Category: Writing

3-12, Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Philosophy, Teaching Tools, Writing

Once Upon a Picture

Terri Eichholz

If you are looking for a site that will pique your students’ imaginations and spark some creativity (especially for writing), you should consider Once Upon a Picture.

Those of you who subscribe to my newsletter know that I usually include a “Tik Tok Teacher Hack” in each issue. I know that there are various opinions about Tik Tok out there, but I honestly find a lot of wonderful resources for teaching on Tik Tok, and this is one of them. @jessicam.reid is a Tik Tokker who often talks about AI creation sites for teachers, but she thought this resource was so great that she did a short video about it.

The images on Once Upon a Picture are curated by a teacher in the UK named Sam as a passion project. They are digital photos, animations, and illustrations that are magical, surrealistic, and undeniably thought-provoking. According to Sam, each artist has given permission for the images to be shared.

Because Sam is a teacher, there are also questions that are listed on the page for each individual picture — questions that can be used to prod your students to dig deeper and imagine the stories behind each image. Here is one example.

There is also a challenge book that you can download for free as well as a Reading Comprehension handbook and some samples of student writing (all under “More” in the main menu.) In addition, Sam has created different collections of images such as “The Thinking Collection” meant to provoke philosophical discussions and “The Inference Collection” of images selected from Sam’s own work in the primary classroom.

If you want to try your hand at creating your own unusual images, Canva has a Text-to-Image AI tool that is kind of fun to try. I’ve had varying results. The image I am including below was downloaded from Adobe’s Beta Firefly program, (which is part of my paid subscription to Adobe). Note that Adobe is trying to be responsible by watermarking its AI created images.

I would have definitely used Once Upon a Picture in my GT classroom or any class in which I taught writing or wanted to encourage deep discussions. I hope you’ll find it useful, too!

Poem based on Fasano Prompts
3-12, Creative Thinking, Language Arts, Writing

Crowd-Sourced Poetry from Joseph Fasano

Terri Eichholz

Weirdly, it was a collection of Joseph Fasano (@Joseph_Fasano_) quotes — compiled and presented to him by his students — not his poetry, that first brought him to my attention on Twitter. They compiled a notebook of the “craziest things” he said in class throughout one semester and gifted him the 152 page book at the end. Below is one example, which I think most teachers have either said or wanted to say at numerous points in their careers:

You can read the rest of his pinned thread of hilarious quotes here.

The Teacher/Poet

It turns out Fasano is not just a teacher with a sense of humor, but also a gifted poet. He began his academic career studying mathematics and astrophysics at Harvard, switched to philosophy, and then did his graduate studies on poetry at Columbia University. He has published several books and won numerous awards. Find out more about his biography and publications on his website.

Daily Poetry Themes on Twitter

Each day, Fasano suggests a new poetry theme on Twitter and offers an example. Responses pour in as readers share their favorite poems that center around that theme. For example, today’s theme was, “Wildness,” and he included this poem by Ada Limon to illustrate the topic:

The Poem That Made Me Cry

While I enjoy reading Fasano’s threads each day, and I am often moved by the beautiful pieces offered by people around the world, I wasn’t prepared to read the following Tweet, which includes a poem written by a woman with dementia based on one of his prompts:

A flood of people responded to this poignant Tweet, and Fasano was kind enough to Tweet the prompt so more people could try it out. You can read the thread to see examples from poets of all ages submitted in the thread.

The Prompt

Fasano Tweeted recently that he is working on a book of poetry prompts that teachers can use, and hopes to have it available soon. In the meantime, here is the prompt for the above poem. Other prompts and the creative responses to them can be found in his Twitter stream.

More Resources

While it’s almost the end of National Poetry Month in the United States, I think that we all know that our lives deserve to be enriched by beautiful writing and moving verses year round. Consider doing the above exercise with your students as the year comes to a close, or maybe to open next school year. You can find more poetry lesson ideas here.

Critical Thinking, K-12, Universal Design for Learning, Writing

More Hexagonal Thinking Ideas

Terri Eichholz

I bookmark a lot of examples that I see on social media of uses for Hexagonal Thinking. Sometimes teachers who have been to one of my workshops mention me, and it’s great to see HT being used in the wild. Recently, one teacher even emailed me a Canva example from her 3rd graders!

What is Hexagonal Thinking?

Hexagonal Thinking involves using hexagon-shaped cards to represent different ideas, concepts, or topics. These cards can be moved around and connected to one another in order to explore relationships, make connections, and generate new ideas. You can have words and/or images on the hexagons, and connections are represented by moving hexagons next to each other so they share sides. I first learned about this technique from Pam Hook. Below is an example one small group in my classroom did when we were reflecting on the book, Tuck Everlasting.

Hexagonal Thinking by 4th Graders for Tuck Everlasting

Who Can Use Hexagonal Thinking?

If you don’t know what Hexagonal Thinking is, I cannot emphasize enough how flexible this strategy is; it can be adapted to use in any classroom for any subject in any grade level. In fact, one teacher challenged me on Twitter when I made that claim by asking, “#physed application?” I didn’t even have to answer, because another reader gave this list of options:

Thanks, Erik. I couldn’t have said it better myself!

Literature Example

Becky Gentry was kind enough to share a link with me from a Canva project her 3rd graders did using Hexagonal Thinking with Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

As you can see, students don’t usually just discuss and arrange the hexagons. They generally explain their rationale for the placement in written form or out loud.

Hexagonal Thinking + Math

My former colleague, Kelly Cross, has been bringing HT to math teachers in her district. Here is a recent example:

Speaking of math, how about this idea tweeted by Laura Depp to use hexagonal pattern blocks instead of cutting out paper?

And even though this isn’t technically Hexagonal Thinking, it is a Twitter thread involving hexagons, thinking, and math from one of my favorite mathematicians, Dan Finkel and one of his followers, Hana Murray (click on this link if you want to see the whole thread):

AI + Global Goals + Hexagonal Thinking

Lastly, I have this Tweet from Marilyn McAlister, which not only demonstrates using Hexagonal Thinking with the Global Goals, but also offers the idea of using Chat GPT to suggest the terms to put in your hexagons. Pair that with Pam Hook’s Solo Hexagon Generator and you have a winning combination!

Want to Learn More?

If these examples intrigue you, but you don’t know where to start, you can take my online course or invite me to your school or district to do a workshop (terrieichholz@engagetheirminds.com). You can also see some other ideas for using HT in the classroom in recent blog posts I’ve done, such as this one or this one. Or, do a search on my website for even more! You can even download some free templates.

Clint Smith quote about joy
3-12, Creative Thinking, Language Arts, Writing

Clint Smith to Stephen Colbert: Poetry is the Act of Paying Attention

Terri Eichholz

In a recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Clint Smith told the host that, “Poetry is the act of paying attention.” The author of the award-winning book, How the Word is Passed and Counting Descent, has just released a new collection of his poetry called, Above Ground. In the 7 minute interview, Smith and Colbert discuss the relationship between love and paying attention as well as the human experience of often feeling conflicting emotions simultaneously. Smith reads one of his poems from his new book, “All at Once,” and I think everyone can identify with what a struggle it can be to bear the knowledge of joy and tragedy concurrently.

April is National Poetry Month in the United States, so I’ll be adding this to my other poetry resources. But I’ll also be bookmarking in my Pinterest collection of Inspirational Videos for Teachers because Smith talks about one of the first poems he remembers writing in school and the encouragement from his teacher that he will never forget.

You can view Colbert’s interview with Smith below, or at this link. If you’d like to listen to a 37 minute interview Smith did recently with Terry Gross on Fresh Air, you can access it here.

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!

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 🙂