Think Outside the Box

Sometimes students struggle with collaborative problem solving.  It's as though years of schooling has taught them to sit and get, rather than to create and facilitate.  All too  often they want the teacher to give them the answer or at least to guide them toward it.  Enter, Think Outside the Box! This activity (packed into a physical box for students to open) is designed to put students in the drivers' seat by giving them a problem prompt and tasking them to work together to find a solution within a set time frame.  We load the boxes with supplies (calculators, markers, dry erase boards, stick notes, scratch paper, etc). The results: students work collaboratively and creatively to come up with their own answers.

​While we originally designed this activity for middle school students, it is easily modified for elementary or high school. Elementary school teachers could have the class solve one problem together to model the thinking strategies and to provide more scaffolding, while high school teachers could trade the physical box for our graphic organizer to make it more grown-up. So please take this idea, and make it fit your own students' needs and let us know what works for you!

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• Think Outside the Box Student Directions (for use with a physical box)
• Think Outside the Box Student Directions (for use without a physical box)
• ​Think Outside the Box Student Graphic Organizer (for use without a physical box)
• Think Outside the Box Role Cards (for groups of four)
• Think Outside the Box Supply List (useful for students repacking boxes before the next class period!)
• Problem Prompt (Peace Treaty Problem & Fact Sheet)
• Problem Prompt Suggestions (School, Local and National problem ideas)