The Great Big Bag of Feelings.

I love the beginning of a new school year - new faces, new challenges, and a chance to start fresh.

One of my favorite beginning of year activities allows students to express how they feel about math using objects. It gives me a chance to get to know their feelings towards math, and also gives some insight into their ability to create figurative language.  I also get a chance to share a bit about myself.

Here is how I introduce this activity.

I have the class in a circle and explain that my daughter used to play with lots of different items. I then pull out this ratty lunchbag.  It is, I explain, her lunchbox from when she started pre-school when she turned three.  In this bag I have some items she also used to play with when she was about three years old.  I shake the bag and ask, "What are some things you think might be in here?"

legit - it is her lunch bag from preschool!

I get guesses from dolls and ponies to legos to crayons... It's a nice variety.  I then dump the contents in the center of the circle.

Students always are amazed at the variety of things in the bag. They also then ask about how old she is now, if I have other children, and suddenly we are connecting on a personal level.  They bring up connections with the objects (I had a Mr. Potato Head! Does that Silly Putty thing really have putty in it? (it does) awww, that's a cute Littlest Pet Shop!)

The great bag of everything

After I give them time to observe, I bring it back to math.  I tell them people have lots of different feelings about math.  Some people love math and some don't enjoy it.  All of those feelings are ok - you don't have to love math, and in fact it could be your least favorite thing.

I then ask them to look at the objects and find one that you think of when you think of math - how you feel about math, what you think of math, what math means to you...

Students get some think time, get a thumbs up ready, and choose a student to start.  That student then picks the direction the circle will travel.  I explain that everyone will share, but I also give students the opportunity to pass if they aren't ready on their turn.  When a student goes, they take the object from the center, return to their chair and explain why they chose it.  Here are some quotes from my 6th grade class this week:

• "For me math is like a weight - when I get a math problem it feels like a weight is being put on me." 

• "Math is like the Rubic's cube piece.  I always get jumbled up and think there is no way to solve the problem."

• "Math is like the multi-colored pen.  There are lots of ways to solve it like there are lots of colors."

• "For me it is like the battery because I need lots of energy and when I get something right it recharges me, but if I get it wrong I feel like a dead battery."

I have found the key to this lesson, like so many others, is not in the activity itself but the culture setting and story telling before hand.  This is a great 2nd day of school activity after students have gotten to know each other and me a bit.  Just as important is the lead up.  Building that curiosity about the bag, having students talk about the objects, and making those personal connections makes it easier for them to share later in the activity. It isn't enough just to get the students in a circle and dump a bag in front of them - they need the whole experience!

I've also accepted this challenge put forth by @Aaron_Hogan.  So far I've learned I have students that

• Play soccer, swim, and dive.
• Make their own mermaid tails that are usable in the water.
• Enjoy farming and made a model tractor using donuts.
• Do not like candy or cake! 
• Have 11 pets including 3 dogs and 3 cats.

Go learn something amazing about your students!

Go To the Mirror!

Those who are longer-term readers know that I am very into protocols, routines, and procedures.  The students at my school have many executive function difficulties and the more consistent and familiar the classroom schedule is, the more success they generally have during that class.

However protocols, routines, and procedures do not have to be boring and dull.  Take reflection.  This is one of the most important parts of my lesson, and there is some form of reflection integrated into all my my activities.  This is also a place where I have the ability of having lots of fun.

It is also important for students to reflect on all aspects of the classroom, not just the 'academic learning targets.'  How are students feeling about the class? How did they like a lesson?  Do they have a suggestion for the improvement of the class?

SOAPBOX DISCLAIMER: Reflection is very personal.  It allows students to think about what they have learned and to process that learning.  It is also a great tool for me as the teacher; if the student didn't write the 'correct' information about what was learned, it is an indicator to me that my method, presentation, or delivery didn't have the intended effect.  I don't 'grade' reflections for content (thought I tell them grammar rules always apply), and I never tell someone they did not reflect correctly (unless, of course, they don't answer the prompt given.)

Sometimes reflection doesn't connect to reality. Use that information! 

Today's reflection: Mystery bag. 

For this reflection I gather students into a circle.  This is another procedure we have practiced many times throughout the year.  I've outlined this in my previous blog.

Once there I held an old lunch box up and shake it up a bit.  The students make some guesses as to what might be in the bag.  Then I dump the contents right in the center of the circle:

Well that was unexpected...

After the circle is ready, I pose the question.  For example, the first time we did this activity I simply asked "Which of these objects remind you of math?"  I explain that there are no 'wrong' answers, as long as you can make a connection to math.  I give them 2 minutes of think time and at the end ask them to put a thumbs up if they have an object and reason.  Most, but not all, usually will be ready.

I explain that we're going to go around the circle.  Each person in turn will pick up the object, explain why they chose it, then return it.  This means there is no worry about someone else 'taking' your item.  I also explain that if someone picks your object and has the same reason, that is fine.  You will just pick the same object and say your reason in your own words, even if it sounds like someone else's response.

I then address the students that are not ready.  This is a VERY abstract concept and not all students will be able to connect an answer.  I tell them that their job is to listen to everyone else's response and I will be calling on them to make a connection (or agree) with someone's reasoning.

I love doing this activity for a number of reasons.  First, it is completely unexpected.  Students have never walked into a math classroom and seen something like this.  It let's them know that "we'll have routines, expectations, and protocols, but don't expect it to be dull."

Second, I LOVE the responses I get.  It allows me to get some insight into the thought process of my students as well as their abstract reasoning ability.  Here is a smattering of thoughts that came out from the first week of school:

• Math is like the dice because it has numbers (very concrete thinker.)
• Math is like the battery because it has positive and negative signs. (attention to detail!)
• Math is like the turtle because you have to just keep swimming (movie connection!)
• Math is like the multi-colored pen because there are lots of different ways to solve problems (are you kidding me?)

Reflection does not always have to be exit tickets, written statements of what I've learned, and 3-2-1 cards.  Feel free to mix it up, but always get them reflecting!

#tweet your learning

Processing is one of the most important aspects of learning, and yet is often one of the most overlooked areas of education.  Students need time to reflect on what they have learned, have time to digest new information, and connect it to previously learned material.  Reflection ensures students are fully engaged and making meaning of the material - producers and not just consumers.

Over the next few blogs, I am going to talk about some of my favorite processing tools in the classroom.  These activities allow students to actively internalize information, have them use different cognitive skills during the activity, and have an element of fun or interaction which I also enjoy.

The first activity is "tweet" your learning.  I am not yet at a point where students have active twitter accounts (though I'm working on this!)  However, using a subpage on classtools.net called Twister, students create a tweet to tell me one important fact they learned from the day.

I love this exercise for many reasons.  Students can only give one 'tweet',  and so they only get 140 characters.  They have to be precise with their vocabulary and word choice. They start reflecting on 'what did I learn' and 'how can I summarize this so succinctly.'  Students are actively forced to use different types and levels of metacognition.

When students get to the site they have four fields to complete: name, nickname, tweet, and date.

On the surface, students can write their name their 'nickname' and give a tweet  and a date.  So, in theory a final product could look like this:

This tweet would definitely meet the expectations.  It told me one fact and even had some of the vocabulary we discussed.  While this is all great, one of my favorite aspects of this site is that it comes pre-populated with different images.  If you type a popular name into the real name field, it will use that person's (or creature's) picture in the tweet.  I showed this example to the students:

This tweet also shows comprehension of new concepts, but does so from a different perspective.  The tweet itself shows a dino misinterpreting those darn kids with the actual object in the sky.  The date, 65 million BC, matches the researched date of when the extinction level event occurred.

They then download the tweet as a .pdf and then upload the file into our digital dropbox.

The students really enjoyed this and don't realize how much thinking they are doing.  I got so many wonderful responses.  Here are a couple of student examples:

What would you tweet about what you learned today?  Who would you use as your avatar?

Team building part 3: Processing the Experience

This is part three of my back to school ice breaker blog.  If you haven't seen parts one or two yet you can find them here (part one) and here (part two).

This blog will discuss processing.  Processing the activity is just as (some would argue more important) than the experience itself.  One thing I've learned is that trying to keep what I want to say in some blog-sized fashion isn't easy for me!  I love this topic and could probably go on for ages!  It allows both you as a facilitator to see and students as learners to explain what they got out of the activity.  It is important that the activity and the processing have similar goals.

I will use the  Helium Hoop activity from my last blog as an example.  It is a very difficult activity to facilitate because success will not come easy.  Students will struggle and there will be discord.  As the facilitator, your job is to create an environment in which people feel empowered and welcome. This leads to some internal struggles when leading this activity.

(learning is the treasure!)

As teachers our natural instinct is to step in and 'help'; unfortunately 'help' generally means solving problems for the students - pointing out errors and offering solutions that have worked for us in the past. We become the leader.

This, however, takes power away from the students.  It tells them that the teacher will 'bail them out' at the first sign of trouble.  As difficult as it is for you as a teacher, the struggle that students are experiencing is important.  It sets up a great lesson for them later: this class will be difficult at times, but you can persevere through it!

Helping them out and allowing them to have a quick success has other issues as well.

Here are the conditions that were set out for the helium hoop activity:

• All people need to touch the hoop at all times
• You can not 'grip' the hoop
• The hoop can't just drop to the floor

Those seem straight forward enough, but after ten minutes of failure, many teachers tend to get into solution mode.  Since schools these days are 'final objective' or 'product' driven, those conditions may get blurred a bit.  Sally 'accidentally' grabbed it with her finger and Lauren really didn't touch it at all? Close enough - the rest of the group seems ok (or didn't notice.)  Besides, the hoop is down and we can celebrate success.

Let's think about the internal processing that is happening in this group.  Sally now 'knows' that the rules are just general and may not apply to her.  Lauren has learned that in group activities she can blend into the background and not have to worry about it.  Other students may have seen Sally 'cheat' and are wondering why the teacher didn't say anything to her.  Most students wouldn't say these thoughts out loud in a new setting (the forming stage), but this is what you have indirectly taught them.

These first activities are the foundation for culture in your room.  How your run them and process them determines your initial success with building your culture.  The art of being a strong facilitator is similar to being a great teacher - knowing where your students are and challenging them to reach that next level.

Here are my 5 keys to successful processing:

1) Don't assume their learning - participants may have gotten different things out of the experience.  Some may realize that they enjoyed a leadership role, others may find that they liked not being in charge.  Some may learn that it was ok to trust and listen to a student they never really liked before.  Still others may have just loved the activity itself.  These are all good outcomes! They're learning - don't take their learning away!

2) USE NAMES and model how to use names.  You can't build a classroom culture if students are point and saying 'umm, him.'  If you don't know a student's name, model how to ask.  If students don't know each other's names, make sure they introduce themselves.  If you are using activities and they aren't using names, you're doing it wrong!

3) Don't judge effort.  Phrases like "if you try harder...", "most people seem to care", or "stop ruining it for everyone" assume students want to fail.  Even if a student is acting in a way that is showing she  doesn't care, at some deeper level she is dealing with the current situation as best she can.  This is a great chance to get to know the student and find out what is bothering her (or him!)

4) Acknowledge difficulty.  It's ok to say "this activity is difficult."  That is a great lead into processing the activity later ("do you think there will be other activities this school year that will frustrate you?")  People's behavior adapt to match their current beliefs about what it possible. If you hint that something is too difficult without your expertise, that is what they will believe.    If you expand their beliefs, their behavior will expand and reflect the new possibilities.  You present the door, but you have to let them open it up!

5) Observe but don't connect.  Let the students keep the power.  You should make observations that helped the group - Phrases like "I really liked when Tammy called a break because the group was getting frustrated" help students see the importance of a time out, but you shouldn't make leaps such as "The group was successful because Tammy called the break."

With that, here is my third team building activity that I love playing early in the school year:

Protocol: Group Juggle

Materials: a couple of tennis balls, koosh balls, or other small, soft objects.

Procedure:
1) Everyone gets in a circle (sitting or standing works fine). Everyone should put their hands out.
2) You will start the game by saying a student's name and tossing the ball to him/her.
3) That person catches the ball, then says the name of another person in the circle (I tend to say you can't give it to the person to your left or right), and tosses the ball. The tosser then takes his/her hands and put them behind his/her back (this helps keeps track of who has had a turn.)
4) This process continues until everyone has received the ball once.
5) The final recipient says the teacher's name and tosses the ball back to him/her.

Round two:
Explain you are going to do the same thing again, but this time you might add a challenge:

• no drops (or one drop or three drops, depending on your group) during the cycle
• time limit of so many seconds 
• having to say thank you to the tosser after each catch: "Thank you, Evan!"

As the group gets better, you can add even more challenge to the game:

• add a second ball that begins a few tosses after the first
• add a second ball that goes backwards while the first one goes forwards
• have the student say their favorite flavor of ice cream and then ask the next person (by name) what their favorite flavor is.

This is also a fun activity to process.  Students tend to realize that they drop the ball when they aren't focused.  They also realize that they become more focused when someone uses their name and makes eye contact.  When a second ball is introduced (either forwards or backwards) students may talk about how they had to focus on one thing at a time rather than watch both objects at once.

I will be posting two more team building activities during the week.  I'd love to hear some games and activities you have done to help build teamwork and culture in your class as well!

Team Building Part 2: Keeping It Authentic

"I showed them how to do it! The student's just aren't getting it - it isn't my fault!"

 What are you picturing?  A teacher explaining a math lesson?  Foreign language?

If you have been in education long enough, you've certainly heard (or maybe even said) something like that at some point.  As educators we know that you can't just 'present' material to have students understand it.  You can't give a lesson and expect them to master it.

This is my next point with 'ice breakers'.  So many times I have seen groups do ice breakers that go something like this:

"OK, the point of this activity is for this team to (insert random task)"

A couple of things might happen from here.

One person in the group quickly sees a basic solution, does it, and the facilitator gives some quick non-authentic feedback.

Alternatively the opposite could happen.  The team could be stuck, unsure of how to complete the activity.

So the facilitator does what any good teacher would do - he gives gives "a clue" and the group quickly sees the answer, and the facilitator gives some quick non-authentic feedback.

And then he surprised when they didn't get the relationship building they were promised.  He decides that 'team-building is just a waste of time.'

So often, teachers, leaders, and facilitators want to do the team building and ice breaking "stuff" as quickly as possible so they can get to the "important" parts of the day.  They want activities that can be done in ten minutes or less so that they have more time for people to be 'productive.'  They can't waste a single minute, let alone a whole class period on such useless activities.

But when have you ever seen an effective lesson hit the short and long term goals in just ten minutes?  Much like teaching a lesson, you have to ask what is the result you want?  Do you want students to memorize and be able to recall information on the short term?  If so, then an activity like the one above is a great lesson.  You won't gain any long term community, but you will have a short term celebration.  However, if you are looking to build long term relationships, as well as student success you have to put the same effort, planning, and processing that you would for a lesson.

Teachers have a difficult time letting students fail.  It isn't in our general nature.

As promised, here is the second activity that I use to help build positive relationships in my classroom.  This is a great activity for students as well as great practice to let you, as a teacher, to practice allowing students to fail.

Protocol: Helium Hoop

Size Limit: This activity works best for groups of 8-12.  You can break the group up into two and have them take turns.

Materials: a hula-hoop

Procedure:

1) Get students into a circle
2) Explain the task is to get the hoop to the ground with the following guidelines
3) Have the students make two fists with their pinky parallel to the ground
4) Stick out your index finger so it it pointing across the circle
5) Tuck your thumbs into your fist
6) Put your fists at hip level

Explain that in a few moments you are going to put the hula hoop so that it is touching everyone's fingers.  The goal is to get the hoop to the ground with the following rules:

1) Everyone must be in contact with the hoop at all times.  If anyone loses contact I'll grab the hoop and we'll restart.
2) Only your index finger may be in contact with the hoop.
3) The hoop must rest on everyone's index finger - no grabbing or curling around the hoop.
4) The hoop must be lowered onto the ground without it dropping.

The first time you do this activity the hoop will rise almost instantly.  This is an excellent game to play to help process blaming others and how your actions impact the group.

It is also a VERY difficult activity to facilitate - as the teacher your job is to let the group figure out the problem without giving major hints.  You have to let them struggle without getting completely frustrated.  Balancing the guidelines with how strictly you are enforcing them to maintain engagement without allowing them to 'check-out' from frustration.

Does this sound like what we, as teachers, need to do for students every day?

It is important to let them struggle - remember the goal isn't necessarily for them to succeed in two or three tries.  You are preparing them for a school year where they will have academic struggles.  There will be times that they will have group projects in which everyone is committed, but progress is still slow.  Let them reflect back on this activity on their struggles and think about how they eventually succeeded.