Reflection on the Students’ Holidays

In the week prior to Thanksgiving, in my daily check-in, a student shared she was not looking forward to Thanksgiving. 

This prompted me to have a conversation with her. She opened up a little, sharing she didn’t appreciate her father’s

girlfriend. This was putting a damper on her holiday and time off from school.

So, as I enjoyed my time with family over Christmas, I recalled this interaction with my student. 

The holidays can be hard for many and for many different reasons. As teachers, we don’t know what our students are

experiencing over these breaks. We don’t know what weighs them down as they come into our classes each day either.

But we can get to know them a bit, offer support, and give them respect as fellow human beings. I hope that each day, I do better and better doing this for my students. 

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If this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Gamification: Learning, Engagement, and Classroom Culture

The excitement and anticipation were tangible and took me by surprise.

In my pursuit of gamifying the classroom, students were working as teams to complete a variety of activities at stations, ranging from sketchnotes, to summaries, to Instagram stories.  Each time they completed an activity, the teams would earn a badge and a certain amount of dice based on the quality of their work.  The roll would be hit points against one of the villains in our year-long class game.

Over the course of the three days of stations, students were engaged with the activities, were working together, and were understanding the information.  They were eager to receive the badge but even more excited to roll the dice.

Teams started cheering for themselves as they scored hit points and weakened the enemy.  Then teams started cheering for one another.

Towards the end of the third period, students knew that the next roll of the dice might finish off the
villain.  As I looked over a team’s work, other teams stopped working.  As I looked up from examining the work, I saw the whole class crowding around us.

I was taken aback.  They were all there waiting to see if this roll would throw them over the top.

There was almost a collective holding of their breathe as the team prepared to roll.  The anticipation was high as they rolled….as I totaled the roll.

When I announced the total, the classroom erupted.  The roll was high enough to defeat their nemesis.

This was the experience I was hoping for through gamification.  Students were engaged and learning, practicing skills and learning important concepts.  They were also collaborating with one another.  What threw this over the top, however, was the camaraderie amongst all the members of the class. 

I was excited to see them all pulling for one another.  I feel there were great gains in developing our classroom culture as well.


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If you have moments when you’ve expereinced the power of gamification or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

An Argument Writing Battle Royale

Students don’t always like to spend a lot of time revising their writing. So, in the midst of creating an argument writing piece, I sought an engaging way for students to be more thoughtful about their revision.

After deciding how I would do this, I put students into groups of three and declared that they were teams.  They needed to help one another improve their writing to prepare what I dubbed the “Battle Royale.”

Students were hooked and took the role of giving and receiving peer feedback to heart.  Over the course of a class period, students read one another’s writing and gave feedback about both structure and content.  Students were listening carefully to one another and making many revisions to their work.

"Writing" by akrabat is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 

The next time we met, I gave students 10 more minutes to prepare by giving feedback and revising their writing.  They were then ready for the “Battle Royale.”

Each student was assigned two numbers.  The roll of a die determined which student would take a turn.  In separate turns, the student chose by the die copied the introduction, a body paragraph, or the conclusion of their writing and pasted to a designated spot in shared Google Slides.  Once all were pasted, all students read all examples and selected the one they felt was the strongest.  Whichever team had their paragraph chosen as the strongest overall won the round and rolled a die to determine how many points the round was worth.

We proceeded that way so that multiple examples of each type of paragraph were shared by each team and a winner was declared.

Students not only worked well together by giving feedback in their groups, but they also had multiple exposures to other students’ work.  Seeing so many examples gave them greater insight into how they might revise their work further (which was the next step).

Approaching feedback and revisions in this manner resulted in students improving their writing more than they would have if a peer had given feedback in a more traditional way.  So, I will not hesitate in using this approach again.


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If you have an effective way for peer  writing feedback or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Gamifying Argument Writing

Many opportunities to strengthen their ability to support claims with evidence and reasoning, to revise, to speak, and to listen - all while engaging in a game.

Through my desire to add gaming elements to my classroom, I came across an argument writing activity over the summer. The procedure was simple, too. (I thought I noted from where I found the activity but cannot find that now. I will update the post when I do find that again.)

After students had spent time finding evidence to support a claim and had crafted their reasoning/explanations to connect the evidence to the claim (We were focusing on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.), students were ready to receive some peer feedback and strengthen their ability to support a claim.

Students were put into groups of three.  The goal was to move up the ladder - so to speak - and earn your way to the top by having strong reasoning to explain the evidence.

After the two students on the side each presented a claim supported by one piece of evidence with their reasoning, the middle student evaluated the strength of the others’ work based on a set of criteria.  The evaluator gave feedback to both students and declared whose they felt was stronger. 
Students then revised their reasoning based on the feedback.

The stronger work would move forward to be the evaluator at the next table, the weaker work would move down a table to compete again, and the evaluator would slide into one of the side chairs to compete at the same table.

I was able to give feedback to students as well, both after they presented and while they were revising.  When I noted students dropped a couple of places, I gave more feedback so that they could try to strengthen their work.

I had initially placed the students at tables so that students who had a greater command of supporting a claim had to move forward more tables to get to the top. Students who struggled more with this skill started closest to the top.  I reasoned that this gave all more of a fair chance to get to the top.

The results were great.  Students were very engaged and received much feedback.  Most students remained within one or two tables of where they started, except for those whose skills were the strongest.  They advanced forward the most.  The students seemed to appreciate both the competition and the feedback, which encouraged them to revise their work and improve.

I will certainly do this activity again, as I saw great benefits.  It may be able to be used in other ways with different skills or content.

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If you have gamify writing or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Creating Opportunities to Strengthen Connections With Students

Connecting with students is, obviously, an important part of teaching.  In addition, having an idea of the mindset their in as they’re supposed to learn can give a better sense as to why they may be struggling.

Enter Jacqueline Prester.

She shared about her “Daily Bell Ringer” which encourages students to share when they enter her class.  I viewed the post on her website and modified her templates.

Even though I’ve only been using it with my students for only a week and a half, I’m already seeing a great benefit which has reinforced my choice to introduce it.

Their comments have given me more insight into what’s going on in their lives. I’ve been able to connect with students about sports, hobbies, and even funny dreams in ways that I wouldn’t have been able to do before.  Students have also shared about struggles weighing on them: illness in their family, not looking forward to Thanksgiving, being nervous about a test that day, and others. Knowing about these things gives me a different lens to view the student as they are in the classroom.  I can more easily identify if those students are off, probably due to the baggage they bring into the classroom.

This check-in at the start of class gives me clarity as to who I should touch base with. As I’m noticing patterns about their sleep and eating habits, I’ve been encouraged to engage in conversations with students to see how I can better meet their needs. 

Some students have even taken the opportunity to ask how I am doing or about my interests and time outside of school.

Clearly, this tool has great benefits and has already proven to be a powerful way to strengthen relationships with students.

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If you have creative ways to connect with students or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Story Cubes Promote Student Thinking

Looking for a different way for students to think deeply about what they were learning while being creative, I turned to EDrenaline Rush by John Meehan.

Amongst the myriad of activities, John mentioned Rory’s Story Cubes. The cubes are intended to
inspire creative writing by having different icons that can be randomly put together.  For social studies content, they inspired students to think differently about their understanding.

I put the students into groups of three.  Each group randomly chose three cubes and decided together which icon from each die they would use. The groups had to use the three icons as inspiration to get across important ideas about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals).

The students hemmed and hawed about which icons they should choose. Discussion about the Global Goals ensued as a result.  Making my way around the room, I listened to students processing the content I wanted them to process. Through their discussions, they agreed upon statements they could make regarding the Global Goals.

Groups then shared their statements, referencing the icons that they used as inspiration. Wanting to hear what icons the different groups blended into their statements, students were engaged with each group’s sharing.

Seeing the level of engagement, the quality of discussion, and the creativity of the students in using the icons, I am excited to use the story cubes, again, as a way of engaging students in considering what they are learning.

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If you have used story cubes or other methods to engage students in processing information or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Like Magic Students Asked Questions

"What questions do you have about sustainable development?"

I had anticipated the silence.

I asked again, "What questions do you have about sustainable development?"

And I waited.

Finally, a hand.

The student asked the question, and I offered an answer.

Students watched as I tossed the student a poker chip.

Slowly, a few more hands raised, and after answering their questions, I tossed them a chip.

More and more hands raised.  Nearly every student in the class searched for a question (or several) to ask.

They had no idea what the chips were about, but they captured the students' attention. 

The result was that they were thinking and listening.

Making a simple ask and answer session a little game-like by earning the chips for asking questions (They earned a red one if they answered a question.) engaged the students in a meaningful way, getting them more personally involved and heightening their understanding in a meaningful way.

Magical little poker chips.....I'm going to use them more often.


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If you have methods to gamify class discussion or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Student-Led Conferences Make Great Use of Parent Conference Time

I really appreciate student-led conferences (SLC).

They provide great benefits for the students and families.  Students have a chance to shine in front of both their families and teachers. Despite a lack of comfort and confidence, the students clearly articulate their thoughts. The students also get to hear positive comments from the teacher to their parents/guardians. In addition, the families see their children interact with their teachers which gives them a better sense of the relationship in the classroom.

We all reap the benefits of clear communication.  Having all three concerned parties sitting down at one table to discuss the student sets an important, positive tone for the remainder of the year.

Teachers also see their students interact with their families.  The dynamics between them is often evident, and there is often such great warmth between students and families.

Another great benefit for teachers lies in the difference between traditional conferences and SLC.  Time restrictions for conferences limited us to 10 minutes of a traditional parent conference with the team. The time was hectic, always falling behind schedule.  Some teachers only had a brief time to speak.  And there were always more requests for conferences than time slots available necessitating additional time to be found elsewhere.

With SLC, time is much more flexible for meeting with families, as parents and guardians aren’t locked into a tiny window of time.  Each teacher has the opportunity to spend much more time with the families. And the stress generated by the fast-food style conferences does not exist.  SLC are far more relaxed.

If you’re not familiar with student-led conferences, I suggest you find out more about them due to the powerful experience they create.

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If you have questions about student-led conferences, have experience with student-led conferences or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

The Tip of the Iceberg with Google Sheets

The more I learn about Google Sheets, the more amazed I am at their power as a tool.

The other day, I was helping a colleague with a Google Form, and she expressed frustration with organizing the data afterward. I knew there was a formula or function to accomplish what she was looking for but didn’t know it offhand.  I’ve since figured out what she needs to do, and we will finish setting up her Sheet to work with her form.

This exchange, along with currently using Michael Matera’s Gamification Database, reminded me of how powerful Sheets are. I’ve used them to collect data from a form and used them to organize a unit of study, but I know I’ve barely scratched the surface.

I’ve played a little with several of Alice Keeler’s templates to get even a greater sense of their power.

If you’re not utilizing Sheets to make your work more efficient, you’re probably missing out.  I know I feel as if I am.

I need to find more out about using Sheets.

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If you regularly use Sheets as teacher or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Students Creating Podcasts

Giving students opportunities to share with authentic audiences can increase engagement and tap into student motivation.

One way I have tried to do this is by helping students develop podcasts.  This can be a relatively simple way for students to publish their work.

The most consistent avenue for a student podcast has been one for our teaching team.  Student “reporters” relay what has been going on in the classes during the week.  The process is as follows:  students write a script, students record, students share an audio file with me, and I process the file into the podcast.

I currently publish the podcast using Anchor, a free platform to publish podcasts.  In addition to being posted on its site, the podcast is embedded on team pages, so that parents and students have access.

Anchor is simple, utilizing drag and drop features to produce the podcast. Background music can be added to enhance the podcast.

Students record using their phones or Chromebooks.

In an even more basic form, I have had students record the audio and then published the raw audio without processing it in Anchor. This has been done both for the team podcast as well as class podcasts. Students have created class podcasts on different topics they have investigated.  In addition, we have recorded Socratic seminars and posted them as podcasts. (See Unscripted, Students Jump Into Podcasting)

Vocaroo is a straightforward, online audio recorder students have used. More recently, if students are not using their phones, they are using the Chromebook app Beautiful Audio Editor.  This is a browser-based audio recorder that allows students to easily delete sections and lay multiple tracks.

The process is easy, allows students to publish their work, and provides an authentic audience

SideQuests: Introducing Geography of the Week

As part of gamifying my classroom, I decided to include sidequests.

My understanding of sidequests is that they are an optional part of the game that are not directly connected or necessary for the main part of the game.  These give students opportunities to advance in the game while advancing their learning.

I’m not sure I know exactly how sidequests will take shape in my classroom.  I did determine, however, that I wanted some to be standing sidequests.  They would not be extensions of a particular lesson. Instead, they would be able to remain throughout the year.

The first sidequest I have put into my course is a Geography of the Week challenge.  Students do it as homework, but it is optional.  They earn experience points for our game which will help them advance in the game and on the leaderboard.  This sidequest, however, also expands their general knowledge of the world.  They get multiple chances over the week to answer the challenge question correctly.

If they don’t get it correct, their understanding of the standards won’t suffer.  They enhance their knowledge and make gains within the game. It's a simple, engaging way to keep the students immersed in the game outside of class while tugging a bit at their curiosity.

Soon, I plan to incorporate another standing sidequest, along with another that is directly related to the content that students are working within the class.  I also hope to develop some hidden sidequests that students will uncover, giving the game a dose of chance and excitement.

As we build the game throughout the year, I envision that both the students and I will get more and more excited to discover sidequests.

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If you have good stategies for sidequests in a gamified classroom or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Encouraging Students to Know One Another

Throughout the school year, much time is invested to develop relationships with students. Clearly, the better you know them, the more comfortable students feel in class and the better you’re able to meet their needs.

The very start of the year includes more specific activities to accelerate the process of developing those relationships. At my school, there is a period at the start of the day that’s called Connections, giving the students a place where they can develop relationships with peers and a teacher so that they feel more connected to the school. It is our school's take on an advisory program.

The foundation of this period is relationships. Over the course of the first month, we have done many sharing and team building activities to get to know one another and build trust.

The other day, however, I noticed that it wasn’t quite working (or maybe I expected too much too soon?): students could not say much about others in the group (not including those who were already friends).

Obviously, sharing about themselves is not enough.

I’m going to try more direct sharing from which they will then have to share about another in some format. I hope this will help accelerate the group’s familiarity with one another.

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If you have good stategies for students to get more comfortable with one another or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

GeoQuest: Taking Steps Toward Gamification

I did a lot of prep work this summer around making my curriculum more gamified by looking at the work of John Meehan (@meehanedu) and Michael Matera (@mrmatera).  I was reluctant, however, to jump right in. (see Gamification in the Classroom: Big "G" or little "g"?)

Perhaps I wanted to get a sense of my students to see how they might roll with it.  Maybe I needed to gauge whether or not I could handle it.

Yesterday, I took the plunge.

After we tied up a few loose ends from last week, I turned the students’ attention to the screen at one end of the room.  I played this trailer to introduce the class game we would be participating in for the rest of the year:

After viewing, an unexpected thing happened: applause. To my astonishment, in each class, students spontaneously gave positive feedback. Comments I heard:

“That was awesome.”
“That got me pumped up.”
“I’d love to see that movie.”

And I hadn’t even explained the game yet.

I then shared that it was the game that they would play for the rest of the year. “In fact,” I said. “You’ve already been playing it.”  There were a few knowing looks amongst the faces as I could tell they were picking up on some of the things I had said which subtly referenced the game.

The students read a brief game guide document I put together. And they asked questions.  We talked about XP, competing as individuals, competing as a class against the others, competing as a variety of teams, earning advantages, and sidequests.

When some students asked very specific questions about levels and advantages and I responded that the game was a work in progress and would evolve throughout the year, one student piped up, “Cool! We’re beta testers!”

Clearly, the students bought in.  They were excited, intrigued, and eager.  They proceeded into the next activity which they knew was related to the game with great exuberance.

And I am excited, too, as I think this can help enhance their engagement, provide opportunities for collaboration, and increase their learning.

My first big step into gamification was a success.  Now, I just need to maintain the momentum and craft learning challenges that will keep that tenor of enthusiasm lingering in the air.


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If you gamify your classroom or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Can I Use the Bathroom?

“Can I use the bathroom?”

This is a question often heard during a middle school class. The constant interruptions wore on me. So, I stopped them last spring.

Instead of having students ask me to use the bathroom or to go get water, I would allow students to dismiss themselves for those purposes. 

I told them that I was trusting them to choose times to leave during class that were more appropriate than others.  They were also told that they would still need to sign out of the classroom appropriately.  Lastly, so I could know where they were at a glance, students would need to prop a red (for the bathroom) or blue (for water) placard at their seats.

As their eyes lit up, students revealed they were skeptical. This year I received the same response. In both cases, it took the students a little time to get used to dictating when they use the bathroom. After the first week, I respond to the bathroom / water request with, “I can’t answer that question.”

There has been no noticeable change in the frequency of students leaving the room, but I think the students appreciate the trust and autonomy I’ve developed with them.

This approach has taken the burden of making a decision off of my shoulders, lessened interruptions in class, and allowed me to treat the students more like the people they are.

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If you no longer require students to ask permission to use the bathroom or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Students Set the Tone With Expectations

Starting the school year and getting to know new students is both interesting and exciting. These early days are also when expectations are established.

Last year and this, I started began establishing expectations in a different way. I put that responsibility into the hands of the students.

As a small group activity, students work together to think about what makes a good student and what makes a good teacher.  I have them use a Frayer Model to think about what a good student is, says, does, and does not. They repeat the process for a teacher.

I pull together the students' thoughts, create one Frayer for students and one for teachers.  I will print each as a poster to hang in the classroom.

They will then serve as a reference throughout the year: posted as a reminder as to what the students should be doing, as a reminder as to what I should be doing, and as an opportunity to reflect on how well they are being good students and I a good teacher.

I will also set aside time during the course of the year for all of us to review the expectations and write reflections as to how well we are being good students and a good teacher.

The expectations are not perfect, but the gist of them is strong and clear. And most importantly, they come from the students.


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If you have students help create expectations for class or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Laughing at Myself With the Students

I’m not very good with names. I try, however, very hard with my students’ names because it is a simple way to connect with them and their identities.

At the end of a period’s second class with me, I was trying to stretch my brain and recall students’ names. I approached this one student and felt like the name was on the tip of my tongue….elusive….just out of reach.

The students give me a hint. It starts with “J.”

My mind is racing through all the “J” names it could recall from the various rosters: Justin, Jason, James, Jack, John….  I try one of them that doesn’t feel quite right.  It isn’t.

I pause, shaking my head, narrowing my eyes in concentration.

The students give me another hint.  It ends with “E.”

More racing. Well, stalling is more like it. “Jake” comes to mind, but I know that’s not right. Then “James.” No, no, no. No “E” at the end.  I’m stuck again.

Now my face shows confusion, so the students give me a THIRD hint (how embarrassing).

There’s an “O” in the middle.

My mind is starting to force versions of “Justin” and “Jason” that just don’t exist. I’ve got nothing.

The students are all watching me.  Quite a few are starting to giggle.  Some, I can tell are stifling full-on laughter.

I’m a bit frustrated with myself and irritated that I let this student down.

“You’re going to have to tell me. What is it,” I say.

A collective exhale of laughter: It’s “Joe.”

Another pause, as my brain calculates their hints.

I roll my eyes and start laughing with the students.

In the back of my head, I’m realizing my folly was a good moment for the class. We got to bond over something simple which can strengthen our relationships as we go through the year. We laughed. Having the classroom be a place students enjoy is important. They saw me as a person, making a mistake, laughing (and hopefully learning from said mistake).

Though unplanned, this moment we shared is like many that can happen throughout the school year which draws the members of the class together and helps to build a strong classroom culture.

A Fantastic First Day of School

Today was fantastic.

When I put aside / ignore / block out any of the little annoyances that have no influence on the students right before my eyes, the first day of school is great.  Any hiccups today had nothing to do with the students.

I was able to mingle with the students to start learning their names and getting to know who they are. (See Legos for the First Day of School) Some were very creative with their Lego sculptures today, giving me some good insight into the people I’ll be working with throughout the year.

Some highlights:

This student expressed a fear of heights.

A rocket enthusiast built this specific type of rocket / launcher that I don't recall at the moment. 

The half Lego person and the walls are showing that this student gets overwhelmed a lot.

The swing symbolizes that the student loves to play outside.

This person expressed seventh grade to be a window of opportunity to learn new things.

Just focus on those students and allow their personalities to shine through, and it will be a fantastic first day…..I’m optimistic it will be a fantastic year.

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If you had a fantastic first day with your students or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Gamification in the Classroom: Big "G" or little "g"?

There’s one week left before I begin learning about my new students. As part of my preparation this summer, I have explored reasons and techniques to gamify my classroom.

“Rpg, Game, Play, Dice, Dungeons.” Rpg Game Play -
Free Photo on Pixabay, pixabay.com/photos/rpg-game-play-dice-
dungeons-468917/.

My eyes have been opened to the fact that gamification exists in multiple ways in our lives: businesses use badging and credentials in training, stores and restaurants offer rewards cards, businesses offering free trials, fitness apps offering badges and recognition, etc. They are all ways to motivate people to come back for more and/or to excel. In addition to engagement, gamifying the classroom can offer great opportunities for student choice and collaboration.  Done appropriately
students can become better learners.

I am, however, still up in the air for my classroom. Big “G” Gamification or little “g” gamification. 

Two different approaches to gamifying the classroom. I understand the former as a full-fledged, year-long commitment to Gamification: storyline, XP, items, badges, levels, leaderboards, side quests, etc.  These are elements of video games and other role-playing games. In a nutshell, little “g” gamification would be using those same elements within an activity or employing games to elicit engagement, student choice, and collaboration and enhance students’ learning.

Still wrapping my head around Gamification, I have to make my choice within this week. But recently, as I have had this debate in my head, I’ve thought of another possibility.  Perhaps I could lay Gamification out to the students and give them the choice:  Is this something we should try together? 

I could then ask for ideas (within certain parameters) as to what our game should entail. They would help design the game which could encourage even greater engagement in the game but could also, and more importantly, a evoke greater desire to learn.

We will see where this Gamification/gamification adventure leads me.


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If you gamify your classroom or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Bringing My Learning Into Class

As a teacher, summer can rejuvenate and provide opportunities to hone my craft. I also like to take the time to learn and try new things.

This summer I dabbled in music.  Toward the end of last school year, I took several lessons to learn a bit about playing the ukulele.  Over the course of the summer, I committed myself to practice. I have picked up the ukulele for at least 30 minutes nearly every day.  Naturally, I have improved - though not so much that I’m comfortable sharing those skills here.

I will, however, speak with my students about my learning, my practice, and my improvement. Maybe, if I build up my nerve, I’ll play for them. 😮

Another learning adventure involved prop making.  For absolutely no reason, I became intrigued with prop making techniques I bumped into on YouTube.  Using Odin Abbott’s YouTube channel Odin Makes as inspiration, I made my version of Wonder Woman’s shield.  Despite its flaws, I think it
turned out pretty nifty for a first effort.

I’ll probably bring it to school for decoration and imagine it will generate conversations with the students.

Even though both of these pursuits were for my own growth, I will be able to transfer them into opportunities to generate conversation and develop relationships with my students.

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If you bring interesting elements of your life to engage students or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Legos For the First Day of School

Jarrett, Kevin. “LEGOs Donated to My Classroom.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 30 

Aug. 2015, www.flickr.com/photos/kjarrett/20387355543/in/photostream/.

Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)  

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Several goals come to mind for the first day of school:

• I want students to feel at ease.
• I want many opportunities to interact with each student.'
• I want students to enjoy themselves.

So, this year, students will manipulate Legos.  I have used them in the past as a way students can show understanding, so, if past experience proves, true, they will enjoy themselves and be at ease. Playing can easily allow students to feel relaxed and help wash some anxiety away. This type of activity has shown that it is accessible even to those students who don't enjoy Legos or who doubt their creative abilities.

With six large bins of Legos waiting for the students, I will have them create objects or scenes that show the following:'

1. something about themselves as a learner (strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes)
2. something about themselves as a person (personality, passions, values)
3. something they are looking forward to in 7th grade.

As they create, I will engage in conversation with the students. I'll speak with them about what they are constructing and extend the conversations as well.  The activity will provide me the opportunity to make a personal connection with each student.

Once done with their sculptures, students will use Chromebooks to take pictures and write what each shows. They will eventually share those with me, so I can refer back to them.

I'm looking forward to meeting the students and am optimistic this activity will help us all get on to the right feet the kick off the school year.

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If you have engaging activities for the first days of school or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Enlivening Vocabulary Review with Vocabulary Gladiators

I wanted students to review vocabulary and was trying to determine the right way to engage them, so they wouldn’t view it as the same-old-same-old.

What started as a one-class activity, transformed into two. Students started in groups of three and wrote contextual sentences with the terms.  After sharing out, individuals wrote several more sentences. Each student then chose the best one whether it was created by the group or the individual student.

A tournament bracket was rolled out, and students’ attention was aroused. I placed each student in the bracket. Each would face off head-to-head with another. The winner was determined by an anonymous vote. (Students were reminded of what they should look/listen for in a quality contextual sentence.)  Students worked through the bracket until we had a class champ. Students who were eliminated were still exposed to the vocabulary and spent time evaluating the quality of their peers’ work. High energy permeated each class as they competed.

I spun the energy into day two. 

No one questioned the desks arranged in a circle but quite a few eyebrows were raised at the props in the middle of the circle.

They started class by adding more contextual sentences to their list from the previous day. Again, I had them mark the best one, whether from this or the previous class.

We celebrated the champion from the previous class, and I announced vocabulary gladiators.  Donning the fake shields and swords and helmets, any challengers could face the champ in a one-to-one showdown. Each student’s sentence would be shared, and again, there would be an anonymous vote.

There was a moment of hesitation as the students processed what I said.  Then, students quickly looked over their sentences and shot their hands up.

Between being a gladiator dressed in battle gear, competing with their peers, and watching their bolder peers take to the center ring, all students were engaged. Even those who did not enter the ring to challenge as a gladiator were evaluating and considering their sentences.  Some who did not volunteer to challenge toward the beginning did so by the end. They had listened to the others’ sentences, evaluated their own, and gained enough confidence in their revisions that they took the risk to stand before their peers.

The activity was simple but fun. Students were engaged, processed the information, and gained from the experience. One change I might make is for the sentences to be presented anonymously, especially during the bracket. I felt, at times, some students would through their support behind a weaker sentence to support a friend.

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If you have strategies to engage students with vocabulary or to use play for learning, or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Using a Simple Game To Engage Students

Always looking for ways to engage my students, I have been trying to incorporate more games in my teaching. I stumbled across Boom Blast Stix on Twitter via John Meehan. They are a quirky, simple game in which players stack the triangular-shaped pieces. If the pieces don’t quite stack right they explode scattering through the air.

To spice up a review activity, students were put into teams. Individuals from each team were mixed into different groups. In these groups, they took turns answering the review questions. If someone answered the question incorrectly, they had to approach Boom Blast Stix and place a piece. The team whose member placed the piece that caused the stix to explode earned a point for their team. (The goal was to have the least points - like golf.)

Students’ anticipation was high and there was a collective catch of breath once several stix were placed and someone was about to place the next one. The slight twist on reviewing made it more enjoyable for the students. There was a positive energy in the room.

As I circulated the room, their engagement with the task seemed heightened, too. Part of that, I think, was the structure of the game. By giving the point to whoever caused the stix to explode, those students who might not fare as well were more at ease. Someone who put only one piece on to the stack could be the one to cause the explosion. This resulted in an even distribution of students who caused their team to get a point. The students who might get the most items incorrect didn’t cause any more points for their teams than those who got the fewest incorrect.

Everyone had a chance in this game.  No individual was put into a situation feeling so far behind that quitting seemed an option.

As I continue to look for ways to incorporate games into the classroom, I’ll keep this structure in mind.

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If you have used games to help engage students, or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Meeting My Goal With a Dangerous Writing Prompt

The reasons I have this blog are to allow me a place to reflect and to help keep me more accountable for what I want to do.

By having a blog, I force myself to think about what I'm doing (mostly in my classroom). It gives me the opportunity - in a more formal way - to think about what's going well, what's not going so well, and what I'd like to try.

I also feel the blog makes me more accountable for my own goals.  If I set out a goal in a blog post, then I am declaring it to the world. Sharing the goal makes it more real and makes it more pressing to achieve that goal.  Sure, few, if any, people may read the blog posts, but the internet is live, public and forever.  This puts my goals out for everyone to see. Instead of keeping them private and being accountable to only myself, I have the sense that others could be looking over my shoulder, checking in on me.

So, as a result of this reflection, I’m recommitting myself to this blog.  This time, I’m giving myself a specific schedule. Expect a new post every Tuesday (there’s that goal made public). Today is Tuesday; so far, so good.

I also know that I can often have writer’s block, not knowing what to reflect upon or share. Consequently, I’m giving myself permission to be brief - a few paragraphs will be okay.  Also, to help break any blocks, I will use The Most Dangerous Writing Prompts. Game-like, the site has the writer keep working for a certain amount of time. If no progress is made after a certain interval, the program starts warning the writer, then the screen turns red, and you can no longer type (It does allow you to save work even if not finished.).

Not knowing what I would write for this post, I used The Most Dangerous Writing Prompts, set to three minutes. (I found it was a low expectation.)  I produced a few paragraphs in that time, then moved over to a word processor to finish up. I envision using the site with my students for activities like warm-ups or brain dumps in order to build their writing stamina and writing readiness. I am hopeful that they can see it as a tool that encourages improvement. 

I am optimistic that the schedule and the site will make my blogging goal manageable and attainable.

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If you have strategies to be a consistent blogger or to help develop students’ writing stamina, or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Could I Have Some Fries With That? Serving Up Novels in Social Studies

“How many are in your dinner party?”

“Three.”

“We have a lovely seat with a view for you. Right this way..…”

“.....Are you ready to order?”

“Um, yes. I’d like to try some Iqbal.”

Introducing books to students takes on a whole different feel when doing so in an unexpected way.  

In our geography classes, we read books to help bring the story of geography and people to the students. The story presented in a novel helps students to be empathetic and to bring the world more to life.  They become exposed to different experiences in the world and better realize the advantages in their own lives.

To hook the students and start them off on the right foot in their reading, I present the books to the students in the form of a book buffet. I transform my classroom into Restaurant 144.

The students are greeted at the door by the Restaurant 144 sign and are asked how many in their dining party. As soft jazz music greets their ears, they are escorted across the room to a table adorned with a tablecloth and tea lights. They take their seats, menus are distributed, and the diners are told that a server will be over shortly to take their orders.

The menus have photos of certain books with a brief introduction to each book. Students look through the menu to make a choice. When the server returns, orders are taken, and the books are served - on plates, of course. The server informs the diners that they can return their choice to the “kitchen” if it is not to their liking and they can make another selection. (Our assistant principal was even able to come in as a guest server.)

To further develop the atmosphere, when a student asked if he could go get some water, I broke out a pitcher of water and cups and served water to those students in need of a drink.

The restaurant ambiance heightened students’ interest. Behavior was also enhanced, as students acted more formally with courtesy, pleases, and thank yous, just as if they were in a restaurant. As the day proceeded and different classes came to the doorway, I could see that word of mouth had already amplified other students' anticipation.

And reading.

All students were engaged in reading the book of their choice. Even reluctant readers became absorbed with their choice. The unique environment and their ability to choose worked together to hook the students.

After all the students chose a book and had read several pages to confirm the book as the right choice for themselves, I organized students into groups that had chosen the same book. Together they looked over the guiding questions and made a reading schedule for themselves based on the three discussion dates that I set. On these dates, each group would hold their own Socratic seminar-like discussion which focused on the guiding questions and other questions or thoughts any of the readers wanted to bring forth to the group.

Most students, even reluctant readers, were very engaged in reading their books and involved on the discussion dates. The effort to pull off this hook was minimal, but the results impressive.  The students had fun being introduced to a variety of books. They had the opportunity to choose, try, and choose a different book if necessary. And I had fun as well, interacting with students in a different way, and seeing them highly engaged in reading.

Restaurant 144 was a great success.

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If you have had success creating an unexpected hook for students or transforming your classroom to engage students, or if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Fun! Low Key! Community Building! World Geography & Culture Night!

Inside the EarthView Globe

Each year, we organize a World Geography and Culture Night at my school. The idea was born out of the need to broaden our students horizons and expose them to different aspects of the world that they may not be aware of.

Although our evening has taken place in the winter or spring, planning starts over the summer and gets into full swing come September. Over the summer we determine the date of our event by booking the unique EarthView Globe. This 20 foot in diameter inflatable globe is a highlighted feature of the evening. Families have the opportunity to go inside the globe and hear from Bridgewater State University’s geographic experts. 

Other than making sure space is available for the evening, the next step is to reach out to staff members for support. We ask the staff to if they have ideas for a geography or culture related activity they would like to facilitate. We also offer the opportunity to facilitate simple activities that we already have prepared. This year, we had far more staff involvement than in the past. Their presence gave a far different feel to Geo Night. The night evolved into a schoolwide event, rather than a a social studies department event.

In addition to the EarthView Globe, we have several other consistent activities.

As a concluding activity to the evening, we have always had a special event. We have invited in performers which highlight culture in a manner that our students have never seen before: Taiko drumming, traditional dancing, etc. More recently, we have concluded with a Mystery Skype. We have Skyped with places such as Singapore and China. The time difference plays into our favor during an evening event, and the crowd is always enthusiastic as they try to figure out the location.

Our reading specialist and assistant principal (the Crazy Reading Ladies) have also developed an activity each year. They tie it into the book that is the current school-wide read (#AllIn19). This year, students created six word stories based on pictures of shoes. The activity was connected to Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys which had a character philosophize that you can tell a person’s story by the shoes that they wear. Families perused a variety of shoes from different cultures and economic classes to devise their six word stories.

The school's Spanish teachers also offer an activity each year. For our most recent evening, they engaged students by crafting fiesta themed flowers. The room was abuzz with activity proving the flowers were a huge hit. In the past, they have engaged students with Spanish dancing and Day of the Dead activities.

Other standbys include landform bingo and geo bee questions. A newer addition has been a BreakOut room that is connected to some other place in the world. This year we had multiple breakout boxes running at the same time within a room. We gathered several traditional games for families to learn and play in another room. Students also enjoyed a green screen where they can choose from a selection of places throughout the world that they can “visit.” The picture of them at the location is then emailed to the students or families.

Our town’s youth librarian has gotten involved the last two years as well. She offers a “book tasting,” displaying a wide variety of books that highlight culture and geography. Families with library cards can even check out books of interest.

This year we also enjoyed the efforts of two of our eighth grade students. They organized a thorough exposure to India including food, dancing, dressing in authentic clothing, and making and painting diyas. Teachers were blown away by all they prepared and students were excited to get a taste of Indian culture.

The evening is structured so that families can attend the activities over an hour and a half. Originally, we had the activities run for about 25 minutes so that students could rotate through. The nature of middle school students took over, however, and the evening has become much more fluid. Most activities seem to work best with highly engaging activities that allow the students and families can come and go as they please.

The evening is fun and low key but full of energy. There are plenty of smiles that go around. Everyone walks away learning something new while enjoying themselves. Organizing a World Geography and Culture Night of your own would create a vibrant event that enhances your school’s culture.


If you have an evening like World Geography and Culture Night that happens at your school or, if this post has generated some thoughts or questions of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing about them.

Photos From Our Event

Spanish Flowers

BreakOut Room

Six Word Stories

Mystery Skype

Book Tasting

Student Led Indian Dancing