Brain Bashers

Where have you been, you may ask.  Well..... I don't have a good excuse, except I'm busy?????

     Anyway.... I've found another good site.  Since we're all about differentiating instruction this year, I thought I'd share a fun website and classroom tip.  We're all about differentiating instruction for those students who struggle and lag behind, but what about those who "get it" and finish classroom work quickly.  You can create what I call sponge activities. They don't have to be graded, but they should be engaging (absorbing) so that students will want to do them. It also "soaks up" some of that down time when students finish early.
     I have found a website that you can use as a sponge activity.  There are lots of puzzles, games, and logic activities that are good for stimulating their little brains and promoting problem solving and higher order thinking.  The site is BrainBashers .  You could easily add one or more of the puzzle links to your webpage or link the homepage and let students choose their challenge.  You could also print out some of the puzzles and have a sponge folder for students to turn to.
(And yes, I know I have to get more student computers into the classrooms for this to work. It's the reason that I am so busy and don't have time to add to this blog.  I am working on it.)