CHALLENGE BOXES - PROJECTS IN CREATIVE THINKING
by Catherine Slough Valentino - Dale Seymour Publications
Dear students and families,
Challenge Box Problems focus on higher level thinking skills and encourage student creativity. Students will be asked to use a variety of skills, depending on the challenge. Some of the activities include Inventing, Evaluating, Analyzing, Drawing Conclusions, Research and/or Creativity. Most of the activities have NO RIGHT ANSWER, rather students will respond according to the interest, thought and creativity they invest in their answers. These challenges are intended to ignite a student's interests in related topics. As students become familiar with how a Challenge Box works, they are encouraged to create their own based on themes that are of interest to them.
I hope you enjoy these challenges! As you complete them, please share your responses with me, along with a brief description so I can add them to the STUDENT GALLERY page! HAVE FUN!
<3 Ms. Wakefield
THE UNWRITTEN RULES:
A student may ask ANYONE in the world for information leading to the completion of a challenge, except their teacher or librarian.
Family members are enthusiastically invited to join in the fun and get involved with a student's activities.
There is no recommended time limit for doing most of the challenges.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
CHALLENGE #1 - "BELIEVE IT OR NOT"
Six of one, half a dozen of the other. If you are able to see both sides of a problem, you are assured of at least a 50 % chance of completing this challenge!
Create a list of ten statements that are TRUE approximately 50% of the time and FALSE approximately 50% of the time.
CHALLENGE #2 - "BIG FOOT"
Would you go camping alone in the wilds of Northern California and Oregon? Try this challenge and then decide!
Information & Instructions:
Big foot has been variously described as a great undiscovered ape or a descendant of primitive man. Descriptions from self-proclaimed eyewitnesses maintain that the creature stands about seven feet tall, has a hairy body with strong thick arms and big feet, stands erect, and is usually found near water in mountainous areas. Researchers cannot agree on the existence of Big Foot as a specific being or species. They do agree, however, that no one has proved that Big Foot does not exist. To complete this challenge, read the task card and prepare a convincing argument.
Choose to complete ONE of the following task cards.
TASK CARD A
Your class is planning an extensive camping trip in Northern California this summer. The trip, however is in jeopardy, because of the possibility that Big Foot might be encountered in the camping area. Not enough parents have signed permission slips allowing their children to go on the trip.
The chairman of the School Trip Committee has called a meeting. You have been asked to prepare a statement that will change the mind of the concerned parents. Success in dealing with these parents will depend on the strength of your logic. Do your best! Without the trip, your summer could be a bust.
Number your arguments and list them in order from strongest to weakest.
TASK CARD B
Your class is planning an extensive camping trip in Northern California this summer. You are not excited, however, because you have fears of disaster.
You must convince your parents NOT to sign the permission slip allowing you to accompany your class. Your success in dealing with your parents will depend on the strength of your logic. Do your best! Your life may depend on it.
Number your arguments and list them in order from strongest to weakest.
CHALLENGE #3 - BONES
Make no bones about it! Some animals can fly, some can hang by their tales, and some can peel bananas. If you mix up the bones, who know what an animal could do! Complete this challenge and you'll have an animal that can do all three and more!
INSTRUCTIONS:
Prepare a picture or model of the skeletal system of an imaginary animal that can perform the feats listed below on the TASK CARD. You may need to do some research to find out what type of bone is required to perform the actions on the task card. Have fun! (Be sure to share your new animal so I can add it to our Student Gallery page!)
TASK CARD:
Your goal is to create an animal that can do all eight of the following:
Hop
Fly for short distances.
Hang by its tail.
Look over its shoulder.
Peel a banana.
Climb a tree.
Stand erect.
Eat raw chickens.
CHALLENGE #4 - BOOMERANG
This activity might come back to haunt you - especially if you sometimes find yourself running around in circles!
Fling a boomerang into the skiy and it will return - if it is properly constructed and thrown.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Collect at least 20 objects (pictures, models, or descriptions are allowed) that will faithfully return. For each item give a one sentence description of how you would PREVENT its safe return.
For example: A boomerang will always return unless it hits a kangaroo while coming or going!
CHALLENGE #5 - BORING
Feeling bored? This challenge is a sure cure for the doldrums. Or is it?? After all, as Einstein said, "it's all relative."
INSTRUCTIONS:
Collect the items listed on the task card.
Make a wall hanging or a paper banner or poster that reflects your philosophy, or opinion on boredom. Think about these questions:
What is boredom?
Why does it happen?
Who are its victims?
What are some remedies for it?
TASK CARD:
Collect these items, and try not to get too bored!
A picture of the most boring place on earth.
The title of the most boring book you've ever read (tell why it was boring).
A description of the most tedious job you have ever done.
The word or words that describe the most monotonous sound you've ever heard.
The least exciting fact or concept you've ever learned.
CHALLENGE #6 - BUBBLE BOX
You will be forever blowing bubbles if you complete this box successfully!
INSTRUCTIONS:
Design a bubble machine using any materials you choose. You may judge the success of your machine in either of these two categories (you choose which category you want to strive for):
Quantity: The number of bubbles produced in a 30-second period.
Quality: The largest bubble produced.
Be sure to make a video and share it with me in Collab so I can add it to the Student Gallery!
Watch this video to help you get started on how to make bubbles - youtu.be/pqHcrIbWT1M
CHALLENGE #7 - TOUCH A RAINBOW
Have you ever touched a rainbow? You'll find it a touching experience, once you get the feel for this "hands-on" project.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Textures are a vivid and as varied to a blind person as colors are to a person with normal vision.
Design and construct a "rainbow" of textures that you feel best represents your world of touch. Remember that colors are not arranged randomly in a rainbow. You may use any materials that are available to you.
CHALLENGE #8 - HOUR GLASS
Here's a one-hour race against time and frustration. You are armed with only paper, scissors, and tape.
On your mark, get set...
INSTRUCTIONS:
Construct for of the items on the task card, using only paper, scissors and tape. You have just ONE HOUR to complete your work. You will receive extra bonus points (hehe) for each additional item, beyond four, that you are able to make within the time limit.
HOW MANY OF THESE CAN YOU MAKE IN ONE HOUR (Remember, only paper, scissors and tape!)
A life-saving device. (State the life-threatening situation and tell how the device would be used.)
A 3-dimensional, imaginary animal with an unusual feature that would allow it to inhabit a polluted planet.
A device to measure the approximate height of a three-story building, accurately within one foot.
An irrefutable clue to your identity.
A wasp trap.
A hearing aid.
A container that would hold a seven-pound rock.
A teaching aid to help young children understand simple subtraction problems.
A communication device.
A device that measures time.
...GO!!!
CHALLENGE #9 - HABITAT
"A person's home is their castle", or so the saying goes...The question is - who's castle is it?
INSTRUCTIONS:
Imagine a line drawn on the ground outside of the place where you live. The line is exactly 10 feet away from the building at all points.
Make a list of every possible organism (name at least 30) that could be residing inside or outside the structure, within the boundaries of the line.
CHALLENGE #10 - EAST IS EAST
...and west is west, and never the twain shall meet - unless, of course, you believe that opposites attract.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Find fifteen objects (pictures are allowed) or concepts that were once united in some way, but are now divided or separate. For each object or concept, predict in three sentences or less what would have happened if the division or separation had not occurred.
CHALLENGE #11 - ICE BOX
Completing this challenge could be a CHILLING experience!
INSTRUCTIONS:
Consider all the ways that ice has affected humankind.
List as many of these ways as you can. You must list at least 15 ways.
Divide you list into two categories, using a T-Chart - One side of the chart states "POSITIVE EFFECTS OF ICE", the other side of the chart states "NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF ICE".
From each category, choose the effect that has most influenced the course of human events. Support your choices convincingly in writing.
CHALLENGE #12 - I'VE GOT A SECRET
Can you keep a secret? What would happen if certain secrets weren't kept? If you know the answer to the problem in this box, don't keep it a secret!
INSTRUCTIONS:
Your challenge is to locate five historical "secrets" (concepts, facts, etc.) that, had they been found out at a certain time in history, would have changed the course of human events.
There is only one restriction on the items you choose:
Each named secret must have been known to someone, somewhere on earth, during the period when history could have been changed.
List each secret, describe the historical situation at the time, and explain how history might have been changed if the secret had been disclosed.
CHALLENGE #13 - KNOW IT ALL
You may be good at finding answers, but how good are you at finding questions? The answers are here. YOU provide all the questions, and you'll know it all!
INSTRUCTIONS:
Read the 15 answers on the task card. Then on a separate sheet of paper, write one question that could be answered with each of the items. The answer given must be an EXACT response to the question you write.
Use your imagination and have fun!
TASK CARD -
HERE ARE THE ANSWERS. WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS?
splashed
less than 1/2
an empty nest
1972
melted JELL-O
in the middle
defrosting
a popped balloon
increased humidity
busily
exploring outer space
lost
they put the wheel to work
the tip
sincerely
CHALLENGE #14 - LET THERE BE LIGHT
Looking for an enLIGHTening experience? You will see the light when you complete this deLIGHTful box!
INSTRUCTIONS:
Collect 5 pieces of evidence that clearly demonstrate the existence of light. Defend in writing each object that you include.
CHALLENGE #15 - OUT OF THIS WORLD
Have you ever imagined a sunset that was simply, "out of this world"? This challenge will keep you going around in circles until you do!
INSTRUCTIONS:
Imagine the earth is shaped like a large donut with a hole in the center. The size of the hole is equal to the diameter (distance across the center) of the present earth.
With this image orbiting firmly in your mind, complete the two projects described in the task section.
TASK:
COMPLETE BOTH OF THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS:
Make a 3-dimensional model of the donut-shaped earth. Place each of the present earth's continents, oceans, and seas on the new planet.
Write a page stating your scientific opinion. Could such a planet actually exist in our solar system? Why or why not?
Draw or paint a sunset as it might appear if you were a person living on the inner-ring surface of the donut-shaped earth. Be sure to pinpoint your position in relationship to the setting sun.
CHALLENGE #16 - THE QUEEN'S JEWELS
What could be more precious than a queen's jewels? Complete this challenge and you'll be worth your weight in ...
INSTRUCTIONS:
Collect 5 objects that represent, in your opinion, the five most important concepts conceived by humankind. State the concept that each object represents. If you include an invention, you must state in writing the ideas behind the invention.
Optional challenge - do this with a friend! Work independently, then come together to share and debate your ideas.
CHALLENGE #17 - QUICKER-PICKER-UPPER
Is it a vacuum cleaner, an anteater, or a school bus? This challenge is one you can really get "absorbed" in!
INSTRUCTIONS:
Find the most absorbent material you can! Before making your selection, you must test the absorption power of at least five different materials, and report in writing the methods you used for testing. As you test the materials, consider how quickly and thoroughly they absorb. Include the results from each test. (Remember you can share these activities with pictures/recordings, and I'll post on our student gallery pages.)
CHALLENGE #18 - KIDNAPPED
You'll sail through this challenge if you're up-to-date on your American History!
INSTRUCTIONS:
It is the year 1770. Alien-beings from another galaxy are secretly observing Earth and its inhabitants. They are greatly distressed by what they see. Their monitoring systems predict a major conflict between several small settlements on a large continent called "America" and a small, but powerful island named "England".
In order to help the Earthlings, the aliens decide to visit Earth and kidnap one person whose absence, they believe, will prevent the American Revolution from taking place in 1776. Which person might they chose? Why? Write an opinion piece stating the reasons for you choice.
CHALLENGE #19 - RUBBER BAND
This may be "stretching it" a bit, but if you are good "down the stretch, this challenge should be no problem!"
INSTRUCTIONS:
Think of 25 unrelated items or materials that can be stretched (only ONE can be a rubber band). Provide a list of items you select, ranking them in order from the most stretchable to the least stretchable.
CHALLENGE #20 - SCAVENGER HUNT
Scavengers would travel to the ends of the earth to collect bits of this, that and the other. There's no telling where you may have to go in search of the items in this challenge! Happy hunting!
INSTRUCTIONS:
This will be a scavenger hunt you'll never forget! Collect the items listed on one of more of the task cards. Remember, a scavenger never buys anything! (When you've collected the items, take a picture to share on the Student Gallery Page.)
TASK CARD A
Collect the following:
Mercenaria
a keyhole limpet
a picture of an Indian pachyderm
a condensate
a resonator
a residuum
a weak edible acid (be careful with this one!)
a picture or sample of a syncarp
a picture of a totipalmate cormorant
TASK CARD B
a metamorphic rock
an object that would belong to a philatelist
a list of ten items that were found in Tutankhamen's tomb.
a picture or model of the animal that supplies ambergris
a skelton of a microscopic animal
the average age of the children of one-half of the teachers in your school.
a hybrid fruit
a liter of air
a dead cell
a small amulet
a map of a country that no longer exists
...to be continued next week!
CHALLENGE # 21 - SHADOW
In the story Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan had a real problem with his shadow before Wendy sewed in on for him. If you can keep track of your own shadow (and a few others), you should have this shadow box "all sewed up"!
INSTRUCTIONS:
For this challenge, collect the following items:
The name of the object that casts the largest shadow you have ever seen.
An object capable of casting the most unusual shadow you can imagine.
An object that does not cast a shadow.
An object that casts a colored "shadow". Describe how this happens.
A single object that is capable of casting a triangular, a circular, and a square shadow.
A list of ten ways in which shadows are useful to mankind.
CHALLENGE #22 - SHAKE, RATTLE, & ROLL
In this challenge, creaking, scratching, and marching and YOU will make the hit parade!
INSTRUCTIONS:
Find as many distinct sounds as you can - gather them together, (or list them if you don't have access to them). Try to gather enough to create 35 different sounds.
Once you've gathered the sound-makers, write a two-word description of the sound produced by each item. Your descriptive phrase must contain a different adjective and noun for each sound. For example:
a propeller - soft whirring
a nickel - loud clink
Try turning these sound descriptions into a sound poem! Feel free to add other words to let your poem make sense. Have fun making beautiful noise!