When Grandma's fresh oatmeal cookies disappeared from the cooling rack, Jamal decided to investigate. He made a list of clues. Clue one: the back door was open a crack. Clue two: there were crumbs on the floor leading toward the laundry room. Clue three: his little sister, Kiara, was sitting at the table drawing and had paint, not crumbs, on her fingers. Clue four: from the laundry room came a soft crunching sound. Jamal tiptoed to the…
Try this question: Why did Jamal decide that Kiara had not taken the cookies?
Some inventions are planned for years. Others happen by accident. According to a popular story, on a cold night in 1905, an eleven-year-old boy named Frank Epperson left a cup of powdered soda mixed with water on his porch in San Francisco, with a wooden stirring stick still inside. By morning, the drink had frozen solid around the stick. Frank pulled it out of the cup and had a treat on a stick. Years later, as an adult, Frank began selling…
Try this question: Why did the drink freeze overnight?
Arjun had lost to his older sister, Priya, at chess forty-seven times. He kept count on a sticky note inside his closet door. Priya always moved quickly and confidently, and Arjun usually panicked and traded away his best pieces. One day, his grandfather watched them play. Afterward, he said, "You move like the game is a race. It isn't. Before every move, ask yourself one question: what is she planning?" The next game, Arjun slowed down. When…
Try this question: Why did Arjun write "1" on a fresh sticky note?