On Friday, I was talking with a colleague who is planning on using Wonderopolis in her classroom on a daily basis for the first time this year. I was sharing some Wonders with her that I thought would be useful to use during the school year. I offered to compile a list for her and my second grade team. I thought they may be useful for others, too.
In most categories below, there are more that would fit. I Would love to hear if you have additional Wonders that go under each category and how you use them in your classroom. Also, remember that you can do a Category search at Wonderopolis.
Wonders for Building a Classroom Community
- #137 What is a Random Act of Kindness?
- #502 How Can You Pay It Forward?
- #607 Are All Bullies Big?
- #634 What Would You Want on a Deserted Island? (This Wonder would be great to use on the first day of school for students to get to know each other.)
- #681 What’s in a Name?
- #684 Are You Talented?
A Wonder to Share at Open House or Curriculum Night with Parents
Reading Workshop
- #21 What Fairy Tale Ending Would You Change?
- #40 How Can Four Legs Help You Become a Better Reader?
- #44 What is a Biography?
- #211 How Are Books Made?
- #226 How Can You Become a Better Reader?
- #254 Why Don’t All Books Have Pictures?
- #269 Why Do They Call It a “Tall Tale”?
- #577 Are You a Bookworm?
- #611 Do You Judge a Book by Its Cover?
- #627 What’s Your Favorite Fable?
- #662 When Does Nonfiction Become Fiction?
Writing Workshop
- #29 What Bedtime Story Would You Tell? (story telling)
- #58 What is a Letter Writing Campaign? (persuasive writing)
- #205 How Do You Write a TV Script?
- #240 Why is “lb” the Abbreviation for Pound?
- #294 Why Do We Use Different Words For the Same Thing?
- #413 What Do You Call More Than One Moose?
- #486 Do YOu Need a Pen To Have a Pen Pal?
Poetry
Famous Americans
- #59 Who Was the Most Famous Female Aviator? (Amelia Earhart)
- #106 Who Was Martin Luther King Jr.?
- #132 Where Was Abraham Lincoln Born?
- #136 What Was the Underground Railroad? (Harriet Tubman)
- #142 Did George Washington Have Wooden Teeth?
- #173 Who Was Clara Barton?
- #223 What Was the Lewis and Clark Expedition?
- #241 What Does It Mean To Stand For Something? (Rosa Parks)
- #401 What Is Suffrage? (Susan B. Anthony)
- #470 What Is a Civil Right? (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
American Symbols
- #151 Who Wrote the National Anthem?
- #257 Why Is the Statue of Liberty Green?
- #274 Who Made the American Flag?
- #351 Why Is the Liberty Bell Cracked?
- #404 Who Is the Unknown Soldier?
- #505 How Tall Is the Washington Monument?
- #462 Are Bald Eagles Really Bald?
- #505 Who’s on Mount Rushmore?
- #527 Who Is Uncle Sam?
Inventors/Inventions
- #33 Who Invented Chocolate Chips?
- #75 Who Were the Wright Brothers?
- #99 What Is a Patent?
- #143 Who Was George Washington Carver?
- #166 Who Invented Basketball?
- #561 Who Invented the High Five?
- #582 Who Invented Play Dough?
- #639 Who Invented LEGO Blocks?
- #673 Can Kids Be Inventors, Too?
Map Skills
- #2 How Do Streets Get Their Names?
- #7 How Can You Be a Human Compass?
- #55 How Are Maps Made?
- #548 Can You See the Equator?
Space
- #11 What Causes a Shooting Star?
- #73 Why Is Pluto No Longer a Planet?
- #76 What Does the Moon Do?
- #94 What Is a Supernova?
- #128 How Much Do You Weigh On the Moon? (great for gravity, too)
- #215 How Long Would It Take To Fly To Mars?
- #332 How Hot Is the Sun?
- #422 Is the Sky Falling?
- #596 What Is a Black Hole?
- #608 Can You Only See the Moon at Night?
- #657 Where Is the Milky Way?
U.S. Holidays
- #39 What Is Veterans Day?
- #53 Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving?
- #78 How Do People Celebrate Winter Holidays?
- #82 Do Reindeer Live Outside the North Pole?
- #122 Who Is Punxsutawney Phil?
- #141 What Is Presidents’ Day?
- #337 Why Don’t We Work On Labor Day?
- #541 Why Aren’t There More Holidays?
Election
Plants
- #235 How Are Annuals and Perennials Different?
- #253 Are Tomatoes Fruits or Vegetables?
- #262 Can Plants Grow Without Soil?
- #288 Why Does a Strawberry Have Seeds On the Outside?
- #487 Do All Plants Have Roots?
- #589 How Do Seeds Sprout?
- #621 How Many Flowers Can a Bee Pollinate?
General Science
- #57 Why Do Bubbles Float?
- #98 What Is Static Electricity?
- #161 What Makes Sound Louder?
- #276 Does Matter Really Matter?
- #372 When Is Being Grounded Good?
- #437 How Are Sleds and Sleighs Different? (friction)
Weather
- #60 Why Do Different States Have Different Weather?
- #97 What’s the Difference Between Snow, Sleet and Freezing Rain?
- #287 Why Does It Hail?
- #307 How Do Hurricanes Get Their Names?
- #329 Where Does Fog Come From?
- #334 What Is a Hurricane?
- #471 Why Do You See Your Breath When It’s Cold?
- #522 How Much Rain Can a Cloud Hold?
- #591 What Is a Lenticular Cloud?
Animal Adaptations
- #1 Why Are Flamingos Pink?
- #51 What Do Bees Do in Winter?
- #62 How Do Fish Breathe Underwater?
- #120 Why Do Spiders Spin Webs?
- #188 Are Frog and Toads the Same? (great for comparison/venn diagram)
- #305 Why Would You Hike At Night?
- #342 Do Animals Play Hide and Seek?
- #378 Do Bats Need Maps?
- #483 What Is a Raptor?
- #513 Where Do Warms Go in Winter?
- #515 Why Do Giraffes Have Long Necks?
- #652 Where Do Bugs Sleep?
Just For Fun
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