Sample Challenges

Imagine I am...

FASHION DESIGNER CHALLENGE (3-5)

You are a famous fashion designer. The prince/princess of another country has asked you to design some high-fashion outfits for his or her visit to your school next week. Plan 3 outfits using your clothes. Each outfit must include a top, bottom, and pair of shoes.

You will need: 3 pairs of shoes, 3 tops, 3 bottoms, paper, writing utensil

PICK 1

Math: Show your work to figure out how many possible combinations you could make using these 3 pairs of shoes, 3 pairs of bottoms, and 3 tops.

ELA: Pick your favorite outfit and write a persuasive essay to convince the prince/princess that this is the outfit they should wear on the first day at your school. Explain using plenty of reasons, examples, and details to support your argument.

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PICK 1

Foreign Language: Find 3 words in another language to describe each article of clothing in your favorite outfit (9 words total).

Science: Try putting on each pair of shoes without using your hands. Based on what you know about pushes and pulls, write an answer to these questions: was it easier to put the shoes on with or without your hands? Why was that way easier? Which shoes were the easiest to put on? Which shoes were the hardest to put on? Why were some shoes easier than others to put on?

Social Studies: Read the tags of each article of clothing. Find out which continent each article was made and write it down in a list. (Ex. The yellow shirt was made in China, so it was made in the continent of Asia.)

Adventure is out there!

OBSTACLE COURSE CHALLENGE (2-4)

Set a start and a finish line somewhere in your house. Time yourself getting from start to finish as quickly as possible. Add an obstacle. Time yourself again. Add 2 more obstacles. Find the most efficient route after working out several ways to go through (ex. should you go under or over your obstacle).

You will need: timer; flash cards (math/foreign language); magazine, newspaper, or instruction manual (ELA); inclined plane (science); paper and writing utensil (social studies/math)

PICK 1

Math: Make one obstacle a stack of 10 fast-fact flashcards. Answer this question: How many more seconds did it take to go through your obstacle course with 3 obstacles than with no obstacles?

ELA: Put a magazine, newspaper, or instruction manual at one obstacle. You must read a paragraph out loud each time you go through that obstacle.

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PICK 1

Foreign Language: Make one obstacle a stack of 10 flashcards with an English word written on one side and that word in another language on the other.

Science: Inclined planes are flat surfaces put at an angle to help move an object up or down. Add an inclined plane to your obstacle course.

Social Studies: Answer this question after competing your obstacle course 3 times. The ancient Greeks started the first Olympics. If your obstacle course was picked to be an event in ancient Greece, which city state do you think would have won: the Spartans (known for their military strength), or the Athenians (known for being clever)? Write a paragraph explaining why you think that city state would have won.

Let's make something.

TERRARIUM CHALLENGE (3-5)

Find a jar and its lid. Clean both so that you can see clearly through the glass. Make a tiny ecosystem inside by layering rocks, sand, soil, moss, tiny plants. Take your time and show care when arranging plants. Spray or pour ¼ cup of water and close the lid. Place your terrarium in indirect sunlight in your house.

You will need: jar, jar lid, rocks, sand, soil, moss, small plants, water, paper, writing utensil

PICK 1

Math: Answer the following questions showing all of your work:

If you added ¼ cup of water for 1 pint terrarium, how much water should you add for a terrarium that is 1 quart?
Each day the moss in your terrarium uses ½ of the water. If you added ¼ cup of water to begin with, after 2 days, how much water will be left?
If you added another ¼ cup of water, how much water would you have? What is another way to write this fraction?

ELA: After you make your own, write a “how to” paragraph to explain to a friend how you make your terrarium. Be sure to include any tips you have based on what you learned when making your own terrarium.

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PICK 1

Foreign Language: Find out the words for 5 things in your terrarium. Create a Vocabulary Sheet to display next to your terrarium so that you can practice those words each time you look at your terrarium.

Science: If you don’t open the lid, explain what will happen using your water cycle vocabulary: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

Social Studies: Remember that climate describes the weather throughout the entire year. Write a paragraph to describe the climate of your terrarium if your terrarium were to stay in your house for the entire year. Be sure to include details about what kinds of plants are living in your terrarium.

Let's Chillax.

BIRD WATCHING CHALLENGE (1-3)

Find somewhere to sit outside where you will see several birds every 10 minutes.

You will need: paper, writing utensil, timer (for math), craft materials (for science)

PICK 1

Math: Set a timer for 10 minutes. Tally how many birds you see. Repeat 2 more times. About how many birds did you see in a 10 minute period of time? If you were to sit there for 1 more minute, it is likely or unlikely that you would see a bird?

ELA: Use 3 birds you see to come up with 3 characters. Describe their physical traits and personality traits (use observation and imagination). Give them names!

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PICK 1

Foreign Language: In other languages, people have different ways of imitating birds. For example, while English speakers describe chick noises as "cheep cheep", Spanish speakers would say "pio pio". Listen to a bird call and come up with 2 different ways to use words that sound like the call.

Science: birds use camouflage to blend in with their surroundings. Find a way to camouflage yourself when you are watching for birds so that they don't see you. If you want, make a mask to match the feathers of some of the birds you observe.

Social Studies: All animals have the basic needs of food, water, and shelter. Observe the behavior of the birds. Figure out what at least 3 birds are doing and decide if they are trying to find food, water, or shelter.