Brad Montague comes a top-secret, behind-the-scenes peek at the official agency that keeps the world’s creativity flowing.

Every day, special figment agent Sparky delivers all the mail the FBI receives to the proper department, like the Office of the Unexplainable or the Department of Dreams. It’s a big job, but Sparky keeps everything running smoothly . . . until disaster strikes when the Cave of Untold Stories overflows and threatens to topple the whole bureau. It turns out too many people have been holding in their big ideas, and now Sparky must recruit more agents to share their dreams, songs, and stories with the world. 

And now, dear reader, will you join the effort and become a special agent before it’s too late? The FBI is counting on you!

The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination, Indiebound

The recommended reading age is 4-8 years old, but as most educators know, picture books can be used with any age group — even high school. The clever story and illustrations will certainly appeal children and adults. There are also some resources for discussion and creative thinking provided here.

I don’t have to stretch my imagination one bit to picture this story coming to life on the big screen one day. But in the meantime, treat your students and/or families to this sweet book and recruit some more special agents for the cause 🙂

3-5, 5-8, Language Arts, Reading, Teaching Tools, Writing

Podcast Resources from GZM Classroom

Terri Eichholz

Gen-Z Media (GZM) creates podcasts designed for all ages, and they’ve just published a website, GZM Classroom, with educational resources for grades 3-8 that can be used with their programs. Those of you who have used Hyperdocs will be pleased to know that the resources have been designed by the two co-creators of Hyperdocs, Sarah Landis and Lisa Highfill, and are just as engaging and innovative as we’ve seen in the past.

Before you dismiss podcasts as a waste of time in your classroom, ask yourself how many times you’ve had to repeat something to a student who “wasn’t listening.” It’s pretty clear that listening skills are vital, and cultivating them shouldn’t be considered irrelevant to learning. In addition, podcasts can teach comprehension and they are pre-recorded so students can listen to them several times if needed to develop better understanding. Each podcast on the GZM site also has a list of standards that are addressed, many of them including reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills in the student materials. For more on “Why You Should Bring Podcasts into the Classroom,” check out this Cult of Pedagogy article.

You’ll find a good overview of each podcast series, genres, themes, average episode length, summaries, and more on the Classroom Resources page. Once you choose a series, the “Get Started button” under the summary will take you the series page, where you will find all of the resources as well as links to the series episodes. Each series has a listening guide (both digital and printable versions available), a choice board, and an explore board as well as explanations for how to use the materials with your students.

If you’re just starting out with using podcasts with students, I would recommend beginning with Six Minutes, as each episode is (shockingly) six minutes long. There is also a Spanish version of the podcast and the listening guide.

I’ve heard a lot of great things about The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel – and the fact that there are three seasons of this show plus that it’s won several awards should be indications of its power to keep students listening.

Another series that probably all of us should listen to is The Big Fib, also an award winner. It’s a game show in which each episode features a kid who questions two “experts” on a specific topic and must try to get to the bottom of who is telling the truth and who is, well, the Big Fibber.

Almost two years ago I wrote an article called, “Podcast Pedagogy” for NEO, and it amazes me to read it now and think of all of the new resources that I could add. Whether you want to use podcasts in centers or whole group, or for developing listening and comprehension or inspiring creative writing, there are plenty of options, and GZM Classroom has just given you access to an incredible number of free quality materials to help you do it.

kids listening to music using headphones while sitting on a wooden flooring
Photo by PNW Production on Pexels.com
Computer Science, K-12

CoCo for STEAM Co-Creation

Terri Eichholz

If you’re a STEAM educator who considers yourself a pioneer, early adopter, or just someone who loves to try new things, you are definitely going to want to sign up to be invited to try out CoCo by going to this page. Brought to you by a team at MIT in the Lifelong Kindergarten Research Group at the Media Lab (if you’re familiar with Scratch, Makey-Makey, or Lego Mindstorms, then you’ve had the pleasure of appreciating their projects), this new project is going to revolutionize students collaborating with each other on a global scale.

CoCo will allow students to code (block-based like Scratch or text-based like JavaScript), write stories, and create art together on its innovative platform. Children will be able to design their own projects, then publish and share them or work together as they create. The emphasis is truly on collaboration while discouraging comparison, as evidenced by the fact that there will be no individual user profiles, no way to collect likes, and no followers. In the screen shot below, you can see the distinguishing features of CoCo that set it apart from anything else students currently use in the digital realm.

Screenshot from CoCo

It’s difficult to explain the potential of CoCo without showing it, so I encourage you to watch the video below to better understand just how ingenious it is.

For an extremely thorough explanation of the philosophy behind CoCo and its mission, you will definitely want to read this post on Medium by two of team members behind it, Manuj Dhariwal (manuj@mit.edu) & Shruti Dhariwal (shrutid@mit.edu).

I contacted Shruti to see if there is a timeline for getting invited to try out CoCo once you’ve submitted your email to the invite list. Shruti was prompt to respond, saying that invites will be sent out in phases as they want to continue to get feedback from educators before opening it up to everyone.

This is your opportunity to be part of helping to develop a game-changing educational technology tool from practically the ground up. I’ve had the pleasure of involving my students with others over the years (Osmo, Wonder Workshop Robots, Kodable, and more), and it has always been an incredible learning experience none of us will forget. Submit your e-mail now at CoCo so you and your students can take advantage of this opportunity!

7 hexagons that each have a picture of world masterpiece
K-12, Teaching Tools

Pictorial Hexagons for Hexagonal Thinking

Terri Eichholz

I just added a new, free Google Slides template on the Downloads for Teachers page: Pictorial Hexagons. Last Saturday morning, I did my “Harnessing Hexagons” workshop virtually with some Northside ISD teachers, and I was so blown away by the pictorial hexagons they created during the workshop that I asked if I could share them here on the blog. Then I realized that it wouldn’t be fair to readers if I didn’t also share the template, so I cleaned it up a bit and added some directions so you could download it as well if you like.

In my “Harnessing Hexagons” workshop, teachers learn how to use Hexagonal Thinking in their classrooms for: introducing, making meaning and reviewing, assessing, and reflecting. If you are new to Hexagonal Thinking, here is one of my many blog posts explaining how I used it with Tuck Everlasting with my 4th graders.

I also like to use HT for introducing. You can use it to introduce students to each other, as I describe in this post, or you can use it to introduce a topic or unit. One way to do the latter is to use pictorial hexagons (sometimes called, “visual” hexagons — but I feel like they are all visual whether using pictures in them or not, so I decided to rename them). When I use these, I give students a static group of hexagons like the one below, and ask them to look for connections between the pictures. When you do HT, hexagons that are connected by a side or vertex should have something in common.

So, one of my students might look at the skeleton and car pictures, and say they both have bodies. We continue in that vein for a couple of minutes. Eventually, I ask students if they can think of what all of the pictures might have in common with the middle one since they are all connected to it, and they would hopefully eventually come to the conclusion that they are all systems, which is what my next unit is all about.

Since I like to give “make and take” time during my workshops, the teachers get to make some of these that would apply to their own classrooms, and here are some of the ones that they offered as examples (see if you can guess their overall themes — answers at the bottom of this post!):

submitted by Natalia C. of NISD
submitted by Belinda G. of NISD
submitted by Samantha S. of NISD
submitted by Lizette G. of NISD

In the interest of full disclosure I should mention that I have had this lesson completely crash on me before, so you may want to read about how not to do it before you give it a try!

Thanks to all of the teachers who spent their Saturday morning with me (including teachers from our past sessions last semester!)! I can’t wait to hear how you use HT with your students. Here are the answers for the clusters above: communication over generations, volume (for math class), World War II, and Productive Struggle in PBL Building a Boat.