TED Ed recently featured this “River Crossing Riddle” in its weekly newsletter. It is similar to the “Bridge Riddle” I recommended on this blog last May. I think it might be fun to act out the riddle in class to help students try to solve it. When the video is finished, there are some other … Read more
As my students begin to do research for their Genius Hour projects, I find it important to help them learn how to find good information online. Over the years I’ve used various lessons and videos, but I recently found this one by Jillianne Jastren that succinctly details what to look for in a reliable website. … Read more
I was wandering around the “Would You Rather Math” blog the other day and noticed a tweet from the author (@Jstevens009) on his sidebar about SolveMe Mobiles. “It’s challenging and stokes curiosity,” he wrote. You don’t have to tell me twice. I immediately visited the link and spent my lesson planning time “testing” the site … Read more
The Hopscotch app (iOS only) has long been a favorite for my student coders. They have lots of tutorials, and the students who participate in a couple of those often ask if they can code their own projects after learning the basics. If you have some iPads in your classroom, you may want to let some … Read more
Earlier this year, I mentioned a school in Texas that does a school-wide Genius Hour and has student-led EdCamps. As an elementary teacher of gifted and talented students, I’ve done Genius Hour with my own small classes, but was intrigued by the idea of doing something school-wide. With some creative scheduling spear-headed by our principal, … Read more
The long-suffering Flat Stanley no longer has to endure the indignation of postal journeys. Karen Bosch and her students have developed a 21st century solution to Stanley’s travel woes. They created 3D Stanley’s! Download one of the .stl files from their site, and print the “Stanley” of your choice with your school’s 3d printer. Then take … Read more