Wonderopolis is a website from the National Center of Families Learning designed to inspire kids and adults alike to become curious, life-long learners. The site posts a Daily Wonder that has been submitted and voted on by users, and includes explanation, videos, links, and even little quizzes to test your knowledge on the topic. The wonders range from questions like “Why do airplanes leave tracks in the sky?” and “Why are Pavlov’s dogs famous?” to “Are pennies lucky?” or “Is it catsup or ketchup?”
You can sign up to receive emails or texts with the Daily Wonder, but you can also search the archives to view all of the questions that have been posed in the past (over 1000+ posts!). I discovered there are search options to filter the wonderings by Subject Matter and Grade Level by Common Core Standards. This might be nice if you are looking for topics to kick off a specific lesson or project.
The website seems geared toward families, as it has a section for activities you could try to get more involved with say, Bollywood movies. But I think teachers at any level could look through the archives to find a cool hook to motivate and engage students as a warm-up or extension activity. I could definitely see myself putting this site on a Symbaloo or other list of things for students to do if they finish work early in class.
Let me know if you find a good “Daily Wondering” and think of a way you might use it in class!