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Morning Meetings From Pre-K to 12th Grade | Edutopia

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Morning Meetings From Pre-K to 12th Grade | Edutopia

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Morning Meetings From Pre-K to 12th Grade

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Daily discussions and team-building activities meet the physical, social and emotional, and spiritual needs of students.

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4 Meaningful Activities for Middle and High School to Mark the End of the Year | Edutopia

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4 Meaningful Activities for Middle and High School to Mark the End of the Year | Edutopia

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Giving middle and high school students a chance to reflect on the past year and look ahead to the next can be very beneficial.

As the end of the school year approaches, many middle and high school teachers find themselves faced with less structured time and more opportunities to engage students in community-centered activities. We can dedicate some of this time to meaningful end-of-the-year activities to help our students acknowledge and celebrate the growth they have made while also setting goals for the future.

4 End-of-the-Year Activities

1. Letters to the future. For this activity, students write a letter to themselves one year in the future. Students are allowed to write anything they want, but I encourage them to focus on what they would like to be true in a year. For some students, this might mean writing about how they are now on the varsity basketball team, are captain of their debate club, or have an A in science class.

The possibilities are endless, and I remind students to include both academic and personal goals for themselves.

In order for this project to work effectively, you can either hold the letters and deliver them to students the next year, or work with your school to have the letters sent home.

While teaching sixth grade, I held on to all the letters and then returned them to the seventh graders at the end of the next school year. This was easy to do, as all of my students were still in the same building. For students who are transitioning from one school to the next, it might be easier to work with your school's front office to mail the letters home.

2. Thank-you notes. Another option for helping students reflect on the year is writing thank-you notes. For this activity, I simply provide blank thank-you cards to students and encourage them to write at least one note to someone in the school and one note to someone outside of the school. Many of my students take the opportunity to write thank-you notes to their parents, friends in the class, teachers, or athletic coaches.

This is one of my favorite end-of-the-year activities because it creates such a positive environment in which students feel grateful for all they have accomplished and are able to acknowledge the people who helped them do it.

You could easily just provide students with blank paper for this activity and even alter the directions to make it more academically focused. For example, you could require that students write at least a certain number of sentences or use specific vocabulary words they have learned over the course of the school year.

3. Performances. This next option is a great way to let students show off all the amazing things they have accomplished over the past year that might not be academic. To effectively engage students in this kind of activity, I provide at least two weeks' notice so that any students who want to perform can prepare.

In the past, I have had students sing, read poetry, and dance. I have also had a few students present drawings or paintings they had done at home or in outside art classes.

You can decide what types of performances you want to focus on and can even tie them to academics by having students read short stories they wrote in English or perform a skit they wrote in their foreign language class.

I have tended to allow students to show off whatever aspect of their talents they wanted, as many do not have the opportunity to be in the spotlight if their talents are not academic. I have utilized my school's gym and cafeteria in the past for performances, but the classroom can also work well as long as you are intentional about setting it up.

4. Vision boards. This last activity encourages students to think about what they want their futures to look like. Students are given a poster board and tasked with creating collages that illustrate their future goals and the people, words, and phrases that inspire them to achieve those goals.

A few days before I plan to do this activity, I tell students to start collecting photos or magazines that they might want to use on their vision board. Several students always ask to use the printers at school for their images, so it's helpful to be prepared to let students access computers and printers when completing this activity.

Many of my students include a picture of the college they want to attend or the professional sports team they hope to play for. I have seen students include photos of their friends, family, and other inspirational figures. Once all students are finished, I have allowed students to share their vision boards in small groups or in front of the entire class. It's an incredible opportunity to hear students speak about their dreams, goals, and futures.

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4 Meaningful Activities to Mark the End of School

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Giving middle and high school students a chance to reflect on the past year and look ahead to the next can be very beneficial. As the end of the school year approaches, many middle and high school teachers find themselves faced with less structured time and more opportunities to engage students in community-centered activities.

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Promoting SEL in Elementary School Through Bulletin Boards | Edutopia

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Promoting SEL in Elementary School Through Bulletin Boards | Edutopia

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When you're walking down a school hallway, what do you notice? Does the environment seem inviting and accepting, or does it seem dull and neglected? Are the walls overpowered with color or bare and gray? My point is, bulletin boards are the billboards of classroom halls-they can capture a school's mission, display what students are learning, and be interactive for bystanders.

I'd like to share some strategies to use bulletin boards to promote social and emotional learning. The pandemic brought a wave of anxiety to teachers and to the students and families we care for. Consequently, social and emotional learning is even more important now.

Over the past six years, I have taught in environments with a high number of military children. I can recall growing up as one of these kids and experiencing a lot of anxiety and fear of the unknown, and with the pandemic we've seen even more anxiety, stress, and fear. The ability to recognize feelings and manage them is vital-prior to learning and teaching, our students and staff must first feel emotionally supported.

With the idea of supporting students, when I create bulletin boards I think about how to make them inclusive and helpful. They don't have to be extravagant, over the top with decorations, or overstimulating. If we are displaying student work, I want the work to be varied and not just focused on the "best." This helps every student feel seen and included.

I enjoy creating boards that catch students' attention and make them want to invest a few minutes into looking at what we are sharing. I believe bulletin boards are something that can get easily overlooked, and the right displays can be a helpful tool for students. Below are a few examples of bulletin boards to support students' social and emotional learning and inclusivity.

Supporting SEL and Inclusivity With Bulletin Boards

Breathing exercises: In social and emotional learning lessons, I always incorporate breathing exercises to promote self-regulation, and I believe these exercises make one of the best types of bulletin boards. Combining a visual that introduces students and adults to a calming exercise can be beneficial for all. When you teach breathing exercises, students will start to incorporate these strategies when they need to, like when they are taking a test or feeling anxious. I have used bulletin boards to share images that show students how to do "triangle breathing" and "mountain breathing," for example.

Student check-ins: Checking in with students is a great way to encourage them to express themselves, especially those who may be hesitant to speak up if they feel dysregulated. Connecting students to something like different characters in the Avengers movies is a great motivational tool to get students to recognize how they are currently feeling-are they feeling like the Hulk or Groot today, for example? So I have put up a bulletin board with "Which Avengers character do you feel the most like?" as a prompt above images of five or six characters with different facial expressions.

While students can be hesitant to share how they are feeling, it's important to know how they are feeling because it will affect their learning. You can construct this kind of board as a virtual board using Jamboard, or as a physical interactive board using sticky notes.

Self-reflection: I believe that as educators, we are constantly reflecting on ourselves and our work. A reflection can be a wonderful tool to recognize our accomplishments and a great way to celebrate them. To support this with students, I created a bulletin board-with a laminated background and dry erase markers handy-with the prompt "What have you done today to make you feel proud?" When my class showcased something they were proud of, more classes joined, and eventually students from all grade levels participated.

This board helps create a positive atmosphere and promotes empathy. One student wrote, "I felt proud when I helped someone up when they fell during recess." Having students be reflective is a great way to have them create goals and recognize that we all do something every day we can be proud of, whether it be big or small.

Building empathy: Empathy can be a difficult skill to teach and learn. It takes time to understand how others are feeling and requires being present and listening intently. It gives a sense of hope to see a student being empathetic toward another student, and it builds up the community. For these boards I love using emojis because kids can easily connect to them and they're gender neutral. They're a simple way to have students connect how someone's body might look or feel with specific feelings, and they can promote ways to self-regulate.

For example, a board I call Emoji Emotional Awareness has an angry emoji on the left and a relieved emoji on the right, with this prompt: "If you notice your body feeling like the emoji on the left, what is something that helps you to feel like the emoji on the right? Add a sticky note and give your suggestions."

Then if students are curious they can view the notes and suggestions that fellow classmates have given to help support each other.

Activities: When we engage students in activities, we can challenge them to work toward a goal. With a bulletin board similar to the game tic-tac-toe, students can choose what challenges they want to do.

To set this up, I make a big tic-tac-toe board and fill the spots with the following prompts:

Row 1: List 3 things you like about yourself; What is something you're thankful for?; Stretch up like a tree

Row 2: Write a positive note to someone you care about; Complete a breathing exercise; What is something you do well?

Row 3: Write a goal you have for the week; What is something you hope for?; What was the last thing that made you laugh?

Students can pick three activities in a row-across, down, or diagonally. When students have choice, we know it increases engagement and helps provide motivation to complete a task. This board is a great tool with a variety of tasks to complete that include physical movement, breathing exercises, and reflection.

Situations: When students are tasked to respond to a situation, they need to synthesize it and figure out if it's something positive or dangerous. For example, consider asking students to choose two of the situations below and talk to a partner about what they would do:

There's a new classmate and it's their first day at school.

During recess, a classmate called another student unkind names and shoved another peer.

You see two classmates arguing at recess about who gets to go first in a game.

These scenarios give students a chance to reflect on their own actions and start to recognize situations where they could bring something positive.

Billboards can be more than a tool to hang student work. When used effectively, they can help students embrace social and emotional learning and teach them tools to help reflect and build empathy and kindness toward themselves and others. Making social and emotional learning the first priority for students creates a positive and inviting culture that brings one classroom community together with everyone else in the school.

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When you're walking down a school hallway, what do you notice? Does the environment seem inviting and accepting, or does it seem dull and neglected? Are the walls overpowered with color or bare and gray? My point is, bulletin boards are the billboards of classroom halls-they can capture a school's mission, display what students are learning, and be interactive for bystanders.

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Mention group work and you're confronted with pointed questions and criticisms. The big problems, according to our audience: One or two students do all the work; it can be hard on introverts; and grading the group isn't fair to the individuals.

But the research suggests that a certain amount of group work is beneficial.

"The most effective creative process alternates between time in groups, collaboration, interaction, and conversation... [and] times of solitude, where something different happens cognitively in your brain," says Dr. Keith Sawyer, a researcher on creativity and collaboration, and author of Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration.

So we looked through our archives and reached out to educators on Facebook to find out what solutions they've come up with for these common problems.

Making Sure Everyone Participates

"How many times have we put students in groups only to watch them interact with their laptops instead of each other? Or complain about a lazy teammate?" asks Mary Burns, a former French, Latin, and English middle and high school teacher who now offers professional development in technology integration.

Unequal participation is perhaps the most common complaint about group work. Still, a review of Edutopia's archives-and the tens of thousands of insights we receive in comments and reactions to our articles-revealed a handful of practices that educators use to promote equal participation. These involve setting out clear expectations for group work, increasing accountability among participants, and nurturing a productive group work dynamic.

Norms: At Aptos Middle School in San Francisco, the first step for group work is establishing group norms. Taji Allen-Sanchez, a sixth- and seventh-grade science teacher, lists expectations on the whiteboard, such as "everyone contributes" and "help others do things for themselves."

For ambitious projects, Mikel Grady Jones, a high school math teacher in Houston, takes it a step further, asking her students to sign a group contract in which they agree on how they'll divide the tasks and on expectations like "we all promise to do our work on time." Heather Wolpert-Gawron, an English middle school teacher in Los Angeles, suggests creating a classroom contract with your students at the start of the year, so that agreed-upon norms can be referenced each time a new group activity begins.

Group size: It's a simple fix, but the size of the groups can help establish the right dynamics. Generally, smaller groups are better because students can't get away with hiding while the work is completed by others.

"When there is less room to hide, nonparticipation is more difficult," says Burns. She recommends groups of four to five students, while Brande Tucker Arthur, a 10th-grade biology teacher in Lynchburg, Virginia, recommends even smaller groups of two or three students.

Meaningful roles: Roles can play an important part in keeping students accountable, but not all roles are helpful. A role like materials manager, for example, won't actively engage a student in contributing to a group problem; the roles must be both meaningful and interdependent.

At University Park Campus School, a grade 7-12 school in Worcester, Massachusetts, students take on highly interdependent roles like summarizer, questioner, and clarifier. In an ongoing project, the questioner asks probing questions about the problem and suggests a few ideas on how to solve it, while the clarifier attempts to clear up any confusion, restates the problem, and selects a possible strategy the group will use as they move forward.
Courtesy of University Park Campus School
At Design 39, a K-8 school in San Diego, groups and roles are assigned randomly using Random Team Generator, but ClassDojo, Team Shake, and drawing students' names from a container can also do the trick. In a practice called vertical learning, Design 39 students conduct group work publicly, writing out their thought processes on whiteboards to facilitate group feedback. The combination of randomizing teams and public sharing exposes students to a range of problem-solving approaches, gets them more comfortable with making mistakes, promotes teamwork, and allows kids to utilize different skill sets during each project.

Rich tasks: Making sure that a project is challenging and compelling is critical. A rich task is a problem that has multiple pathways to the solution and that one person would have difficulty solving on their own.

In an eighth-grade math class at Design 39, one recent rich task explored the concept of how monetary investments grow: Groups were tasked with solving exponential growth problems using simple and compound interest rates.

Rich tasks are not just for math class. When Dan St. Louis, the principal of University Park, was a teacher, he asked his English students to come up with a group definition of the word Orwellian. They did this through the jigsaw method, a type of grouping strategy that John Hattie's study Visible Learning ranked as highly effective.

"Five groups of five students might each read a different news article about the modern world," says St. Louis. "Then each student would join a new group of five where they need to explain their previous group's article to each other and make connections to each. Using these connections, the group must then construct a definition of the word Orwellian." For another example of the jigsaw approach, see this video from Cult of Pedagogy.

Supporting Introverts

Teachers worry about the impact of group work on introverts. Some of our educators suggest that giving introverts choice in who they're grouped with can help them feel more comfortable.

"Even the quietest students are usually comfortable and confident when they are with peers with whom they connect," says Shelly Kunkle, a veteran teacher at Wasawee Middle School in North Webster, Indiana. Wolpert-Gawron asks her students to list four peers they want to work with and then makes sure to pair them with one from their list.

Having defined roles within groups-like clarifier or questioner-also provides structure for students who may be less comfortable within complex social dynamics, and ensures that introverts don't get overshadowed by their more extroverted peers.

Finally, be mindful that introverted students often simply need time to recharge. "Many introverts do not mind and even enjoy interacting in groups as long as they get some quiet time and solitude to recharge. It's not about being shy or feeling unsafe in a large group," says Barb Larochelle, a recently retired high school English teacher in Edmonton, Alberta, who taught for 29 years.

"I planned classes with some time to work quietly alone, some time to interact in smaller groups or as a whole class, and some time to get up and move around a little. A whole class of any one of those is going to be hard on one group, but a balance works well."

Assessing Group Work

Grading group work is problematic. Often, you don't have a clear understanding of what each student knows, and a single student's lack of effort can torpedo the group grade. To some degree, strategies that assign meaningful roles or that require public presentations from groups provide a window in to each student's knowledge and contributions.

But not all classwork needs to be graded. Suzanna Kruger, a high school science teacher in Seaside, Oregon, doesn't grade group work-there are plenty of individual assignments that receive grades, and plenty of other opportunities for formative assessment.

John McCarthy, a former high school English and social studies teacher and current education consultant and adjunct professor at Madonna University for the graduate department for education, suggests using group presentations or group products as a non-graded review for a test. But if you want to grade group work, he recommends making all academic assessments within group work individual assessments. For example, instead of grading a group presentation, McCarthy grades each student on an essay, which the students then use to create their group presentation.

Laura Moffit, a fifth-grade teacher in Wilmington, North Carolina, uses self and peer evaluations to shed light on how each student is contributing to group work-starting with a lesson on how to do an objective evaluation. "Just have students circle :), :|, or :( on three to five statements about each partner, anonymously," Moffit commented on Facebook. "Then give the evaluations back to each group member. Finding out what people really think of your performance is a wake-up call."

And Ted Malefyt, a middle school science teacher in Hamilton, Michigan, carries a clipboard with the class list formatted in a spreadsheet and walks around checking in on students while they do group work.

"Using this spreadsheet, you have your own record of which student is meeting your expectations and who needs extra help," explains Malefyt. "As formative assessment takes place, quickly document with simple checkmarks."

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Mention group work and you're confronted with pointed questions and criticisms. The big problems, according to our audience: One or two students do all the work; it can be hard on introverts; and grading the group isn't fair to the individuals. But the research suggests that a certain amount of group work is beneficial.

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How To Create A Positive Classroom Culture

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How To Create A Positive Classroom Culture

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3 Tips To Foster A Community Of Growth Mindset Learners

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3 Tips To Foster A Community Of Growth Mindset Learners

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As an educator, my hope is to develop joyful, self-directed, engaged learners. Learners who are curious about the world around them, who are excited to take on challenges, who are willing to take risks, and who are resilient and flexible in the face of failure. In sum, learners who have a growth mindset.

I've found that building a classroom culture of growth mindset changes how students approach their learning, and is transformational in helping them build the habits of mind to be successful within and beyond the classroom. As one of my kindergartners explains, "If you don't know how to do something, you can try it again and again and fix your mistakes, and if you don't give up, you really showed growth mindset."

The following are three key tips that can support the development of a community of growth mindset learners in your classroom.

Tip 1: Teach Children About Brain Development and Mindsets

Start by teaching students about brain development as well as the fixed mindset and growth mindset. This gives students a scientific background to understand that you can physically change your brain through learning.

I start by asking my kindergartners to share how their muscles get stronger. We liken working out our muscles through exercise to working out our brains through effort and purposeful practice. By showing brain images of dendrite growth, students can discover the way that their brains change as they learn new things. Check out this example of a middle school lesson plan that introduces students to the mindsets.

You can also extend and enrich this understanding by reading aloud literature that celebrates a growth mindset and facilitating discussions about how growth mindset plays out in different contexts. A few of my favorite growth mindset texts include Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle by Chris Rashka, and Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty. Here's a Google doc with more recommended read-alouds that encourage a growth mindset.

Students may also be inspired to read the biographies of famous athletes or thinkers who overcame huge obstacles and who embody a growth mindset, for example, Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull.

Tip 2: Develop Growth Mindset Self Talk

One of the most powerful ways to develop growth mindset is by teaching students to change their inner dialogue - or self talk. Start by helping students learn to hear their own fixed mindset voice (ex: "I got it wrong again, I'll never get this.") and then support them to develop a growth mindset voice (ex: "I can get better with practice. This is hard, but it will get easier."). In our classroom, after reading The Little Engine That Could, the mantra "I think I can, I think I can" could often be heard murmured around the room as students encountered challenges in their writing. Changing our self talk changes the way we think.

Role playing is a powerful way for students to begin using productive self talk. Sometimes I act out a scenario in which I'm using fixed mindset self talk and have my students help me to change it into growth mindset self talk.

Students can also create visual reminders, like billboards, for growth mindset language that can be posted around the classroom, school, or home. These visuals can be placed in strategic places to serve as reminders of productive self talk in moments of need.

Tip 3: Focus On Creating Growth-Oriented Goals

Giving students the opportunity to set growth-oriented goals, and reflect upon their progress in meeting those goals, is fundamental to building a community of growth mindset learners. You might set class goals, partnership goals, or individual goals. For example, in the video Praising the Process, notice that students set individual goals such as elaborating more in their writing, making their characters come to life by adding talk and action, and writing a strong lead to hook the reader. You can sense the pride in one student's voice as he shares meeting his goal to elaborate on three pages - a big feat for a student who weeks before struggled to write more than a sentence on each page.

Setting and tracking goals helps children build awareness of their growth and celebrate new learning. It can also help children normalize mistakes as a part of the learning process, reflect upon the challenges in meeting a goal, and learn about ways to be flexible or ask for help.

It's helpful to give students a clear way to track their progress in meeting a goal. For example, they might share their plan for meeting their goal with a partner, jot a visual reminder of the goal on a sticky note, tally the number of times they tried this goal, or place a sticker in their writing at each place they met the goal. In our classroom, we display our goals publicly to remind ourselves that we are a community of brain growers who celebrate one another's growth.

I hope that teaching your students about mindsets and the brain, developing growth mindset self talk, and creating growth goals are helpful in building your own community of growth mindset learners. How will you weave growth mindset into the fabric of your classroom? Please comment below to share your experiences.
Chana Stewart is a kindergarten and first grade looping teacher in East Palo Alto, California. She is a lead teacher, an America Achieves fellow, and a mentor for teaching candidates from the Stanford Teacher Education Program, of which she is an alum. Chana has been teaching at the East Palo Alto Charter School, an Aspire Public School, for six years. She is passionate about building a community of curious and engaged learners. Connect with her on Twitter: @chana_stewart.

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3 Tips to Foster A Community of Growth Mindset Learners

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As an educator, my hope is to develop joyful, self-directed, engaged learners. Learners who are curious about the world around them, who are excited to take on challenges, who are willing to take risks, and who are resilient and flexible in the face of failure. In sum, learners who have a growth mindset.

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Persist Through Challenges Build A Growth Mindset

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Persist Through Challenges Build A Growth Mindset

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Encouraging Students to Persist Through Challenges

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Encourage students to persist through challenges to build a growth mindset. In this video we discuss tips and strategies you can use to help students persevere through learning challenges.

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Strategies for Reaching Quiet, Disengaged, Struggling, and Troublemaking Students | Edutopia

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Strategies for Reaching Quiet, Disengaged, Struggling, and Troublemaking Students | Edutopia

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Strategies for Reaching Quiet, Disengaged, Struggling, and Troublemaking Students

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Not every student benefits from in-class participation, immediate answers, inflexible grading, or harsh consequences. Learn the nuances for those requiring deeper recognition and a lighter touch.

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5 Ways Teachers Inspire and Motivate Students

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5 Ways Teachers Inspire and Motivate Students

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In light of recently honoring our most inspiring educators with our Envisionary Awards, we couldn't help but wonder: "How do teachers do what they do?" You spend long hours altering lesson plans and figuring out new and exciting ways to keep those bright young minds interested in learning. Like any good student, we needed answers (and here at Envision we are constantly learning). We did our research and found five ways teachers inspire and motivate their students daily.

1. If You're Excited, They're Excited

Enthusiasm is contagious. Use your knowledge and love of the subject to come up with examples your students can relate to and understand. Introduce the subject slowly through an interesting activity or group project. If you are giddy about finding new ways to implement a pulley system in a Rube Goldberg machine, chances are, they will be too.

2. Competition with Others vs. Competition with Themselves

Competition is tricky. If you're not the type of teacher that encourages competition in the classroom, a softer approach may work the best. Organize your students into teams and offer a first and second prize to encourage a friendly contest. Using TV format learning games are always a good idea when testing subject matter, and you can try the team approach for long term projects. Another way to keep students interested is to promote competition with themselves. Ask them to time themselves as they answer questions on a fact sheet and challenge them to beat their fastest time. They can track their improvement weekly and be able to see the comparison firsthand.

3. Reward Them

One motivational method that will never fail is giving rewards and praise for a job well done. Rewards can be general or subject based, and can range anywhere from a class field trip to a movie day. Ask your students what their ideal Friday would look like, and offer their suggestions as an incentive to aim higher on their next exam! Even a small gesture like saying "great job!" could make the difference in a student's attitude and approach to learning.

4. Let Them Take Ownership

Dole out responsibilities for each of your students, or separate them into small task groups. Whether it's being responsible for writing out the lesson of the day on the board or taking attendance in the mornings, giving students a concrete role in the class will help them feel more involved and give them a sense of autonomy when they can actually see their work or task as its being implemented.

5. Student Sourced Lesson Plans

Sit through a Q&A with your students and ask them what subjects they would be most interested in learning and why. Use a multiple-choice format to avoid "yes" and "no" answers, and figure out how you can work in their favorite subjects throughout the year. Try testing out this method by designating one day a week or month to exploring your student's lesson plans. You can even make it fun by hosting a "theme" day!

Do you agree with these methods? What are some of the best ways you encourage your students to stay motivated? Comment below!

Sources:

http://www.teachhub.com/top-12-ways-motivate-students

http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/09/02/six-ways-motivate-students-to-learn/

http://busyteacher.org/6943-teachers-top-10-ways-to-motivate-students.html

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5 Ways Teachers Inspire and Motivate Students

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We often wonder, how do teachers keep up the daily slog and continue to inspire their students? We believed there must be a secret. We found we were sort of right. Explore these 5 tips to find inspiration and motivation for yourself and students!

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10 Ways to Determine the Strengths of Our Students | Connected Principals

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10 Ways to Determine the Strengths of Our Students | Connected Principals

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It is no secret that I am a big believer in embracing the power of a strength-based philosophy in education. I have written about the why and how, but the question that comes up in workshops is: how do I determine the strengths of my students?

An important activity is for students to understand that each and every one of them has strengths. These can come in the form of activities (ex. dance, hockey, math, etc) and in the form of character strengths. It is also important to share what these strengths could look like in each student; strengths are not something that a student needs to be the best at but more about personal skills, qualities, traits and virtues that students have developed. For a poster of 24 character strengths (developed by Dr. Martin Seligman) click here. This poster can be used as a way for students to choose character strengths that may represent them. For middle and high school students, I recommend watching the short film "The Butterfly Circus" as a way to lead to deeper dialogue on the view that every person has strengths and it depends on the perspective we choose.

Through the work of many passionate educators whom I have had the chance to work and/or learn with (in schools as well as online and in workshops), I have come across the following ideas:

1. "All About Me" Activities - These are common in many classes and provide students with the opportunity to share a bit about who they are through a visual arts or writing process.

The Identity Tree - family and friends make up the roots, interests and strengths make up the trunk and character strengths/virtues make up the leaves

Student Identity Crest - include family, culture, strengths and interests

Presentation - each student creates a slide/poster that includes important images and words of strengths and interests.

All About Me Book - often used for students with special needs but is something that can be used for all students. Some of the students at our school have been doing this with the "Book Creator" app on the iPad.

Movies - some of our students have used iMovie to share a bit about themselves to share with peers and educators in the school.

Word Clouds - students love using wordle, tagxedo, etc to create word clouds that include their strengths and interests.

2. Class Survey - use a paper survey, a google form, or other online surveys (with permission) to ask questions about strengths and interests in and out of school. You can also survey family members to provide thoughts about the student. This would be great to be included in a student's file.

3. Shared Stories - through prompts, students can share stories of themselves that reveal strengths.

"What makes your heart sing?"

If I had a day to help someone/something I would...

I was most proud of myself when I...

4. "Who Am I?" Flowchart - I came across the flowchart created by Leyton Schnellert (2011) and recreated it in the image below:

5. Spend Time With A Student - A 2×10 strategy can be done for students who are struggling but can also be used as a way to get to know any student. Spend 2 minutes a day for 10 days straight having a natural conversation with a student. Find out what brings out the smile and move deeper in the following days. Other teachers I know have lunch (or "tea") with one or two students each week engaging in natural dialogue. Something as simple as spending quality time can have a lasting impact on a child and open up our eyes to their lives beyond school.

6. Identity Day - Although this is generally done as a school-wide event, it can also be done within a class. During Identity Day, students plan, prepare and share a presentation about themselves. They can present on a strength, an interest, their family, culture... anything that represents who they are. I have been involved in two school-wide Identity Days and it is a great way for students and staff to better connect with each other on strengths and interests. For a description of Identity Day, click here. For resources that can help you run an Identity Day click here.

7. Create Space for Strengths to be Revealed - More and more teachers are providing time each week for students to explore and create in areas of strength and interest. Ideas like 20% Time, Genius Hour, and Innovation Days provide opportunities for students to showcase and bring out their strengths.

8. Strengths Chats - For educators struggling to find the strengths in one or two students, Kathy Cox has developed a strengths grid that can be used to frame individual conversations with students (called "strengths chats"). She has divided strengths into social, academic, athletic, artistic, cultural/spiritual, and mechanical. You can view the strengths grid in her article here.

9. Observe - Take the time to watch and listen to your students. Ask the right questions. Instead of asking "how was your weekend?", ask "what was good about this weekend?" or be like Dora and ask "what was your favourite part?" :-). Create space in the lessons for students to share stories that reveal skills, traits, and virtues. You can also ask family members and friends to share what they feel a student's strengths are. In elementary, watch a child during choice times and recess.

10. Ask Adults - If you are struggling to see the strengths within a student, check with a former teacher, coach, family member who has observed the student in his/her element doing something that helped them to flourish in that moment. If a student had success with a former teacher, tap into this!

For the vast majority of our students, it is not difficult to create the conditions for strengths to be revealed. The challenge is often to create ways for these student strengths to be used more often within the school. For some ideas to get you started on including the strengths of students, click here. For some of our students, though, life has been a series of challenges and they often hesitate to open up to let us in. For students with years of struggle, the fact that they come to school most days can show a real strength in resiliency, determination, or courage so this can be a starting point to embracing character strengths.

Some may be overwhelmed with the thought of trying to determine the strengths of ALL student (some high school teachers teach 200+ students during the week); my recommendation is to start with one student ... use some of the aforementioned strategies to determine the strengths of one child and build from there. The role of the principal is critical as well as they too must be involved in modeling and looking through the strength-based lens to impact school culture beyond the classrooms.

I realize many teachers already do some or many of these ideas and some do much more. I would love to hear and learn more... how do you determine the strengths of your students?

Originally posted on "The Wejr Board" blog. @chriswejr
Click here for an archive of a great Edcamp35 conversation on embracing the strengths of students.

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10 Ways to Determine the Strengths of Our Students

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It is no secret that I am a big believer in embracing the power of a strength-based philosophy in education. I have written about the why and how, but the question that comes up in workshops is: how do I determine the strengths of my students?

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Colorado Teacher Shares Heartbreaking Notes From Third Graders - ABC News

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Colorado Teacher Shares Heartbreaking Notes From Third Graders - ABC News

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Kyle Schwartz teaches third grade at Doull Elementary in Denver.

Although she says her students are a pleasure to look after, the educator of three years adds that many of them come from underprivileged homes.

"Ninety-two percent of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch," Schwartz tells ABC News. "As a new teacher, I struggled to understand the reality of my students' lives and how to best support them. I just felt like there was something I didn't know about my students."

In a bid to build trust between her and her students, Schwartz thought up a lesson plan called "I Wish My Teacher Knew."

For the activity, Schwartz's third graders jot down a thought for their teacher, sharing something they'd like her to know about them.

"I let students determine if they would like to answer anonymously," she says. "I have found that most students are not only willing to include their name, but also enjoy sharing with the class. Even when what my students are sharing is sensitive in nature, most students want their classmates to know.

"Some notes are heartbreaking like the first #iwishmyteacherknew tweet which read, 'I wish my teacher knew I don't have pencils at home to do my homework.' I care deeply about each and every one of my students and I don't want any of them to have to suffer the consequences of living in poverty, which is my main motivation for teaching."

Blown away by her class' honesty, Schwartz shared some of the notes on Twitter using the hashtag #IWishMyTeacherKnew, encouraging fellow teachers to employ the same lesson with their own students.

The tweets and photos of notes from other schools came pouring in from around the world.

"I think it caught on so fast because teachers are highly collaborative and freely share and explore resources," Schwartz says. "In the end, all teachers want to support their students, and #iwishmyteacherknew is a simple and powerful way to do that.

"Building community in my classroom is a major goal of this lesson. After one student shared that she had no one to play with at recess, the rest of the class chimed in and said, 'we got your back.' The next day during recess, I noticed she was playing with a group of girls. Not only can I support my students, but my students can support each other."

Schwartz says she also hopes her lesson can help her connect students and their families with the proper resources they need to live comfortably.

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Grade 3 Teacher Reveals Heartbreaking Notes From Students

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Kyle Schwartz teaches third grade at Doull Elementary in Denver. Although she says her students are a pleasure to look after, the educator of three years adds that many of them come from underprivileged homes. "Ninety-two percent of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch," Schwartz tells ABC News.

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Preparing a Classroom Culture for Deeper Learning | Edutopia

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Preparing a Classroom Culture for Deeper Learning | Edutopia

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After reading an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, students form a circle to engage in conversation about liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The inquiry circle begins with two questions posed by the teacher:

What is more important, liberty or the pursuit of happiness?

Are liberty and the pursuit of happiness inalienable rights?

To begin, some students argue that liberty and the pursuit of happiness are only open to the people who follow rules within a society. Others argue that while they agree to the rule of law, the argument might have exceptions. One student asks, "Is it morally right to take away freedoms for all crimes committed?" Another student responds, "Yes, what if a crime is committed to save someone's life?"

This leads to a conversation about the nature of happiness. Students argue that happiness lacks a universal definition. One student shares, "Collecting baseball cards makes me happy, but not everyone likes this hobby." They also question that laws might limit the pursuit of happiness for some. A girl explains, "My family and I like to go to the beach on the weekends, but we would be happier if we could bring our dog."

While the conversation was rich and rooted in deeper learning and understanding, the inquiry-based discussion did not end within the classroom. At the request of the students and with the facilitation of the teacher, the discussion extended into a Twitter chat that spanned several days.

Deeper student learning can evolve over time facilitated by an educator who is skilled in the art of thinking within a carefully crafted environment. I believe this can occur in all classrooms. To achieve deeper student learning, I suggest beginning with five cultural transitions.

1. Engage in Inquiry-Based Professional Development

The development of formal thinking and logical reasoning skills is necessary to achieving deeper learning. Educators should first immerse themselves in professional development focused on building inquiry skills, possibly within the field of philosophy. Learning to think deeply is a prerequisite to planning lessons with flexibility and creativity, both of which are critical aspects to achieving deeper student learning.

Prior to students becoming skilled at inquiry-based discussions, teachers must verbally model thinking skills for students by thinking aloud and making unlikely connections. Deeper learning necessitates deeper teaching.
Photo Credit: Elizabeth A. Garcia
2. Formulate a Classroom Community of Inquiry

Establishing a community of inquiry involves students learning to respect the ideas of others and share their thoughts freely. They should not be afraid of making mistakes. Begin by creating a "community ball," or inside-out yarn ball, as a tool to facilitate respectful conversation. Students should form a circle and share information about themselves while wrapping yarn around a cardboard rectangle. After the last student shares information about him- or herself while wrapping the cardboard form, tie one side of the yarn loop and cut the opposite side. Each strand is representative of the group's stories, serving as a representation of each individual's importance to the group. Educators must teach students to listen to the ideas of others, giving adequate time to hear their thoughts and internalize the information. The community ball helps to facilitate time for inquiry, reflection, and respect for the speaker during classroom discussions.

3. Start Simply and Exercise the Brain Daily

Learning how to think is similar to an artist perfecting his or her craft -- it evolves over time with adequate practice. Deep learning cannot be seen as a special classroom activity, but rather as a replacement to surface-level instruction. As an introduction to thinking and inquiry skills, I recommend the use of children's picture books or reproductions of visual art. The simple lessons and morals within children's stories and interpretations of art allow for discussions that are focused on building thinking skills. Beginning with a complex text would be counterintuitive to the learning goal, which should be primarily aimed at developing a thinking community. Over time, students will build the necessary skills to analyze more complex documents, text, and academic vocabulary, raising performance with the Common Core ELA standards.

4. Make Learning Relevant

Have students retell or reimagine learning content with a modern-day twist. Make learning relevant, meaningful, and tied to the generational characteristics of your students. When reviewing a historical document, have students rewrite the document with current jargon, allowing for a deeper understanding of its meaning. This also develops creative ways of thinking about the information, so that they can make connections and think outside of the box.

5. Integrate Technological Resources

While human beings have communicated through stories, symbols, writing, and discussions throughout history, these modes of communication are far from the only options available to the modern-day educator. Teachers have access to exciting technological options that can be used to promote deeper learning. Twitter chats, blogs, or group text messaging can extend deep and enriching discussions by allowing for a period of reflection. The newly-learned concepts can be more deeply understood by analyzing, comparing, and contrasting the information over time. Technological tools provide an opportunity for extended thinking.

Establishing a culture of inquiry is a necessary prerequisite to achieving deeper student learning. The art of thinking flourishes within an emotionally, intellectually and physically safe learning environment that is carefully constructed by the classroom teacher. The development of philosophical dispositions must be fostered within both students and educators, because deep thinking is supported by deep teaching.

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Preparing a Classroom Culture for Deeper Learning

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After reading an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, students form a circle to engage in conversation about liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The inquiry circle begins with two questions posed by the teacher: What is more important, liberty or the pursuit of happiness? Are liberty and the pursuit of happiness inalienable rights?

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30 Techniques to Quiet a Noisy Class | Edutopia

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30 Techniques to Quiet a Noisy Class | Edutopia

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One day, in front 36 riotous sophomores, I clutched my chest and dropped to my knees like Sergeant Elias at the end of Platoon. Instantly, dead silence and open mouths replaced classroom Armageddon. Standing up like nothing had happened, I said, "Thanks for your attention -- let's talk about love poems."

I never used that stunt again. After all, should a real emergency occur, it would be better if students call 911 rather than post my motionless body on YouTube. I've thought this through.

Most teachers use silencing methods, such as flicking the lights, ringing a call bell (see Teacher Tipster's charming video on the subject), raising two fingers, saying "Attention, class," or using Harry Wong's Give Me 5 -- a command for students to:

1. Focus their eyes on the speaker

2. Be quiet

3. Be still

4. Empty their hands

5. Listen.

There is also the "three fingers" version, which stands for stop, look, and listen. Fortunately, none of these involve medical hoaxes.

Lesser known techniques are described below and categorized by grade bands:

How to Quiet Kindergarten and Early Elementary School Children

Novelty successfully captures young students' attention, such as the sound of a wind chime or rain stick. Beth O., in Cornerstone for Teachers, tells her students, "Pop a marshmallow in." Next she puffs up her cheeks, and the kids follow suit. It's hard to speak with an imaginary marshmallow filling your mouth.

An equally imaginative approach involves filling an empty Windex bottle with lavender mineral oil, then relabeling the bottle " Quiet Spray." Or you can blow magic "hush-bubbles" for a similar impact.

If you want to go electronic, check out Traffic Light by ICT Magic, which is simply a stoplight for talkers. Other digital methods include the Super Sound Box, Class Dojo, or the Too Noisy App -- an Apple and Android tool that determines noise level and produces an auditory signal when voices become too loud.

Late Elementary and Middle Grade Attention Getters

Back when I taught middle school students, I would announce, "Silent 20," as a way to conclude an activity. If students returned to their seats and were completely quiet in 20 seconds, I advanced them one space on a giant facsimile of Game of Life. When they reached the last square (which took approximately one month), we held a popcorn party.

One of the best ways to maintain a quiet classroom is to catch students at the door before they enter. During these encounters, behavior management expert Rob Plevin recommends using "non-confrontational statements" and "informal chit-chat" to socialize kids into productive behaviors, as modeled in Plevin's video.

Two approaches for securing "100 percent attention" are modeled in a short video narrated by Teach Like a Champion author Doug Lemov -- a minimally invasive hand gesture and countdown technique ("I need two people. You know who you are. I need one person . . . ").

Another idea is to use a content "word of the week" to signal that it's time for silence. Examples: integer, renaissance, or circuit.

Quieting High School Students

Sometimes, rambunctious high school classrooms need a little longer to comply. In An ELT Notebook article, Rob Johnson recommends that teachers write the following instructions in bold letters on the chalkboard:

If you wish to continue talking during my lesson, I will have to take time off you at break. By the time I've written the title on the board you need to be sitting in silence. Anyone who is still talking after that will be kept behind for five minutes.

The strategy always, always works, says Johnson, because it gives students adequate warning.

Another technique, playing classical music (Bach, not Mahler) on low volume when learners enter the room, sets a professional tone. I played music with positive subliminal messages to ninth graders until they complained that it gave them headaches.

Call and Response

Below is a collection of catchy sayings that work as cues to be quiet, the first ones appropriate for early and middle grade students, and the later ones field tested to work with high school kids.

The teacher says... Holy. The students respond with... Macaroni.

The teacher says... 1, 2, 3, eyes on me. The students respond with... 1, 2, eyes on you.

The teacher says... I'm incredible. The students respond with... like the Hulk. Grrrrrr. (Kids flex during the last sound.)

The teacher says... Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. The students respond with... macarena.

The teacher says... I get knocked down. The students respond with... but I get up again, you're never going to keep me down.

The teacher says... Oh Mickey, you're so fine. The students respond with... you're so fine, you blow my mind -- hey Mickey.

The teacher says... The only easy day. The students respond with... was yesterday. (A Navy Seals slogan)

Implementation Suggestions

For maximum effect, teach your quiet signal and procedure, as demonstrated in this elementary level classroom video. Next, have kids rehearse being noisy until you give the signal for silence. Don't accept anything less than 100 percent compliance. Then describe appropriate levels of noise for different contexts, such as when you're talking (zero noise) or during a writing workshop (quiet voices), etc.

If a rough class intimidates you (we've all been there), privately practice stating the following in an authoritative voice: "My words are important. Students will listen to me." Say it until you believe it. Finally, take comfort in the knowledge that, out of three million U.S. educators who taught today, two or three might have struggled to silence a rowdy class.

How do you get your students' attention?

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30 Techniques to Quiet a Noisy Class | Edutopia

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One day, in front 36 riotous sophomores, I clutched my chest and dropped to my knees like Sergeant Elias at the end of Platoon. Instantly, dead silence and open mouths replaced classroom Armageddon. Standing up like nothing had happened, I said, "Thanks for your attention -- let's talk about love poems." I never used that stunt again.

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10 Team-Building Games For The First Day Of Class

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10 Team-Building Games For The First Day Of Class

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by TeachThought Staff

Team-building activities are great. Not only can they help establish routines, tone, and expectations, they're also fun, and can help learners feel comfortable. Though many older students in high school and college may groan at their thought, they're usually fun, and great ways to help students feel at ease. Before you dismiss them as too juvenile, try one. You might be surprised.

Note that which game you choose, your rules for the game, and any revisions to the rules depend on the nature of the class you're using them with. Certain students may feel overly liberated-especially in middle school-with the idea of a "game," and so expectations must be carefully given to younger K-8 learners-and even 9-12-to ensure that every student is set up for success.
1. Me Too!
Ideal Grade Levels: K-20

First student gives a fact about themselves-I love basketball, I have two sisters, etc. If that statement or fact is true about another student, they stand up and say "Me too!" They can also stay seated, but simply raise their hand and say "Me too!"
2. Park Bench
Ideal Grade Levels: 6-20

Two chairs are placed together to resemble park bench. Two students volunteer-or are selected-to act out "what happened" in a fictional news story. They are given one minute to prepare a scene where they discuss the "event" without every actually saying what happened. After given time period (1-5 minutes), peers guess "what happened," but they must give up all four important details: Who, What, Where, and When, e.g.:

What: College Basketball game

Who: Kentucky and Kansas

When: Early April

Where: New Orleans
3. Fact or Fiction
Ideal Grade Levels: 3-12

In circle, first student offers two facts and one piece of fiction about themselves. Others raise hand or are called on to identify which were facts, and which were fiction. The correct guesser goes next. Play is completed when all students have gone.
4. Green Door
Ideal Grade Levels: 5-20

Leader chooses a topic, but keeps it quiet, only saying that "You can bring a ____ through the green door." Students are then forced to deduce the topic by asking if other things can be brought through the green door as well, e.g., "Can I bring a _____ through the green door?"

Leader can only reply yes or no. When topic is identified, topic resets. Topics can be content related, such as parts of speech, colors, geometric figures, historical figures, etc.
5. One Minute Talk
Ideal Grade Levels: 5-20

Students are chosen to give 60 second talks on anything, from self-selected topics they are passionate about, have specific expertise in, etc., to topics given from teacher.
6. Count to Ten
Ideal Grade Levels: 3-20

All students stand in circle. First student says "1," or "1,2." The next student picks up where that student left off, and can say a maximum number of 2 numbers. The movement continues clockwise until it gets to 10, where that student has to sit, and the game starts back over at 1 at the next student. Note that there can be no pausing or silent counting-any pauses or indications the student is counting/calculating forces them to sit. Also, pouting or talking during counting results in elimination from future rounds. The big idea is to count strategically so that you can keep from saying "10."
7. I Never
Ideal Grade Levels: K-20

Students form circle. First student says something they've never done. Each student that has done the thing the other student has not steps briefly into the center. The game continues until every person has stated something they've done.
8. Magic Ball
Ideal Grade Levels: K-20

Students form circle. First student is "given" imaginary magic ball. Student sculpts imaginary ball into new shape, handing it to person to their right. Activity is silent. Any talking/noise results in student sitting. After game, guessing may be done to predict what "sculpture" was.
9. Silent Line
Ideal Grade Levels: K-8

Students are given a criteria, and must silently put themselves in a line as quickly as possible, to meet a goal, compete against other classes, or receive some reward (free reading time, no homework, etc.) The criteria can simple (birthdays), or slightly more complicated (alphabetical order of college or career ambition).
10. Inside-Outside Circle
Ideal Grade Levels: 3-20

Students form a circle within a circle with (ideally) equal number of students in both circles. Inside circle members pair with outside circle members. Activity leader (usually teacher, but can be a student) presents a topic, prompt, or question. Partners share for 10 seconds (or less), leader asks inside circle to move clockwise a certain number of spaces to collaborate with new partners directly across from them. This is usually content focuses, and helps spur quick discussion on content related topics, or even current events.
Source: The Advisory Book by Linda Crawford

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10 Team-Building Games For The First Day Of Class

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by TeachThought Staff Team-building activities are great. Not only can they help establish routines, tone, and expectations, they're also fun, and can help learners feel comfortable. Though many older students in high school and college may groan at their thought, they're usually fun, and great ways to help students feel at ease.

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10 Characteristics Of A Highly Effective Learning Environment

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10 Characteristics Of A Highly Effective Learning Environment

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by Terry Heick
For in-person professional development from TeachThought on how to create an effective learning environment in your classroom or school, contact us today.
Wherever we are, we'd all like to think our classrooms are "intellectually active" places. Progressive learning(like our 21st Century Model, for example) environments. Highly effective and conducive to student-centered learning. But what does that mean?

The reality is, there is no single answer because teaching and learning are awkward to consider as single events or individual "things." This is all a bunch of rhetoric until we put on our white coats and study it under a microscope, at which point abstractions like curiosity, authenticity, self-knowledge, and affection will be hard to pin down.

So we put together one take on the characteristics of a highly effective classroom. They can act as a kind of criteria to measure your own against-see if you notice a pattern.
10 Characteristics Of A Highly Effective Learning Environment 1. The students ask the questions-good questions This is not a feel-good implication, but really crucial for the whole learning process to work.
The role of curiosity has been studied (and perhaps under-studied and under-appreciated), but suffice to say that if a learner enters any learning activity with little to no natural curiosity, prospects for meaningful interaction with texts, media, and specific tasks are bleak. (Interested in how to kill learner curiosity in 12 easy steps?)
2. Questions are valued over answers 3. Ideas come from a divergent sources
Many teachers force students (proverbial gun to head) to ask questions at the outset of units or lessons, often to no avail. Cliché questions that reflect little understanding of the content can discourage teachers from "allowing" them. But the fact remains-if students can't ask great questions-even as young as elementary school-something, somewhere is unplugged.
4. A variety of learning models are used 5. Classroom learning "empties" into a connected community
Questions are more important than answers. So it makes sense that if good questions should lead the learning, there would be value placed on these questions. And that means adding currency whenever possible-grades (questions as assessment!), credit (give them points-they love points), creative curation (writing as a kind of graffiti on large post-it pages on the classroom walls), or simply praise and honest respect. See if you don't notice a change.

Ideas for lessons, reading, tests, and projects-the fiber of formal learning-should come from a variety of sources. If they all come from narrow slivers of resources, you're at risk of being pulled way off in one direction (that may or may not be good). An alternative? Consider sources like professional and cultural mentors, the community, content experts outside of education, and even the students themselves. Huge shift in credibility.
6. Learning is personalized by a variety of criteria
And when these sources disagree with one another, use that as an endlessly "teachable moment," because that's what the real world is like.
7. Assessment is persistent, authentic, transparent, and never punitive
Inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, direct instruction, peer-to-peer learning, school-to-school, eLearning, Mobile learning, the flipped classroom, and on and on-the possibilities are endless. Chances are, none are incredible enough to suit every bit of content, curriculum, and learner diversity in your classroom. A characteristic of a highly-effective classroom, then, is diversity here, which also has the side-effect of improving your long-term capacity as an educator.
8. Criteria for success is balanced and transparent. 9. Learning habits are constantly modeled
In a highly-effective learning environment, learning doesn't need to be radically repackaged to make sense in the "real world," but starts and ends there.
10. There are constant opportunities for practice
As great as it sounds for learners to reflect on Shakespeare to better understand their Uncle Eddie-and they might-depending on that kind of radical transfer to happen entirely in the minds of the learners by design may not be the best idea. Plan on this kind of transfer from the beginning.
Image attribution flicker user flickeringbrad and josekevo; 10 Characteristics Of A Highly Effective Learning Environment 10 Characteristics Of A Highly Effective Learning Environment For in-person professional development from TeachThought on how to create an effective learning environment in your classroom or school, contact us today.
It has to leave the classroom because they do.

Personalized learning is likely the future, but for now the onus for routing students is almost entirely on the shoulders of the classroom teacher. This makes personalization-and even consistent differentiation-a challenge. One response is to personalize learning-to whatever extent you plan for-by a variety of criteria-not just assessment results or reading level, but interest, readiness-for-content, and others as well.

Then, as you adjust pace, entry points, and rigor accordingly, you'll have a better chance of having uncovered what the learners truly "need".
10 Characteristics Of A Highly Effective Learning Environment 1. The students ask the questions-good questions This is not a feel-good implication, but really crucial for the whole learning process to work.
Assessment is just an (often ham-fisted) attempt to get at what a learner understands. The more infrequent, clinical, murky, or threatening it is, the more you're going to separate the "good students" from the "good thinkers." And the "clinical" idea has less to do with the format of the test, and more to do with the tone and emotion of the classroom in general. Why are students being tested? What's in it for them, and their future opportunities to improve?
2. Questions are valued over answers 3. Ideas come from a divergent sources
And feedback is quick even when the "grading" may not be.
4. A variety of learning models are used 5. Classroom learning "empties" into a connected community
Students should not have to guess what "success" in a highly-effective classroom looks like. It should also not be entirely weighted on "participation," assessment results, attitude, or other individual factors, but rather meaningfully melted into a cohesive framework that makes sense-not to you, your colleagues, or the expert book on your shelf, but the students themselves.

Cognitive, meta-cognitive, and behavioral "good stuff" is constantly modeled. Curiosity, persistence, flexibility, priority, creativity, collaboration, revision, and even the classic Habits of Mind are all great places to start. So often what students learn from those around them is less directly didactic, and more indirect and observational.
6. Learning is personalized by a variety of criteria
Monkey see, monkey do.
7. Assessment is persistent, authentic, transparent, and never punitive
Old thinking is revisited. Old errors are reflected on. Complex ideas are re-approached from new angles. Divergent concepts are contrasted. Bloom's taxonomy is constantly traveled up and down, from the simple to the complex in an effort to maximize a student's opportunities to learn-and demonstrate understanding-of content.
8. Criteria for success is balanced and transparent. 9. Learning habits are constantly modeled
For professional development around this idea or others you read about on TeachThought, contact us.
10. There are constant opportunities for practice
by Terry Heick
Image attribution flicker user flickeringbrad and josekevo; 10 Characteristics Of A Highly Effective Learning Environment
Wherever we are, we'd all like to think our classrooms are "intellectually active" places. Progressive learning(like our 21st Century Model, for example) environments. Highly effective and conducive to student-centered learning. But what does that mean?

The reality is, there is no single answer because teaching and learning are awkward to consider as single events or individual "things." This is all a bunch of rhetoric until we put on our white coats and study it under a microscope, at which point abstractions like curiosity, authenticity, self-knowledge, and affection will be hard to pin down.

So we put together one take on the characteristics of a highly effective classroom. They can act as a kind of criteria to measure your own against-see if you notice a pattern.

The role of curiosity has been studied (and perhaps under-studied and under-appreciated), but suffice to say that if a learner enters any learning activity with little to no natural curiosity, prospects for meaningful interaction with texts, media, and specific tasks are bleak. (Interested in how to kill learner curiosity in 12 easy steps?)

Many teachers force students (proverbial gun to head) to ask questions at the outset of units or lessons, often to no avail. Cliché questions that reflect little understanding of the content can discourage teachers from "allowing" them. But the fact remains-if students can't ask great questions-even as young as elementary school-something, somewhere is unplugged.

Questions are more important than answers. So it makes sense that if good questions should lead the learning, there would be value placed on these questions. And that means adding currency whenever possible-grades (questions as assessment!), credit (give them points-they love points), creative curation (writing as a kind of graffiti on large post-it pages on the classroom walls), or simply praise and honest respect. See if you don't notice a change.

Ideas for lessons, reading, tests, and projects-the fiber of formal learning-should come from a variety of sources. If they all come from narrow slivers of resources, you're at risk of being pulled way off in one direction (that may or may not be good). An alternative? Consider sources like professional and cultural mentors, the community, content experts outside of education, and even the students themselves. Huge shift in credibility.

And when these sources disagree with one another, use that as an endlessly "teachable moment," because that's what the real world is like.

Inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, direct instruction, peer-to-peer learning, school-to-school, eLearning, Mobile learning, the flipped classroom, and on and on-the possibilities are endless. Chances are, none are incredible enough to suit every bit of content, curriculum, and learner diversity in your classroom. A characteristic of a highly-effective classroom, then, is diversity here, which also has the side-effect of improving your long-term capacity as an educator.

In a highly-effective learning environment, learning doesn't need to be radically repackaged to make sense in the "real world," but starts and ends there.

As great as it sounds for learners to reflect on Shakespeare to better understand their Uncle Eddie-and they might-depending on that kind of radical transfer to happen entirely in the minds of the learners by design may not be the best idea. Plan on this kind of transfer from the beginning.

It has to leave the classroom because they do.

Personalized learning is likely the future, but for now the onus for routing students is almost entirely on the shoulders of the classroom teacher. This makes personalization-and even consistent differentiation-a challenge. One response is to personalize learning-to whatever extent you plan for-by a variety of criteria-not just assessment results or reading level, but interest, readiness-for-content, and others as well.

Then, as you adjust pace, entry points, and rigor accordingly, you'll have a better chance of having uncovered what the learners truly "need".

Assessment is just an (often ham-fisted) attempt to get at what a learner understands. The more infrequent, clinical, murky, or threatening it is, the more you're going to separate the "good students" from the "good thinkers." And the "clinical" idea has less to do with the format of the test, and more to do with the tone and emotion of the classroom in general. Why are students being tested? What's in it for them, and their future opportunities to improve?

And feedback is quick even when the "grading" may not be.

Students should not have to guess what "success" in a highly-effective classroom looks like. It should also not be entirely weighted on "participation," assessment results, attitude, or other individual factors, but rather meaningfully melted into a cohesive framework that makes sense-not to you, your colleagues, or the expert book on your shelf, but the students themselves.

Cognitive, meta-cognitive, and behavioral "good stuff" is constantly modeled. Curiosity, persistence, flexibility, priority, creativity, collaboration, revision, and even the classic Habits of Mind are all great places to start. So often what students learn from those around them is less directly didactic, and more indirect and observational.

Monkey see, monkey do.

Old thinking is revisited. Old errors are reflected on. Complex ideas are re-approached from new angles. Divergent concepts are contrasted. Bloom's taxonomy is constantly traveled up and down, from the simple to the complex in an effort to maximize a student's opportunities to learn-and demonstrate understanding-of content.

For professional development around this idea or others you read about on TeachThought, contact us.

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10 Characteristics Of A Highly Effective Learning Environment

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by Terry Heick For in-person professional development from TeachThought on how to create an effective learning environment in your classroom or school, contact us today. Wherever we are, we'd all like to think our classrooms are "intellectually active" places. Progressive learning(like our 21st Century Model , for example) environments.

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10 Team-Building Games That Promote Collaborative Critical Thinking

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10 Team-Building Games That Promote Collaborative Critical Thinking

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by TeachThought Staff

One of education's primary goals is to groom the next generation of little humans to succeed in the 'real world.'

Yes, there are mounds of curricula they must master in a wide breadth of subjects, but education does not begin and end with a textbook or test.

Other skills must be honed, too, not the least of which is how to get along with their peers and work well with others. This is not something that can be cultivated through rote memorization or with strategically placed posters.

Students must be engaged and cooperation must be practiced, and often. The following team-building games can promote cooperation and communication, help establish a positive classroom environment and - most importantly - provide a fun, much-needed reprieve from routine.

See also Team-Building Games For The First Day Of School
10 Team-Building Games That Promote Collaborative Critical Thinking
You can purchase a classroom-ready version of team-building games that promote critical thinking here.
1. If You Build it...
This team-building game is flexible. First, divide students into teams and give them equal amounts of a certain material, like pipe cleaners, blocks, or even dried spaghetti and marshmallows.

Then, give them something to construct. The challenge can be variable (think: Which team can build the tallest, structurally-sound castle? Which team can build a castle the fastest?). You can recycle this activity throughout the year by adapting the challenge or materials to specific content areas.
Skills: Communication; problem-solving
This activity can get messy and may be suitable for older children who can follow safety guidelines when working with raw eggs. Teams must work together to find a way to 'save' the egg (Humpty Dumpty for elementary school students?) - in this case, an egg dropped from a specific height. That could involve finding the perfect soft landing, or creating a device that guides the egg safely to the ground.

Let their creativity work here.
Skills: Problem-solving, creative collaboration 3. Zoom
Zoom is a classic classroom cooperative game that never seems to go out of style. Simply form students into a circle and give each a unique picture of an object, animal, or whatever else suits your fancy. You begin a story that incorporates whatever happens to be on your assigned photo. The next student continues the story, incorporating their photo, and so on.
Skills: Communication; creative collaboration 4. Minefield
Another classic team-building game. Arrange some sort of obstacle course and divide students into teams. Students take turns navigating the 'minefield' while blindfolded, with only their teammates to guide them. You can also require students to only use certain words or clues to make it challenging or content-area specific.
Skills: Communication; trust
See also 10 Team-Building Games For A Friendlier Classroom
5. The Worst-Case Scenario
Fabricate a scenario in which students would need to work together and solve problems to succeed, like being stranded on a deserted island or getting lost at sea. Ask them to work together to concoct a solution that ensures everyone arrives safely. You might ask them to come up with a list of 10 must-have items that would help them most, or a creative passage to safety. Encourage them to vote - everyone must agree to the final solution.
Skills: Communication, problem-solving 6. A Shrinking Vessel
This game requires a good deal of strategy in addition to teamwork. Its rules are deceptively simple: The entire group must find a way to occupy a space that shrinks over time until they are packed creatively like sardines. You can form the boundary with a rope, a tarp or blanket being folded over, or small traffic cones. (Skills: Problem-solving; teamwork)
7. Go for Gold
This game is similar to the 'If you build it' game: Teams have a common objective but instead of each one having the same materials, they have access to a whole cache of materials. For instance, the goal might be to create a contraption with pipes, rubber tubing, and pieces of cardboard that can carry a marble from point A to point B in a certain number of steps, using only gravity.
Creative collaboration; communication; problem-solving 8. It's a Mystery
Many children (and grown-ups) enjoy a good mystery, so why not design one that must be solved cooperatively? Give each student a numbered clue. In order to solve the mystery - say, the case of the missing mascot - children must work together to solve the clues in order. The 'case' might require them to move from one area of the room to the next, uncovering more clues.
Skills: Problem-solving, communication
That playground classic is still a hit - not to mention inexpensive and simple to execute. For a unique variation, set up a multi-directional game by tying ropes in such a way that three or four teams tug at once. Some teams might choose to work together to eliminate the other groups before going head-to-head.
Skills: Teamwork; sportsmanship 10. Keep it Real
This open-ended concept is simple and serves as an excellent segue into problem-based learning. Challenge students to identify and cooperatively solve a real problem in their schools or communities. You may set the parameters, including a time limit, materials, and physical boundaries.
Skills: Problem-solving; communication
While education technology is a basic and crucial component of the 21st-century classroom, educators must still ensure that students are engaging with each other in meaningful ways. Team-building exercises are a great way to do this, and because of this, they will never go out of style.
Aimee Hosler is a writer and mother of two living in Virginia. She specializes in a number of topics, but is particularly passionate about education and workplace news and trends. She holds a B.S. in Journalism from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and is a contributor to several websites including OnlineSchools.com; 10 Team-Building Games For Kids, Teenagers, or Adults

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10 Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking

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by TeachThought Staff One of education's primary goals is to groom the next generation of little humans to succeed in the 'real world.' Yes, there are mounds of curricula they must master in a wide breadth of subjects, but education does not begin and end with a textbook or test.

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The New York State Education Department is no longer supporting the EngageNY.org website and it will no longer be available for use after April 15, 2022. NYSED encourages educators to download any EngageNY content they wish to use in the future.

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Educational Leadership:Best of Educational Leadership 2010–2011:Movin' Up to the Middle

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Educational Leadership:Best of Educational Leadership 2010–2011:Movin' Up to the Middle

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Online August 2011 | Volume 68
Best of Educational Leadership 2010-2011 Pages 48-53

Rick Wormeli

At the beginning of each middle school year, teachers stand near their classroom doors and greet arriving students. They smile, shake a few hands, and direct the wide-eyed students to their seats, remarking to themselves, They're getting shorter every year.

By June, after a year of body growth, intense hormones, intellectual sparring, and distancing themselves from anything "so last year," these young adolescents are dramatically different beings. But even as educators pause to acknowledge the newly competent students standing before them who can hold their own in political debates and band competitions, a crop of fresh young faces once again demands its turn at bat.

And this is where it gets interesting.

Those Important Middle Years

The way we handle life in later years can often be traced back to specific experiences in middle school; it's that transformative. Robert Balfanz, a principal research scientist at Johns Hopkins University, presents compelling evidence that the middle school experience has direct correlation with graduation rates, particularly in high-poverty environments. And everyone from classroom teachers to the National Governors Association recognizes the powerful influence that high school graduation has on individuals' capacities to build meaningful lives and create workforce readiness.

It's interesting, too, how some adults revert to adolescent responses when stressed by conflict, failure, and risk taking. If we learn to handle issues constructively during these formative years, ages 10-15, we tend to respond positively to challenges later on.

So, if high school success, navigating the larger world, and discovering the direction we want our lives to take all have roots in young adolescence, why would anyone leave the transition into this impressionable phase to chance?

Give Me Five

Five mind-sets for educators are key to designing successful transition programs for incoming middle school students.

Understanding Students' Concern about Belonging

Belonging is one of the primary concerns for new middle-level students; addressing it is crucial for a successful transition. Teachers and administrators should assure students that their classes are a good match for their readiness, that their teachers understand them, and that they have roles to play in their own success.

Design classrooms and hallways with student interests in mind, with student work prominently displayed. Find ways to help students see themselves "doing middle school." For example, the year before they enter, invite students to shadow a middle school student for half a day. If that's difficult to arrange, show rising middle schoolers "A Day in the Life of a Middle School Student," a video that you've guided current middle school students to create for the incoming class. Let rising middle schoolers discuss middle school life with current middle school students. To make new students comfortable, conduct these conversations in students' elementary classrooms, not at the middle school.

In the first few weeks of school, give new middle schoolers meaningful tasks that foster a sense of belonging, such as doing the morning announcements, maintaining and operating classroom technology, and assisting in lesson delivery. This creates purposeful inclusion. Students at this age balk at superficiality and find it distancing, the opposite of belonging.

Joining clubs and organizations goes a long way to creating belonging as well. Team-building activities and participation in outdoor experiences, such as a ropes initiative course, are helpful here. A note of caution, however. Students are hungry for academics in their first few weeks of school. Contrary to stereotyped assertions about students at this age, day after day of get-to-know-you and team-building activities wears thin if students don't get to study specific course content as well. Set a can-do tone and high expectations early on by teaching intense course content during this time. Students will transition more readily if they feel that they're doing real middle school work, not just summer camp.

Empathizing with Students

Given the fact that a year in a middle school student's life is a much larger percentage of his or her overall life than it is for an adult; and given all the growth taking place-the mistakes, conflicts, insights, joy, tension, wisdom, and risk taking; and given that students lack the perspective that comes from life experience, it's no wonder that students experience their first year of middle school as intense and tumultuous. Every day is the end, or beginning, of all life as they know it.

Middle schools with the best transition programs are the ones in which faculty members are in touch with their inner, young adolescent; these educators can empathize with students because they remember what it was like when they were that age. This empathy helps teachers understand students' major worries: homework, demanding teachers, bullying, and getting lost. Schools should build practical advice for handling each one of these concerns into their transition programs.

To promote empathy and respond constructively to new students, it's helpful to think of your middle schoolers as having arrived in a new country in which they don't speak the language and don't know the customs. In fact, many strategies that are effective with transitioning new English language learners work equally well for helping incoming middle school students (see "20 Double-Duty Strategies").

Understanding the Characteristics of the Age Group

Can everyone on your faculty identify what makes a middle school developmentally appropriate for young adolescents? Many educators have little to no training in the specific needs of these learners. This lack of knowledge can limit the success of transition efforts and student learning.

Consider how teachers are meeting the physical and mental needs of this age group in the months before and after the first day of school. In the area of physical characteristics, girls mature faster than boys. In both genders, bones grow faster than muscles, so coordination is a big issue. With all the growth comes almost ceaseless appetite. The explosion of hormones coursing through the body causes increased development in sexual features as well as worry over body changes. There is an increased need for good hydration and nutrition.

Or consider various characteristics of students' maturing brains. The prefrontal cortex is not fully developed in most 10- to 15-year-olds. As a result, the navigating tools for academics and life are not completely "online" yet. These include decision making, impulse control, moral and abstract reasoning, planning, understanding consequences of words and actions, and other executive functions. There is an increased tendency toward addictive behaviors and pleasure seeking.

Middle schoolers are fiercely curious and independent, yet almost paradoxically, they crave social connection. They make insightful, candid observations about their learning, themselves, and the adults who guide them. They realize for the first time how wrong or misinformed adults can be, and they're not sure what to make of it. They move from concrete to abstract thinking, becoming skeptical about some things-"I want the school board to prove to me how knowing algebra will make me a better adult"-yet swallowing without complaint the ridiculous-"If I don't forward that chain letter to 13 of my friends, I'm going to fail the civics test on Friday."

Despite their natural egotism, young adolescents are extremely compassionate toward those who are less fortunate. Middle schoolers also make many connections among topics, recognizing and using patterns, relationships, metaphors, and nuance; and they enjoy asking questions to which there are no answers. They sort and apply complex data, solve problems, and argue from more than one position; and they are fascinated by real-world applications, morality, and justice.

Where in our transition programs do we respond to these needs and strengths?

Focusing on the Positive

The world excites these students, and they are eager to explore it, so it's jarring for them to spend the first week of school listening to an endless litany of edicts. With each information session on rules and limitations, wise teachers offer something positive that middle school students can do, even something as simple as being able to check out 10 books at a time from the library instead of the limit of two they had in elementary school.

Because middle schoolers seem so young, some teachers make the mistake of thinking they are less competent than they really are. They may not have experience in everything, but they're quick learners. Show them how to set up accounts on the school server, for example, and they'll post their own work, weave in content applications from multiple classes, create stylized presentations, and participate in problem-based wiki groups within the first week. Explain that there's a shortage of lab equipment, and they'll figure out the best way to maximize everyone's time using it.

Opening doors like this aids students' transition, so open them frequently and clearly. When scheduling a guest speaker, ask students to make the first contact with the speaker. Invite students to participate in planning an evening education event for parents, landscaping a portion of the school's property, or redesigning the school's website. Occasionally, ask students what kind of practice with today's topic would most benefit their learning; assign one of their suggestions as homework that evening.

It's also useful to teach students self-regulation, although they display this quality unevenly at this age. Marching as a class to the cafeteria for lunch and back, with the teacher monitoring their every move, is insulting. Teach students instead how to monitor themselves: What do they need to do to maintain a civil, learning atmosphere for others while they move through the hallway? Although it's fine to correct students' behavior, the goal is to build autonomy, not dependence.

For example, if chaos erupts when a visitor enters the classroom, suspend the lesson for a moment and discuss solutions to the problem. Have the class practice those constructive responses, including asking a volunteer to cause a fake interruption while the class maintains focus on the lesson. If students don't have the necessary supplies for the day's lesson, help them determine how they can continue their work until they get the necessary supplies instead of simply letting them off with, "Take the zero." For adults and middle schoolers alike, self-efficacy aids transition.

Building Hope

The only reason students raise their hands to answer a question, turn in assignments, or participate in the world is because there's hope for a positive outcome. Without hope, a child will throw down the ball and go home-and we can't teach a child who is not physically or emotionally present. Let's put hope into every day. This is not a syrupy greeting card sentiment-it's visceral. Maybe the teacher won't know what a jerk I was on the bus this morning, and I can start the day again in first period, Kellan hopes. Why did I just say that to Melissa? Adam worries. Can I fix this? Will she text me about it? And moments later, Lakiesha chants in her internal monologue, Please tell me I left my science notebook in my locker and not at home; please, please, please! Middle school hallways are filled with such longings: Maybe English class won't be so bad today, or, Maybe I'll get taller; my dad did when he was my age. To young adolescents, hope is oxygen.

Interestingly, parents and teachers often offer warnings instead of hope as their way of preparing students for middle school. Students do better with a clear picture of what to expect, advice on how to handle potential issues, and assurance they will be OK. This hope has a real effect on school performance.

When students are late for class, for example, they should expect a teacher response that preserves their dignity rather than demeans them in front of others. If students can't get their computer program to function so they can finish an assigned task within the class period, the teacher should provide additional resources and time for them to accomplish the task. If students break the trust by missing an assignment due date or cheating on a quiz, teachers need to identify clear avenues the students can take to rebuild that trust, including a finite window for being on probation for the infraction.

Moreover, if students struggle to control impulsive behaviors, such as making inappropriate noises, sending text messages during a lesson, or making snide remarks, these behaviors should not affect their grade for content knowledge. Being rude is not mentioned in the curricular objective "Understands oxidation." Academic grades should only report what's in the curriculum. When teachers can separate impulsive, immature behavior from academics, there's hope for students.

Preparation First

Louis Pasteur reminds us that "chance favors the prepared mind." We can prepare our students' minds for every success by being both proactive-for example, by focusing on experiential learning-and interactive, for example, by offering team-building experiences. We create a real future on the basis of what we do with today's young adolescents, not what we do to them. Working together, we build personalized tools for safe passage.

1. Speak clearly.

2. Repeat important words and information several times.

3. Extend time periods for responding to prompts as necessary.

4. Avoid using idioms, colloquialisms, and shorthand references unless you're going to take the time to explain them.

5. Point to what you're referring to.

6. Label things in the classroom and hallways, such as "Computer Lab 2," "Student flash drives," "Mrs. Silver's stapler-Please return to her."

7. Provide specific models and hands-on experiences.

8. Use visuals during instruction, such as pictures, illustrations, graphs, pictographs, and real objects.

9. Demonstrate what you mean, rather than just describe it. For example, use a scientific balance when explaining equal values right and left of the equation sign in algebra. When teaching parallel sentence structure in English, write the model sentences parallel to each other on the display board.

10. Make students feel that they belong and have a role to play in classroom learning. Find something in a student's background that connects to the topic you're studying and incorporate it into the lesson. Have students take on leadership positions, and ask them to demonstrate their talents.

11. Use think alouds to model sequences of tasks.

12. Use cooperative learning groups, with more seasoned students partnering with less seasoned ones.

13. Find ways to enable new students who may be tentative about their abilities to demonstrate their intellectual skills and maintain dignity.

14. Give students quick and accurate feedback. An English language learner might say in halting English, "This correct paper?" Reply in affirmation, "Yes, that is the correct paper. Thank you." A middle schooler might ask, "Am I doing OK?" Respond, "Yes, you're doing well, and here's how I know..."

15. Spend time building background knowledge. If you're about to teach students about magnetic fields, for example, let them play with magnets, pouring iron shavings near the poles to watch their pattern of dispersal or gathering. Before teaching students about irony, orchestrate an ironic happening in the classroom and ask for comments.

16. Stay focused on how students are moving toward their own learning goals-not on how they're doing in relation to other students. We do students a disservice when we compare them with their peers or try to motivate them by parading others' success in front of them. English language learners and middle-level students desperately want to be successful.

17. Recognize the difference between conversational and academic language and understand that students need help with both. Go out of your way to explain terms like similar, math exercise, vocabulary, compare, instead of, not only, and so on.

18. Take the time to learn about students' interests and cultures. This engenders good will and enables you to make connections in the curriculum.

19. Teach new content through a medium or topics that students already know. In the case of English language learners, this means teaching content in or making connections to their native language whenever possible. In the case of all middle schoolers, it means building on familiar knowledge.

20. Remember that students are individuals worth our time and energy. Labels such as English language learner, gifted and talented,hearing impaired, gamer, Goth, and gang member blind us to the individual underneath.

Invite incoming students to begin school a half or full day earlier than returning students. On these days, students can get their schedules and lockers, move from class to class, meet their teachers, experience a short lesson in each subject, get a list of supplies from each teacher, get their school server accounts, purchase items with school logos, and practice opening and closing their lockers-without having to worry about getting hassled by an older student or arriving late for class. Incoming students will start school knowing at least some of the ropes.

If your middle school asks students to use lockers, take a locker door with a combination lock to feeder elementary schools in the last few months of school. Let students practice opening and closing the lock as much as they want for at least a week. This activity ranks as one of the most helpful experiences in student surveys.

Ask elementary teachers to forward to middle school staff, if possible, observations and comments regarding every student they teach. Make it manageable-a single page or less. Comments can include students' strengths, motivators, family factors that affect learning, potential issues, and anything else that might be helpful.

Send a letter of congratulations to all rising middle schoolers on their last day of elementary school. J. F. Drake Middle School in Auburn, Alabama, does this every year. The letters are addressed directly to each child and include students' team assignments and the dates of their Drake Summer Camp session, a transition program for both students and parents held during the summer.

Have your leadership team visit with students in their elementary schools the year before the students enter middle school. Retired principal Patti Kinney of Talent Middle School in Talent, Oregon, notes that 5th graders pose concerns freely during these sessions, such as, "My sister says that when she was in middle school there was [insert distorted rumor here]." These sessions can clear up inaccuracies and help students see administrators as accessible and supportive. A similar program in the evening for parents is just as important. Rising middle schoolers at Talent Middle School are also invited to major middle school events.

Invite elementary and middle school teachers to switch jobs for a day. Each gets a sense of how the other school works in terms of daily operations, content, and both student and teacher expectations. This information not only will be of value to teachers as they work with their own students, but it will also help them provide clearer advice about transitioning to parents.

Repeatedly connect with parents. Send the middle school newsletter home to parents of rising middle schoolers. Invite new parents to serve on school committees, and provide clear lists of volunteer opportunities. Meet with new parents the year before their children enter middle school and periodically throughout the first year.

Have all staff members wear "Ask Me" badges for the first two weeks of school. The badges nudge students to ask questions from safe and accurate sources of information.

Include healthy doses of humor. Humor lowers stress and creates camaraderie. Students need license to laugh at themselves and life.

Endnotes

Balfanz, R. (2009). Putting middle grades students on the graduation path: A policy and practice brief. Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association. Retrieved from www.nmsa.org/portals/0/pdf/research/Research_from_the_Field/Policy_Brief_Balfanz.pdf

Wolfe, P. (2010). Brain matters: Translating research into classroom practice (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Rick Wormeli is a national education consultant and veteran educator whose classroom practice is showcased in the DVD At Work in the Differentiated Classroom (ASCD, 2001). He is the author of Summarization in Any Subject: 50 Techniques to Improve Student Learning (ASCD, 2004). His most recent book is Metaphor and Analogies: Power Tools for Teaching Any Subject (Stenhouse, 2009); rwormeli@cox.net.

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Movin' Up to the Middle - Educational Leadership

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Online August 2011 | Volume 68 Best of Educational Leadership 2010-2011 Pages 48-53 Rick Wormeli At the beginning of each middle school year, teachers stand near their classroom doors and greet arriving students. They smile, shake a few hands, and direct the wide-eyed students to their seats, remarking to themselves, They're getting shorter every year.

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Free Technology for Teachers: How to Create a Jeopardy-style Game in Google Spreadsheets

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Free Technology for Teachers: How to Create a Jeopardy-style Game in Google Spreadsheets

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As I do every year, I am taking this week to relax, recharge, and ski with friends. While I'm away I will be re-running the most popular posts of the year. This was the most popular post in November, 2014.

Around this time last year I shared a neat Google Spreadsheets script called Flippity. Flippity was originally designed to help you create flashcards through Google Spreadsheets. This morning Steve Fortna informed me that you can now use Flippity to create Jeopardy-style gameboards through Google Spreadsheets. In the video embedded I demonstrate how to use Flippity to create a Jeopardy-style gameboard.

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How to Create a Jeopardy-style Game in Google Spreadsheets

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As I do every year, I am taking this week to relax, recharge, and ski with friends. While I'm away I will be re-running the most popular posts of the year. This was the most popular post in November, 2014. Around this time last year I shared a neat Google Spreadsheets script called Flippity.

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Index to Group Activities, Games, Exercises & Initiatives

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Index to Group Activities, Games, Exercises & Initiatives

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Building a classroom community | Virginia Commonwealth University Training and Technical Assistance Center Newsletter

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Building a classroom community | Virginia Commonwealth University Training and Technical Assistance Center Newsletter

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Next year Mr. Jackson will be moving from elementary to middle school. In reflecting on his eight years of teaching fifth grade, he considers the establishment of a classroom community as one of his greatest accomplishments. He believes he would not have been successful with the increased rigor that his curriculum requires, if he had not been able to influence the way his students interacted with the content and with each other.

Community building in the elementary classroom

Mr. Jackson established his classroom community in a variety of ways. In his current elementary classroom, that includes students with and without disabilities, students share common goals and activities. He uses classroom meetings as a central part of the day's schedule to help his students relate positively with one another. Students develop a rich understanding of the content by engaging in class debates, discussions, and projects. Mr. Jackson uses flexible groupings to allow students to work together as partners and in small teams, deepening their ability to communicate. He wants them to look forward to coming back to school each day, and he believes that establishing such a strong sense of community contributes to that goal.

Mr. Jackson wants to build relationships with his students and to ensure that all interactions in his classroom demonstrate the shared belief that learning is valued.

In thinking about his upcoming transition to middle school, Mr. Jackson emailed his friend Ms. Hamilton, who teaches at a middle school in a nearby town. He asked her thoughts on teaching at the middle school level, and her response was to "be stern and not put up with any student messing around or misbehaving." She wrote, "You shouldn't smile before the winter break. Community building at the elementary school is okay, but for middle school students, the time would be better spent teaching for the tests." Apparently, Ms. Hamilton does not see a connection between community building, student behavior, and achievement. Mr. Jackson responded that he had kept informal data on his classes. His students did well on his assessments and passed state tests. They had fewer absences compared with students at the same grade level within his district. His students did not spend time outside the classroom for disciplinary concerns; he was able to use this time for instruction. Ms. Hamilton responded in another email, "Although this may work at the elementary level, these behaviors and attitudes will change." She stated, "Middle school students want the teacher to tell them what to do; they need YOU to be in control."

Practice based on fundamentals

From his reading of Maslow's hierarchy of needs (1987), Mr. Jackson knows in order for students to relate positively to each other, to become successful learners, and to be active participants in the classroom community, they must have four basic needs met:

Sustenance: Students who are listening to their stomachs may not be focused on instruction. Mr. Jackson makes sure his students take advantage of school meal programs, and he often offers healthy snacks.

Safety: A safe environment is provided because his students are able to relate positively to others, feel comfortable in their environment, and engage in learning. He tells them they are safe and that no harm can come to them in the classroom.

Sense of belonging: Mr. Jackson creates an environment where everyone feels accepted and valued. When they feel safe and valued, they are more willing to take risks and work cooperatively, leading to greater learning (Jensen, 1998). Mr. Jackson fosters students' sense of belonging by using language that encourages everyone to value and practice cooperation, respect, and empathy. In using this language, he guides his students to behave in ways that allow all his students to participate fully in classroom life and to see all classmates as members of their community (Denton, 2007).

Self-esteem: Mr. Jackson understands the importance of words and deeds. Every day he makes his students feel competent as learners. When students feel competent, they are more open to new experiences, better able to empathize with others, and more willing to persevere than students who consistently feel inadequate (Bickart, Dodge, & Jablon, 1999).

As the school year comes to a close, Mr. Jackson looks forward to his transition to middle school. Yet, he thinks about the emails from Ms. Hamilton and questions whether a sense of community is important at the middle school and if so, what additional skills he might need to provide his students.

Preparation for a new beginning

Over the summer, the middle school administrative team meets with first-year teachers and teachers who are new to middle school teaching. The administration introduces them to the teaming model and to their grade level teams. Mr. Jackson found he would be one of five core teachers on his team. Two of the teachers co-teach and a collaborative special education teacher provides academic and behavioral support to students with disabilities served by the team. Team planning time is essential in ensuring the team functions effectively and supports student achievement. As a team, they design integrated curricular units, engage in mutual problem solving, conduct student-parent conferences, determine how the interdisciplinary blocks will be scheduled, discuss and resolve student needs, and reinforce the sense of unity among teachers and students (Hackmann, Petzko, Valentine, Clark, Nori, & Lucas, 2002). Through teaming, the students and teachers take part in determining their team expectations, procedures, and schedule. This sense of unity and connectedness helps students and teachers to form close relationships (Erb & Stevenson, 1999).

Mr. Jackson's team chose to do a book study, selecting Jim Knight's High Impact Instruction. Through this book and other research, Mr. Jackson discovered that maintaining a learner friendly culture, acknowledging the value of teamwork, establishing expectations, and demonstrating respect would be beneficial in student success and in building a positive community that supports student learning (Knight, 2013).

Maintaining a learner friendly culture

An environment in which students can learn is determined by the values and norms they share. Mr. Jackson wants to build relationships with his students and to ensure that all interactions in his classroom demonstrate the shared belief that learning is valued. Paying attention to the environment (e.g., how the room is organized, color, art, quotations, lighting, and other aspects of the classroom) can also have a positive impact on student learning (Knight, 2013).

Working as a team

According to Knight, classrooms where student achievement is highest are often those that allow students to work together in teams to reach a common goal. Group collaboration allows students to work in a way that is less competitive and leads to greater understanding of content. Mr. Jackson found that teachers have to "... build power within students not power over students" (Knight, 2013, p.281) by giving students some degree of freedom to make choices about their learning. Teachers can develop a sense of inclusion and belonging by encouraging students to take responsibility for their actions and providing feedback.

Establishing expectations

Mr. Jackson also found that teaching and reinforcing expectations has a significant positive impact on student behavior (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock 2001). Sprick (2009) states that effective expectations must be specific and designed for the majority of learning activities and transitions that occur in the classroom so that students will know exactly what they are supposed to do at all times. Knight (2013) suggests that teachers write expectations for how students are to:

1. Act - explain the activity and what students have to do

2. Talk - explain what kind of talking, if any, can take place

3. Move - explain what kind of movement can and cannot take place in the classroom

Ensuring that everyone knows what to expect at all times is an important first step in creating a positive learning community. Mr. Jackson understands that he needs to have high expectations for his students and to create a setting where they can flourish.

Demonstrating respect

Mr. Jackson found support for his belief that teachers must demonstrate respect for students and to the learning process (Knight, 2013). Teaching to ensure each student achieves at the highest possible level is a way to show respect. Teachers can also show their students respect by authentically listening, empathizing, acknowledging students' effort and ideas, being a witness to the good (i.e., by paying positive attention), and using specific praise when students act consistently with expectations.

According to Knight (2013), teachers show respect for students by using structures that stimulate dialogue and learning. Dialogue structures are "activities that are propelled by students' free choices but organized so that outcomes are reached effectively" (p.282). They allow students the ability to share ideas by organizing the way in which students collaborate. The use of brainstorming is one such structure. Teachers can implement procedures and routines, such as the use of timers and attention signals, to denote transitions. Teachers can also establish criteria for choices to include reading material, classroom norms, and learning topics. As students see teachers consistently uphold respect as a requirement, they will respond with respect, increasing the strength of classroom ties.

As the new school year begins

As Mr. Jackson begins the school year at the middle school, he is aware that building a classroom community involves providing students their basic needs and making them feel connected to each other and to school. By providing a learner friendly culture, promoting teamwork, establishing expectations, and modeling respect, Mr. Jackson feels confident that his students will be successful academically and socially.

As the year ends

As his first year of middle school teaching comes to an end, Mr. Jackson sends the following email to Ms. Hamilton:

"I want to tell you about my first year at the middle school. Our team decided to put into practice what we learned from our book study and other readings. We have begun to see students building positive relationships with one another and taking ownership of their education. Our administration has seen a decline in referrals and bullying. Our students continue to make strides in working together and communication. We hope to see how this impacts student achievement when the end of the year data is released. I'll send you a list of resources and my copy of the book we used for our book study. I think you might find it interesting and maybe a little challenging. You might even reexamine some of your practices, even the one about 'no smiles until winter break!' We were smiling at the end of the first week."
References
Bickart, T., Dodge, D.T., Jablon, J. (1999). Building the primary classroom: A complete guide to teaching and learning. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Publishers.

Denton, P. (2007). The power of our words: Teacher language that helps children learn. Turner Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc.

Erb, T.O., & Stevenson, C. (1999). From faith to facts: Turning points in action - what difference does teaming make? Middle School Journal, 30 (3), 47-50.

Hackmann, D.G., Petzko. V., Valentine, J., Clark, D., Nori, J., & Lucas, S. (2002). Beyond interdisciplinary teaming: Findings and implications of the NASSP National Middle Level Study. NASSP Bulletin, 86 (632), 33-47.

Jensen, E. (1998). Teaching with the brain in mind. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Knight, J. (2013). High-impact instruction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Marzano, R., Pickering, D., & Pollock, J. (2001). Classroom management that works: Research-based strategies for every teacher. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Maslow, A. (1987). Motivation and personality (3rd ed.). New York: Harper Row.

Sprick, R.S. (2009). CHAMPs: A proactive and positive approach to classroom management (2nd ed.). Eugene, OR: Pacific Northwest Press.

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Next year Mr. Jackson will be moving from elementary to middle school. In reflecting on his eight years of teaching fifth grade, he considers the establishment of a classroom community as one of his greatest accomplishments.

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14 Ways to Create Your Classroom Community

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14 Ways to Create Your Classroom Community

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The Intangibles of a Celebrated Classroom

It's only September and I'm already thinking June. Not because I'm counting down days or because I wish summer were already here; I'm thinking about May because I want to be one of those teachers who breezes into a lunch conversation and says, "I'm really going to miss this class. They are such a special group." Sometimes we get lucky, there's just this natural chemistry that happens when a certain group of students auspiciously find each other in a classroom. Other times a group will bond over an experience - a shared victory or a great loss. But most of time, this "chemistry" isn't handed to us, it's something we have to go out and create.

And create we do. We cultivate relationships, we create routines, we investigate how to create communities from our classrooms. In fact, if classroom community were my Pinterest board, here's what you would see:

All of us learning each others' names

Students being grouped with classmates they might not seek out on their own and then being asked to learn something new about them

Pictures of student work posted around the classroom

Photographs of students used to organize students into groups

A class poem that we wrote together on the first day of school

Or our class webpage where students can find blog posts of our work in class and photographs of their contributions

There's no doubt that the membership, the trust, the sense of self that comes from being part of a classroom community keeps kids in school and keeps them engaged.
While creating communities takes time and patience, its more elusive partner, "culture," may be even more challenging to unearth. While fueled by a strong community, culture requires us to delve into creating shared values, beliefs and attitudes about learning. In our room, we call these dispositions and realizing them starts by elevating us all to the status of learner.

Building culture is an ongoing process for me. I learned early in my career that building classroom culture varies from year to year and depends entirely on the mindset of the students who walk into the room. This means that I have tried and am always trying new approaches. This year is no exception. If you walked into our classroom you'd see and hear the ways I'm purposefully building culture:

You would hear "we" more than "me" or "you"

You would see my desk in the back of the classroom

You would pause on your way through the door to look in a mirror while reading the phrase "Today, see yourself_____________." Right now it projects "See yourself building confidence."

You would overhear us talk about learning more than about tasks or grades

You would be drawn to the "pizza pan poetry" that reminds us we're always immersed in language

You would snicker while I geek out giving a book talk on this unique collection of children's poems I just found

You would notice the curious mantra, "Tell me what your brain is doing right now."

You would see the language of our learning dispositions on the wall, always reminding us of our real purpose

I like to think that community is our sense of belonging and culture ensures the value of what we belong to. So however we go about it, these "strategies" create that "know it when you see it" community and that "love it when you live it" culture.

After all, when Community and Culture take their rightful places in the desks of our classrooms, we can look forward to a June when we didn't just finish a school year, but put learning in its rightful place: their heads and our shared ideals.
Sarah Brown Wessling is a high school English teacher in Johnston, Iowa. She is the 2010 National Teacher of the Year and is the Teacher Laureate for Teaching Channel. Connect with Sarah on Twitter - @SarahWessling.

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14 Ways to Create Your Classroom Community

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It's only September and I'm already thinking June. Not because I'm counting down days or because I wish summer were already here; I'm thinking about May because I want to be one of those teachers who breezes into a lunch conversation and says, "I'm really going to miss this class.

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Survival Exercise Scenarios - Description of a Group Dynamics Team Building Exercise

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Survival Exercise Scenarios - Description of a Group Dynamics Team Building Exercise

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Survival Exercise Scenarios - Description of a Group Dynamics Team Building Exercise

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Watch for over emphasis by some participants on needing 100% accurate answers. Steer the group towards the aim of the exercise which is heightening awareness of communication and decision making processes, rather than over emphasis on 'getting the answers exactly right'. Display of this need is a point of observation and one worthy of debrief.

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Teampedia - Tools for teams and teamwork - Teampedia

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Teampedia - Tools for teams and teamwork - Teampedia

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Teampedia is a collaborative encyclopedia of free team building activities, free icebreakers, teamwork resources, and tools for teams.
This site is designed for group leaders, trainers, teachers, managers, directors, counselors, youth groups, camps, task forces ... anyone wanting to enhance collaboration and creativity.

Browse for games and activities below or read more about Teampedia

Even if your group consists of members who all share the same race, religion, nation of origin or gender identity, there are many other ways that individuals can be different. We tend to make assumptions based on height, clothing style, mannerisms, etc. So, it is valuable for team members to get to know each other as individuals, and also to be aware of stereotyping in all interactions in life. How do you break down stereotypes and foster inclusion and equity within your team? Activities include: Celebrity/Stereotype Party, Diversity Bingo, Students with Disabilities, Who I Am - by Lineage, and Your Stories.

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Teampedia - Tools for teams and teamwork

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Teampedia is a collaborative encyclopedia of free team building activities, free icebreakers, teamwork resources, and tools for teams. This site is designed for: team leaders, trainers, teachers, managers, camp directors, counselors, youth groups... anyone interested in enhancing collaboration and creativity.

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Conversation Management | Origins Online

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Conversation Management | Origins Online

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Conversation Management | Origins Online

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Creating the Climate Middle school educators can teach their students how to have great group conversations that build both academic and social skills. First of all, we have to establish a climate that encourages participation. Hand-raising: The first conversation format Make hand-raising your class's default way of responding to questions.

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Great questions designed to help people in small groups get to know one another.

If you could live in any sitcom, which one would it be?

What was in your high school locker?

Best dessert you have ever had?

Something interesting you might not know about me is . . .

What was the most embarrassing thing you have done while on a date?

What is your favorite season?

If you had your own talk show, who would your first three guests be?

What is in the trunk of your car right now?

What do you look for in a friend?

If you were handed free opera tickets, would you go or sell them? Why?

What is your favorite restaurant and why?

Listener or talker?

What was the best thing that happened to you this past weekend?

When you were in grade school, what did you want to be when you grew up? Why?

What book has influenced you greatly? How?

It's Saturday morning. What's the first thing you do when you wake up?

If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do?

If you could eliminate one thing you do each day in the bathroom so that you never had to do it again, what would it be?

What is the best gift anyone's ever given to you?

You were just given a yacht. What would you name it?

If you could have been told one thing that you weren't told when you were a teenager, what would you like to have heard?

What are your three favorite smells?

You've just been hired to a promotions position at Kellogg's. What would you put in a new breakfast cereal box as a gimmick?

If you were to get a tattoo, what would it say or what would the graphic be?

Name your favorite song.

If you could play any musical instrument, what would it be and why? If you already play an instrument(s), what do you play and why?

When trick-or-treating as a kid, was there any kind of candy that you didn't like to get?

Why do you live in this area?

What is your favorite memory of Christmases past?

If a movie was being made of your life and you could choose the actor/actress to play you, who would you choose and why?

Paper or plastic?

Did you ever consider becoming a teacher? Why or why not?

What's the most important thing to you in life?

What was the weirdest food you've ever eaten?

What do you keep in the trunk of your car?

If you owned a CB radio what would your "handle" be?

What is the most outrageous thing you've done for God?

If you were given 24 hours to live, what would you do?

If you were in the Miss America talent competition, what would your talent be? (Note: both guys and gals have to answer this question)

What do you think the most ultimate gift of the world is?

What's your favorite ice cream flavor?

Tell something that nobody in the group knows about you.

What is your earliest childhood memory?

What was your favorite TV show when you were growing up?

If you had one extra hour of free time a day, how would you use it?

What music is in your personal music player right now?

The great theologian Andy Warhol stated that everyone gets 15 minutes of fame. What happened during your 15 minutes?

What is your dream job?

Name the most famous person you've had a face to face encounter with ("brush with greatness").

Name your favorite children's story.

If you could spend 15 minutes with any living person, who would it be and why?

What person in the Bible do you most closely identify with?

What article of clothing most closely describes your personality?

If you were to write a book what would it be about?

Which way do you eat corn on the cob?

How many rings before you answer the phone?

What is the first thing you think of when you wake in the morning?

If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it?

I was once mistaken for . . .

If you had to, what part of your body would you get pierced?

Who was your favorite teacher and why?

What makes you feel the most secure?

Who do you admire the most?

Have you ever had a reoccurring dream? What was it?

What was your nickname growing up, or now?

Who was your hero when you were a child, and what did you do to be like them?

Peanut or plain?

What is your favorite cartoon character and why?

Who inspires you and how are you a bit like them?

Based on something you've already done, how might you make it into the Guinness Book of World Records?

How did you learn to ride a bicycle?

What's the closest you've come to becoming a pop star or winning an Oscar?

When was the last time you did something for the first time? What was it?

If you knew you could not fail, what would you do?

What is your concept of a fruitful day?

What was your favorite thing to play with as a child? Why?

If you could be any animal in the world for 24 hours, which animal would you be? Why?

Have you ever jumped out of a plane?

If you could rid the world of one thing, what would it be?

What is your favorite quote?

What is something unexpected that has changed about you in the last few years?

If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?

What is your favorite weird food combination?

If you had to be a flower, which one would you like to be and why?

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three books and three people would you take with you? Why?

What was your favorite childhood toy?

What is your favorite color? List three adjectives to explain your choice.

You discover that the person you're head-over-heels interested in loves a good homemade and handmade dessert. What will you concoct when you have this person over?

My biggest pet peeve is . . .

What's the best dinner you ever had?

What is your favorite commercial? What commercial annoys you the most?

What's the most interesting "Ice Breaker" Question you have ever been asked?

If you could be an ice cream flavor, what would it be? Why?

Name a turning point in your life that makes you smile or cry.

If there were a holiday in your honor what would it celebrate?

What clubs were you a member of in High School? Are you still interested in any of the same things?

If you were to be on a reality TV show which one would you be on and why?

If you could be anything in the world, what would you be and why?

What is your favorite time of day?

If someone rented a billboard for you, what would you put on it?

If you had to enter a competition for the "Most Uselessly Unique Talent," what would your talent be?

What is your worst personality characteristic?

If you had to be a teacher of something, what would you teach?

How would you like to be remembered?

What is one thing that you constantly think about (other than material things)?

What did you like best about your hometown?

What are you most talented at?

If you could have had the starring role in one film already made, which movie would you pick?

What do you think is the best feeling in the world?

If you could have written any book, what book would you like to have written?

What is your most favorite pair of shoes ever? Explain.

What's your favorite sport?

If you could be one for just 24 hours, what cereal box cartoon character would you be? Why?

What's your middle name? Why?

If you were a lip gloss flavor, what would you be and why?

Which member of your family has had the greatest influence on your current way of thinking?

What dessert describes you the best and why?

What kind of music do you like?

What is your best personal characteristic?

What is your favorite animal?

What do you keep in your wallet aside from money, cards and pictures?

What punctuation mark best describes your personality? Why?

If you could plan your ultimate vacation, where would you go?

What is something you have that is of sentimental value?

What is your most embarrassing moment?

Can you comfortably eat in a restaurant by yourself? Go to a movie?

What was the first car you drove?

What do you miss most about childhood?

What one thing (modern convenience) could you not live without?

If you could meet anyone from history, who would you meet and why?

What was the first live concert you ever attended?

What was your longest relationship and why did it end?

Is the glass half empty or half full? What is in the glass?

If you could be one kind of beer which one would you be and why?

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

If you could change one current event in the world what would it be and why?

What's the oldest piece of clothing you still own and wear?

If you could meet anyone from the Bible who would it be and what would you ask them? (Besides Jesus)

If you could snap your fingers and appear somewhere else, where would you be?

If you could date any celebrity, who would it be and why?

What specific thing have you done that impressed yourself?

If you could switch bodies with a certain celebrity, who would it be and why?

If you could fly to a different time zone, which one would you fly to? Why?

What cartoon character best represents your personal philosophy?

What's your passion?

What does your room look like?

What Internet site do you surf to the most?

If you could only wear one color for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

If you could have one super human power, what would it be?

Would you rather be really hot or really cold?

What is the best/worst pick up line you have ever heard?

What is the weirdest gift you have ever received?

If there was a whole different concept of reality (like The Matrix) what would it be?

Where would you like to retire and why?

What is one secret that you haven't told anyone?

What is the craziest (or stupidest) thing you have ever done?

Who has been the biggest inspiration in your life? Why?

Which of Snow White's seven dwarfs describes you best and why? (Doc, Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey)

If you were attending a Halloween party, what would your costume be and why?

What do you feel is your most attractive physical feature?

If you were on death row, what would your last meal be?

Name three things you think will become obsolete in ten years.

Tell two truths and one lie about yourself to the others in your group. Everyone try and guess the lie.

If I wasn't afraid I would . . .

What is a song for which you thought you knew the words and later found out that you had them wrong? (For example, I always used to sing the lyrics to Johnny Nash's song "I can see clearly now the rain has gone" as "I can see clearly now Lorraine has gone".)

What was your worst summer or part-time job?

If given a chance to get back to some time during the past, what would be that time and why?

What mountain would you want to climb someday?

Best or worst experience at summer camp?

Name a pet you have owned and how you came to name him/her.

Describe an interesting experience you had the last time your power went out.

What's your favorite line from any movie?

What's the best or most interesting class you have ever taken in high school, college, or graduate school?

What famous person do you know or have met personally?

If you had unlimited money and space, what one thing would you add to your bedroom?

Who was your first big crush? Why did you like this person? Did he/she like you back?

What is a fashion trend that you used to wear (in the 70s, 80s, 90s etc.) that you would now be embarrassed to wear?

If you could go only to one restaurant for the next five years, which would it be?

What is something you have lost that you have never found, or were tremendously relieved when you did find it?

What is one of the strangest southern expressions you have heard (or other idiomatic expression)?

What is your favorite breakfast?

If you had the opportunity to live one year of your life over again, which year would you choose?

Do you wake up to a CD, the radio, or a buzzer?

What is set as the background image on your computer?

What magazine(s) do you subscribe to?

If you were a professional wrestler, what would your ring name be and why?

On Saturdays, I like to . . .

What were your best and worst subjects in school and what subjects would you want to learn now?

Where would you like to be a missionary to?

What's better

Which Scooby-Doo character are you most like (Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne, Fred, Velma, the monster, Scrappy?)

If you had to endure one natural disaster (i.e. hurricane, tornado, etc), what would you pick and why?

What movie or TV show do you take guilty pleasure in watching?

If you had to describe your day as a traffic sign, what would it be?

What traditional stereotype would you classify yourself as?

What "group" did you belong to in high school?

If you wrote a book about yourself...what would it be about?

List ten items everyone in the group has in common.

Describe your favorite pair of PJ's

How many handbags do you own?

If this were your last day alive, what would you say to each person in the group?

What is your favorite part of your day?

What is your best scar? Tell the story of how you got it.

You win a million dollars, but you have to give half to a charity. Which charity do you pick, and what do you do with the rest of the money?

Describe your dream wedding where money is no option.

What kind of deodorant do you use?

If you were a spy what would your alias be?

Do you have a birth mark? Where? Does it look like anything?

You are planning the most awesome dinner party of your life. Which three celebrities/historical figures (past or present) would you add to your guest list to keep the dinner talk interesting?

What is your favorite sport, and which team of that sport do you cheer for?

Which would you rather have a kiss or a hug? Why?

If you could be a pair of jeans what style would you be? Why?

You have multiple personalities, describe some of them.

What is the best thing you have done in your life?

If you were blind for the rest of your life

What household chore do you hate the most?

What is your most disappointing moment in life?

When have you laughed the hardest? Cried?

If you had a "theme song" that played whenever you walked into a room full of people, what would it be?

What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex?

When people look at me, they would never guess that I . . .

What time period from the past would you most have liked to live in and why?

What is the best reward anyone can give you?

If you had a band what would you name it?

Do you like fruit? Vegetables?

What can someone do to encourage you?

If you could be a film character, who would you be?

If you were a pirate, what would your name be?

Pen or Pencil?

Crunchy Peanut Butter or Smooth?

What is one thing about you people would be surprised to learn?

If you could be any kitchen appliance, what would it be and why?

Would you rather go the short way slow, or take the long way fast, if, either way, you got to your destination in the same amount of time?

Where did you live at age five? How was your home heated? What kind of car did your parents have?

2%, 1%, or skim milk?

Would you live in space if you could never come back to earth?

Would you rather always be in a crowd, or be the only person on earth?

What was your favorite decade? (50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, etc.)

Would you rather be rich or famous? Why?

If you were God . . .

Do you squeeze the toothpaste from the top or the bottom?

What's the kindest act you have ever seen done (either to you, by you, or another)?

If you could only have one thing on a deserted island what would it be?

Who was your first love? What age, grade, etc.?

Hellmann's mayonnaise or Miracle Whip?

Describe your past week as a type of landscape or a weather forecast.

Ask the person next to you a question that you have always wanted to know about him/her.

If you had the choice between an RV, a sports car, an SUV, or a bicycle, which would you choose and why?

What kind of hat describes your personality?

When you were in elementary school, what was your favorite activity at recess?

If you had to move out of this country, what country would you move to? Why?

Coffee or Tea?

Why is your favorite color? Why?

How many children do you want? Girls or boys?

Describe your ideal romantic date?

Say one nice compliment about someone in this room.

What would you leave in your will for the person you care about the most?

Who is your best friend? Tell us about him/her.

Have you ever been in love? For how long? How many times?

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

If you had to lose one of your five senses, which one of them would you prefer to lose and why?

Is there a story behind your name? What is it?

What was one of the most fun things you and your college roommate did together?

If you could live anywhere for one year, all expenses paid, where would you live?

If you had to paint the whole world only one color what would it be and why?

What was the worst smell you have ever smelled?

What takes you out of your comfort zone?

If you were on the cover of a magazine, which one would it be and why?

If you could be laid to rest anywhere, where would it be? Why?

Do you make your bed every morning or do you leave it unmade?

What is your favorite video game?

Name one thing that you couldn't live without.

Pool side or beach?

Once, just to attract attention, I . . .

If you had to be one or the other, would you rather be blind or deaf? Why?

When you are using the bathroom at someone else's house, do you leave anything behind different than it was when you got there?

If you were a piece of fruit, what fruit would you choose to be?

Would you rather meet the love of your life, knowing he/she will die within a year, or go without meeting him/her? Explain.

Sitting alone in a big field, looking at stars, what do you think or feel?

Which one physical feature would you change if you could?

If you could be cat or dog, which one would you be and why?

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

Name one important characteristic you look for in someone you consider a friend.

What was your favorite age and why?

What's one of your favorite things to do when you have a night off?

What's your favorite way to celebrate an accomplishment?

If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do?

What brand of toothpaste do you use?

If you could be a professional at any sport, what would it be?

What is your favorite holiday?

What is your favorite animal? List three adjectives to explain your choice.

Who would you like to play your life story in a movie?

If there was only one left of each of your most favorite things to eat, would you let your best friend have it or yourself? Why?

If you could drive, ride, or fly anything to work, what would it be? Why?

What is your favorite candy? Explain.

What scares you the most?

Which animal represents you the best and why?

If you were the eighth dwarf, what would your name be?

If you could, would you become the President? Why or why not?

If you were elected mayor of your city, what would be your first improvement, and why?

What is your favorite way to express yourself and why?

If you were a piece of furniture what would you be? Why?

What are you thankful for?

If you had a magic lamp and a genie who granted you three wishes, what would the three wishes be?

Are there any interesting things your name spells with the letters rearranged?

How many siblings do you have? Are you the oldest, a middle child, or youngest?

If you could be any superhero, which one would you be and why?

What are your favorite pizza toppings?

Describe your worst day.

If you could be anywhere, doing anything right now, where would you be and what would you be doing?

What's your favorite fabric and why?

What is your favorite pop/soda?

Name the song title that best describes your life.

You are chosen to make dinner for a very special guest. What will you cook?

What was the best year of your life? Why?

If you could ask God a question what would it be?

What's the worst trouble you got into when you were young? What did you do?

What's more important to you

If you had to give up one food forever, what would it be?

What is the scariest thing you have ever done for fun?

If you could have any super power what would it be and why?

If you could listen to only one CD for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Broken toe or broken finger?

Using only one word, name something significant about your life today.

Would you rather be rich or famous? Why?

If your house was on fire, what one thing would you take? (assuming family and pets got out OK)

If you could go bowling with any three people - dead or alive - who would you take and why?

Is the milk glass half full or half empty and why?

What is your favorite season?

If you could bring one person back from heaven who would it be and why?

Who is your favorite actor / actress, and why?

What one rule did you always disagree with growing up?

If someone gave you an island, what would you name it? Would you live there? What would you do with it?

Would you rather live to be 100 but sick, or live to be only 50 but healthy?

Where did you meet your mate?

If you could spend your last hours of life with anyone, doing anything, who would you choose and what would you do?

What song most describes your life right now?

If you could have one thing to drink before you died what would it be? Why?

Do you believe in ghosts or evil spirits? Why?

If you were a tree what type would you be, where would you be, and why?

What was the first record or CD that you bought?

What do you have in your bag/wallet that best describes your personality?

If you were a super hero what would your special power be and why?

What is your favorite cheese?

What was your favorite game when you were a kid?

Who was your favorite teacher at school? Why?

Describe a word beginning with the first letter of your name that sums you up?

What is your favorite number? Why?

What is your biggest fear or phobia?

Did you have a nickname growing up? What was it and why were you called that?

What is your favorite movie and why?

If you met your Maker today, what would You want Him to say as a welcome? Why?

Would you rather lead or follow? Why?

What is your favorite winter activity?

What is something you can do better than anyone else you know?

I wish everyone would . . .

What's your favorite song to sing in Karaoke? Why?

If you had to be handcuffed to one person for an entire month, who would it be?

What is your favorite song to sing in the shower?

Ketchup or mustard?

What is your idea of a great dessert?

If you could be a cocktail, what cocktail would you be and why?

Have you ever had the police called on you? If so

If you had one song to play at your wedding what would it be?

What did you eat for breakfast?

Name a major life experience that made you who you are today?

What clubs where you involved in during High School and College?

If you could take back something hurtful you've once said to someone, what would it be?

What could you do to improve your life?

The worst lie I ever told was . . .

If you could have a celebrity entourage with three celebrities, who would they be?

If you could go back and change your career path what would you be doing now?

If you could fly or you could breathe under water, what would you prefer?

If you could only take three people from this group to an island, who would they be?

If you could live to the age of 90 and either retain your looks or your brains that you had at age 30, which would you choose?

I'm at my silliest when . . .

If you moved to Sesame Street, who would you want as your neighbor? Why?

What type of music relaxes you the most?

How many dates do you go on with someone before you introduce them to your parents?

What TV game show would you want to go on?

What do you consider to be the most valuable thing you own: when you were a child / teenager / now?

If you cold ask Noah one question, what would it be?

Name a favorite sound, past or present.

What statement or question did your parents use over and over?

If you auditioned for American Idol, what song would you sing?

If you could time travel, where would you go, and what would you do?

Why do you (or don't you) vote?

If you were given the opportunity for free skydiving lessons would you take them? Why or why not?

What is the hardest choice you have ever had to make? What was the outcome?

Do you prefer sweet or salty snacks?

In what month did you file your tax return this year?

Hit the treadmill or hit the couch?

If you could instantly become fluent in another language, which language would you choose and why?

How many languages do you you speak?

What is your favorite "made up" word from your childhood or that of one of your children? What does it mean?

What is your favorite Disney tune?

If I could live in any other time period of the past, which would it be? Tell us why.

How many auto accidents have you been in?

What do you love most about living in this country?

I still can't believe I once . . .

Of all of the Gilligan's Island characters, I am most like (and tell us why).

What is the craziest thing you've done lately?

What do you dislike about failure? What can you learn from it?

Did you ever go against a fashion trend/rage? Why?

If you could be any color in a Crayola box, what color would you be and why?

One of the jealous times of my life was . . .

Share an experience where you felt out of place.

What type of partner would you choose for yourself?

Which rules set by your parents do you appreciate the most? Why?

Tell us one of the worst fights you ever got into?

What childish things do you still do as adult?

What questions would you NOT like others to ask you?

One major problem I had to solve this year was . . .

What obstacles do you find when trying to become a close friend to someone of the opposite sex?

What do you do when you're home?

Share the biggest argument you had with your parents.

Tell us about your unusual hobby.

What was the worst advice you ever gave?

One of the worst ways I ever reacted to a declaration of love was . . .

If you can give one sentence advice about how to live life, what would it be?

How do you express your anger to your enemy? To your best friends? To a parent?

One particular day/night that I wanted to last forever was . . .

What are your limitations and potentials?

Just like "Everybody Wang Chung tonight!", what action would your name be if it were a verb? Answer for others in your group, not yourself.

Cite a situation where you felt life had been unfair to you?

Once I ran away from home. Here's the story . . .

Would you dare to sleep in a haunted house overnight?

If you could have a condiment dispensed from your navel, what would it be?

What are your goals for living?

It's a very hot and muggy day. You desperately want something very cool and refreshing to quench your thirst and revitalize your body. What would you drink (either make your own or store-bought)?

Describe the most inappropriate present that you received.

What fantasy would you like to live out? Why?

What is the funniest story your mother or father tells about you?

Have you ever said something you regretted, but were then glad you said it?

If you could have any kind of a job in the entertainment industry, what do you think you would do best?

If I asked your high school friends what they thought you would be doing today, what would they say?

My scariest nightmare was . . .

What was the best concert you went to? Worst?

Three things I think will become obsolete in 10 years . . .

My favorite unusual food combination is . .

Favorite quote?

What is the furthest you have traveled?

Who was your favorite band, group, or solo when you were in high school?

If you could be invisible for one day, where would you like to be?

What's the best sound effect you can make? Do it.

What do you miss most about being a kid?

What is your favorite tradition? (family tradition, church tradition, whatever)

Tell about the last time you had to ask for help.

What music would your friends be surprised that you own?

Would you ever be on a reality TV show? Why or why not? If you would, which one?

What was your worst or most dramatic car trouble?

Do you think Jesus will come again in your lifetime?

Where did you grow up?

If you were stranded on a deserted island with one book, what would you want that book to be?

Did you have a collection of some kind as a child? If so, what was it?

What is your favorite thing to do in the summer? Winter?

If you could mix three animals together, which ones would you choose to make the ultimate animal?

You have to wear a t-shirt with one word on it for one year. Which word do you choose?

What are your three favorite spices?

What is the weirdest (most unusual) thing you've ever eaten?

How many places have you lived? Share the number of physical residences and/or the number of cities.

What was your first job where you got paid by someone other than your parents?

What is your favorite memory with someone other than family?

What was the most mischievous thing you did as a child?

When did you last climb a tree?

How many brothers and sisters do you have? What's your birth order?

If you were a shoe, what kind would you be and why??

What's the funniest thing you did as a kid that your parents still talk about to this day?

If you could be one Disney character who would you be and why?

If you could be a cookie what kind of cookie would you be?

What sub-atomic particle would you be? Why?

Has modern technology enhanced or complicated your life? Why?

How much do you spend on hair and/or nails each month?

What is your favorite table or board game?

Are you a country mouse or a city mouse? Why?

Name all the vehicles you have owned in your adult life.

What is your favorite house architectural style? Cape Cod, Contemporary, Colonial, Country, Ranch, Townhouse? Why?

Are you a planner or a procrastinator? Give an example?

Would you rather plan a party or attend one? Why?

If you could attend any college, free of charge, what college would that be and what major would you pursue? Why?

List the food items you take at a salad bar.

How many doors do you have in your house?

What is your favorite soup? Why?

Tell about a collection you have now.

What was the cheapest gas price you can remember? What year was that?

Have you ever gone back to the town where you grew up in? If yes, how has it changed? Is your old house still there?

Name all the kinds of trees in your yard right now.

Do you like silver or gold jewelry? Why?

When was the last time you went bowling?

Are you a front seat driver or a back seat driver?

Other than pizza, what is a favorite Italian dish?

Do you like the mountains, coastline or the plains? Why?

What is the farthest road trip you have taken? To where and how long was it?

What was the highest grocery bill you ever had?

What is your favorite kind of pie? Describe taking a bite using three adjectives.

Name two words you always seem to spell incorrectly. Try to spell them now.

Do you enjoy going shopping for clothes? Why or why not?

What was the title of the last self-help book you read? Did it help?

How often do you bid on eBay? What was the last item you won?

Do you like store-bought things or handmade things? Why?

When you lose electricity in a storm, do you light the candles or turn on the flashlight? How many of each do you own?

Have you ever been a participant in a parade? What did you do?

Where were you when you had your fist kiss?

If you were a llama, where would you get your hair cut?

What was your last thought before going to sleep?

What is your first thought in the morning?

What would you rather wear glasses or contacts?

If you could thank God for one thing in your life, what would it be?

If you were to be a natural element, which would you rather be: fire or water?

If you were an American Gladiator what would your name be?

What was the most mischievous April Fool's prank you've done?

When was the last time you had a dream? What was it about?

After you die, what do you want written on your tombstone?

If you could perform in the Olympics, what would you like to do?

Would you rather spend the rest of your life in love with a rich person or a poor person?

If you could erase one day in history which one would it be and why?

If we Googled your name what would we see?

If you had one free day to do anything you want, what would you do?

Do you prefer eating the frosting of the cupcake or eating the cupcake first?

If you were a color what color would you be? Why?

Would you ever loan a significant amount of money to a friend or relative? Why or why not?

Would you ever use a dating service (eHarmony, Match.com, etc.) to find someone? Why or why not?

What can you always be found with?

So you win a pet monkey at a fair. But this isn't just any old monkey. It can do one trick for you whenever you want, like getting a pop out of the fridge or washing your hair. What would you want the trick to be?

If you could invent a gadget what will it be and why?

If you could visit any place in the world where would it be and why?

What is the longest book you ever read?

When did you last write a hand written letter?

Editor, October 2008:
I have disabled the Submit Question feature. Thanks for submitting all the great questions.

Editor, January 2016:
This list has been available since 1998! (AKA Ice Breaker Questions.) I've updated the page using responsive design style so that the questions are easier to read on mobile devices.

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Great questions designed to help people in small groups get to know one another. If you could live in any sitcom, which one would it be? What was in your high school locker? Best dessert you have ever had? Something interesting you might not know about me is . .

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Team Building Activities, Initiative Games & Problem Solving Exercises

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Team Building Activities, Initiative Games & Problem Solving Exercises

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Team Building Activities, Initiative Games & Problem Solving Exercises

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Descriptions of team building activities, initiative games & group problem solving exercises which are designed to help train a group's effectiveness in thinking, communicating, and behaving.

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Reaffirming Community after a Vacation | Responsive Classroom

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Reaffirming Community after a Vacation | Responsive Classroom

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10 Team-Building Games For The First Day Of Class

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10 Team-Building Games For The First Day Of Class

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by TeachThought Staff

Team-building activities are great. Not only can they help establish routines, tone, and expectations, they're also fun, and can help learners feel comfortable. Though many older students in high school and college may groan at their thought, they're usually fun, and great ways to help students feel at ease. Before you dismiss them as too juvenile, try one. You might be surprised.

Note that which game you choose, your rules for the game, and any revisions to the rules depend on the nature of the class you're using them with. Certain students may feel overly liberated-especially in middle school-with the idea of a "game," and so expectations must be carefully given to younger K-8 learners-and even 9-12-to ensure that every student is set up for success.
1. Me Too!
Ideal Grade Levels: K-20

First student gives a fact about themselves-I love basketball, I have two sisters, etc. If that statement or fact is true about another student, they stand up and say "Me too!" They can also stay seated, but simply raise their hand and say "Me too!"
2. Park Bench
Ideal Grade Levels: 6-20

Two chairs are placed together to resemble park bench. Two students volunteer-or are selected-to act out "what happened" in a fictional news story. They are given one minute to prepare a scene where they discuss the "event" without every actually saying what happened. After given time period (1-5 minutes), peers guess "what happened," but they must give up all four important details: Who, What, Where, and When, e.g.:

What: College Basketball game

Who: Kentucky and Kansas

When: Early April

Where: New Orleans
3. Fact or Fiction
Ideal Grade Levels: 3-12

In circle, first student offers two facts and one piece of fiction about themselves. Others raise hand or are called on to identify which were facts, and which were fiction. The correct guesser goes next. Play is completed when all students have gone.
4. Green Door
Ideal Grade Levels: 5-20

Leader chooses a topic, but keeps it quiet, only saying that "You can bring a ____ through the green door." Students are then forced to deduce the topic by asking if other things can be brought through the green door as well, e.g., "Can I bring a _____ through the green door?"

Leader can only reply yes or no. When topic is identified, topic resets. Topics can be content related, such as parts of speech, colors, geometric figures, historical figures, etc.
5. One Minute Talk
Ideal Grade Levels: 5-20

Students are chosen to give 60 second talks on anything, from self-selected topics they are passionate about, have specific expertise in, etc., to topics given from teacher.
6. Count to Ten
Ideal Grade Levels: 3-20

All students stand in circle. First student says "1," or "1,2." The next student picks up where that student left off, and can say a maximum number of 2 numbers. The movement continues clockwise until it gets to 10, where that student has to sit, and the game starts back over at 1 at the next student. Note that there can be no pausing or silent counting-any pauses or indications the student is counting/calculating forces them to sit. Also, pouting or talking during counting results in elimination from future rounds. The big idea is to count strategically so that you can keep from saying "10."
7. I Never
Ideal Grade Levels: K-20

Students form circle. First student says something they've never done. Each student that has done the thing the other student has not steps briefly into the center. The game continues until every person has stated something they've done.
8. Magic Ball
Ideal Grade Levels: K-20

Students form circle. First student is "given" imaginary magic ball. Student sculpts imaginary ball into new shape, handing it to person to their right. Activity is silent. Any talking/noise results in student sitting. After game, guessing may be done to predict what "sculpture" was.
9. Silent Line
Ideal Grade Levels: K-8

Students are given a criteria, and must silently put themselves in a line as quickly as possible, to meet a goal, compete against other classes, or receive some reward (free reading time, no homework, etc.) The criteria can simple (birthdays), or slightly more complicated (alphabetical order of college or career ambition).
10. Inside-Outside Circle
Ideal Grade Levels: 3-20

Students form a circle within a circle with (ideally) equal number of students in both circles. Inside circle members pair with outside circle members. Activity leader (usually teacher, but can be a student) presents a topic, prompt, or question. Partners share for 10 seconds (or less), leader asks inside circle to move clockwise a certain number of spaces to collaborate with new partners directly across from them. This is usually content focuses, and helps spur quick discussion on content related topics, or even current events.
Source: The Advisory Book by Linda Crawford

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10 Team-Building Games For The First Day Of Class

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by TeachThought Staff Team-building activities are great. Not only can they help establish routines, tone, and expectations, they're also fun, and can help learners feel comfortable. Though many older students in high school and college may groan at their thought, they're usually fun, and great ways to help students feel at ease.

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Back to School: A Surefire Strategy for Building Classroom Community | Edutopia

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Back to School: A Surefire Strategy for Building Classroom Community | Edutopia

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Here's a specific classroom strategy which can be done at any time, but is especially powerful to do first thing on the first day of school -- and it's one you and your students will love!

"Take What You Need" Strategy

Gather your students into a circle. My preference (if it is possible) is to gather on a large rug. I always purchase a 12 by 18-foot piece of inexpensive carpet from a roll at Home Depot. If you don't have a rug, the floor will do, or just arrange desks into a circle.

Don't say anything, just take out a roll of toilet paper, tear off a length with about 10 squares, hand the roll of toilet paper to the student sitting next to you, and just say, "Take what you need."

Of course, the students will be surprised/shocked. But don't say anything. Let each student take as much or as little as they want, then pass it to the next student.

It's possible that one or two students won't take any because they aren't sure just what this is about. You can explain to them what you're doing. Say that for each square of toilet paper they have taken they will now share something about themselves with the class. This is a "getting to know you" activity.

No one is required to say anything. Demonstrate the type of information you'd like them to share by modeling -- you go first. I always give the students my first and last name; I am emphasizing that I am a person. So, for example, I may say . . .

[Tearing off Square 1]: My name is Anne Shaw (I do not say Mrs. Shaw).

[Tearing off Square 2]: I live in Austin, Texas.

[Tearing off Square 3]: I have three children, all grown, and five grandchildren, ages 4 to 13.

[Tearing off Square 4]: I love to cook (and eat!). I especially like enchiladas (and fried chicken and mashed potatoes).

[Tearing off Square 5]: I used to live in Pensacola, Florida, and my favorite thing about that (next to living near and spending time with two of my grandchildren) was watching the Blue Angels flying around every day!

[Tearing off Square 6]: My husband and I have traveled to Turkey, Malaysia, India, and Vietnam to work with educators! I brought home gorgeous saris for my daughter and my daughters-in-law.

[Tearing off Square 7]: During the past several years I have become very interested in environmental studies in education, from building sustainable school buildings (or living buildings) to school gardens.

The point of my modeling this first is to prevent everyone from saying the least amount of information possible and to get them to provide information that provides the rest of us with insight to who they really are -- really unique and specific information.

Usually, not only do we have one or two students who opt out, we usually also have one or two (I refer to them as the 'funny guys") who start rolling it out, and end up with a huge pile of toilet paper. This happens in workshops with teachers as well, and it's always a big laugh for everyone when I tell them that for each square they have to tell us something about themselves. In short, it's a lot of fun, and the best way I know to begin creating real community immediately.

After everyone has had their turn I explain to them that we are a team, a community, and that we are all there to support, teach and learn from each other. We build on this community every single day of the school year, first thing, every day.

Continue to Grow Community

We do not do the toilet paper every day, but usually on the second day of school the students who did not participate on Day One ask if we can do it again. We do, and then everyone is much more relaxed, sharing, and open. It only takes a few minutes, and it's worth every second.

Thereafter, we just have regular "rug talks" to start the day. Not everyone goes around the circle and says something every day. We just allow anyone who wishes to share something the chance to do so. Sometimes it is something like, "We had spaghetti at grandma's house last night." Or, "We went to the county fair last night." And sometimes it is quite serious.

One day in early spring I realized just how strong and profound our community was. A mother came to me before school; I was outside on playground duty. She had tears streaming down her face. Her ex-husband (the father of one of my students) had died during the night unexpectedly, due to an epileptic seizure. Of course they offered, and expected, that the little girl would stay home from school, but she insisted on being there with us. And when we began the day with our regular "rug talk" she asked me to tell the class what had happened. When I did, she let out this huge sob from deep inside her soul.

That was a powerful learning experience for all of us. We were a true community. In true communities of learners (including teachers) a support system is built in which we can share not only tragedies, but triumphs, and bits of joy or fun from daily life. And from within that context, the emotional environment, we are safe to take risks, to grow, and develop into our true selves. It's a great example of a specific philosophy I share with William Glasser, "Learning is serious, but that doesn't mean it has to be grim."

What strategies and approaches do you use for building classroom community? Please share in the comment section below.

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Back to School: A Surefire Strategy for Building Classroom Community | Edutopia

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Here's a specific classroom strategy which can be done at any time, but is especially powerful to do first thing on the first day of school -- and it's one you and your students will love! Gather your students into a circle. My preference (if it is possible) is to gather on a large rug.

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Grit Curriculum Lesson: The Perseverance Walk | Edutopia

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Grit Curriculum Lesson: The Perseverance Walk | Edutopia

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Grit Curriculum Lesson: The Perseverance Walk | Edutopia

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In teacher Amy Lyon's Perseverance Walk lesson, fifth grade students have an opportunity to interview someone who has worked hard towards a long-term goal, then create and share a presentation to illustrate a life lived with grit.

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How to Bring Listening Circles to Your Class | Edutopia

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How to Bring Listening Circles to Your Class | Edutopia

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"We are ready to start Family Time!" said Nikki Street to her second grade class in a warm, assertive tone. "To transition, I want you to do three elbow greetings." Sleepy students stood up and moved around the room, linking arms and saying "good morning" to each another. After greeting their third elbow partner, students migrated to the rug and sat quietly in a circle.

Street opened the ritual of community circles: "Today, the purpose is for us to continue to have fun together, get to know each other, and laugh together." The class read the guidelines as a chorus, and Nikki paused them to repeat the third one: "Listen from the heart. People are gonna be sharing things in the circle -- sometimes serious and sometimes silly. No matter what it is, I want everyone to be listening from the heart."

Community circles are a simple instructional routine that can transform your classroom. Used with intention, circles shape a listening culture where students practice giving attention to each other and "saying just enough" -- two essential skills for healthy relationships. For educators, this ritual keeps our finger on the pulse of student needs while helping us to orchestrate a safe, caring group dynamic.

Through her opening circle, Street sent a few powerful messages to her second grade students:

This classroom is like a family.

In this classroom, we greet one another to start our day.

In this classroom, we get to know each other through laughter and sharing.

In this classroom, we practice listening -- from the heart, no less!

As a listening educator, here are four ways that you can leverage circles.

1. Set the Tone

When opening a circle in your classroom, you hold a lot of power to set a safe, open tone for sharing. Choose a sacred talking piece that allows you to share a part of your story and to model risk-taking for students. A talking piece can be anything that has meaning for you: a picture, a rock, a stuffed animal, a shell. What matters is that you explain and personalize the object's meaning for your students and connect it to the guideline of listening from the heart to one speaker at a time. Your talking piece will create a gravitas that travels around the circle as each student holds it.

2. Plan Your Prompts

The best circle prompts evolve from low-stakes to higher-stakes, gradually inviting students to bring their experiences and identities into the classroom. Many teachers plan for three discussion rounds that start with fun or silly prompts and end with opportunities for deeper sharing. As the prompt designer, you should think about matching questions to your lesson goals and assessment of the class culture. Consider:

How close is this group?

What do and don't they know about each other?

What key idea from a text can you reinforce?

The prompts that you select should build toward those more personal moments of sharing that unify a classroom culture. Here are some sample circle prompts.

Round 1: Getting To Know Each Other

Today I'm feeling _____ (one word).

If you could be a superhero, what super powers would you choose, and why?

Round 2: Exploring Values and Identity

What touches your heart?

How would your best friend describe you?

What does respect look like to you?

Round 3: Storytelling

A time when you had a conflict with a parent or caregiver

An experience of feeling that you did not fit in

A time when you learned something that really mattered to you

3. Mirror and Affirm

You can encourage sharing and listening during circles by validating your students' hard work. A master of affirmation and precise praise, Street said mid-circle, "People are doing a great job of listening from the heart. I noticed everyone's head is moving to listen to each person." To close the circle, she issued another affirmation: "Remember we celebrate ourselves, so if you felt you were doing a great job of listening from the heart, you can celebrate yourself with a pat." Students gently patted their hearts.

4. Log Your Listening

Finally, listening educators are keenly attuned to their students' comments and non-verbal signals during circles. You are looking and listening for insight into students who may be struggling and with whom you need to have a follow-up conversation. Right after a circle, it can be helpful to jot down observation notes in a listening log to capture raw data before it sifts through your brain. Street's log could read:

Today's date:

Students responded well to the one-word feeling prompt.

Follow-up needed with J. who shared that he is feeling sad.

Learning objective met: students practiced listening from the heart.

How have you used circles to promote a listening culture? What other routines support listening in your classroom? Which of these tips speak to you, and why?

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How to Bring Listening Circles to Your Class | Edutopia

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"We are ready to start Family Time!" said Nikki Street to her second grade class in a warm, assertive tone. "To transition, I want you to do three elbow greetings." Sleepy students stood up and moved around the room, linking arms and saying "good morning" to each another.

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Using Dialogue Circles to Support Classroom Management | Edutopia

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Using Dialogue Circles to Support Classroom Management | Edutopia

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As an element of restorative justice, dialogue circles foster a safe space for open discussion.

Overview

Promoting Positive Behavior

Dialogue circles are gatherings in which all participants sit in a circle facing each other to facilitate open, direct communication.

Dialogue circles provide a safe, supportive space where all school community members can talk about sensitive topics, work through differences, and build consensus.

At Glenview Elementary School, circles are part of a program called Restorative Justice, which is aimed at building collaboration, respect, and positive behavior among students. The circles were implemented in classrooms slowly, and after two years, there was a marked improvement in classroom behavior.

How It's Done

Starting the Day on a Positive Note

Dialogue Circles were put to use in classrooms at Glenview after the teachers had experience using the technique with their peers. When first implemented, feedback and support from the SEL counselor was provided.

After two years, the school experienced a discipline shift as staff worked together to address misbehavior through community-building instead of punishment.

Check-In Circles

Check-In circles are a great way to start the day by inviting students to share their feelings and listen to others.
Sample Activities to build comfort and trust:

Teachers should include themselves in the circle to signal that they are facilitators and listeners during these gatherings, not authority figures.

Use a "talking piece" to remind students to pay attention to the speaker and that only one person talks at a time.

Mindfulness exercises help release tension and build focus on the present moment.

Devote at least five minutes to circle time; you can gradually expand, as students get more comfortable.

Always allow students to opt out if they choose.

On a Scale of 1 to 5: Ask each student to rate how she is feeling on a scale of one to five, where a "five" might signal an upcoming birthday, and a "one" might mean troubles at home. Start the activity by sharing how you are feeling and why.

You're in My Boat: Have a student share something personal, such as an experience or something he is interested in by saying, "You're in my boat if..." For example, "You're in my boat if you like French fries," or "You're in my boat if someone got upset with you this morning." All who agree with the statement get up and change seats; the others remain seated.

Peacemaking Circles

Peacemaking circles can be used to help resolve conflicts between individuals or to address academic issues. Conflict resolution circles focus on restoration in lieu of punishment and their goal is to repair harm, support relationships, and solve problems.

Encourage students to reach out to teachers when they have a problem.

To start the circle, establish who initiated the circle and ask students if they know why they are there.

Define the issue, starting with the student who initiated the circle. Focus on raising awareness of each student's feelings and perspectives.

Ask questions that emphasize choices and how choices relate to students' values.

Encourage students to share at least one positive thought about the student they are in conflict with.

Ask the student who was harmed what would help them feel better.

Academic Intervention Circles

Academic intervention circles give students an opportunity to voice their needs, and help teachers and administrators understand the issues students are grappling with.

Include family members, teachers, counselors, and/or administrators to develop strategies that address the student's academic and emotional needs, such as one-on-one tutoring or home visits.

Keep track of at-risk students, including their issues and the circle of individuals who are coordinating supports for them, to be sure they are getting the help they need and are making progress.

Resources

58% English Language Learners

Data is from the 2013-14 academic year.

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Dialogue Circles and Positive Classroom Culture | Edutopia

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As an element of restorative justice, dialogue circles foster a safe space for open discussion. Dialogue circles are gatherings in which all participants sit in a circle facing each other to facilitate open, direct communication. Dialogue circles provide a safe, supportive space where all school community members can talk about sensitive topics, work through differences, and build consensus.

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A Classroom Canvas that Encourages Community | Edutopia

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A Classroom Canvas that Encourages Community | Edutopia

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The smell of permanent marker is in the air; books are piled neatly on each desk; brand new posters and charts hang peacefully on the walls; pencils are sharpened to needle-like perfection. And in the distance, new sneakers beat the pavement with anxiety and excitement about the first day of school.

Ten years ago, I felt the same way. I wanted my room to look crisp and clean for my students. And it always did. But after many years of teaching, my store-bought decorations and props started to feel fake, a bit superficial. I wanted my room to be more kid created. I felt that if I let my students create the room, it would give me more of a chance to get to know them and for them to get to know each other, which lays a solid community foundation right from the start. Now, I begin each school year with a blank classroom canvas. The kids bring the color. The kids bring the creativity. The kids bring the heart and soul to the community. Super Duper Pow!

"Knowing the children we teach -- individually, culturally, and developmentally -- is as important as knowing the content we teach."
-- Responsive Classroom

Painting the Classroom Canvas

Jamie Schwantes, first grade teacher in West Deptford, N.J. (and good friend of mine), says that whatever he uses in the classroom, whether it's furniture or decorations, should always have three purposes. Well, here's a little activity I love to do in the beginning of the year that has three purposes. Mr. S would be proud. I call it "Mapping your Classroom Community."

Purpose 1: Getting to know each other

Purpose 2: Writing topics

Purpose 3: Kid created decorations

A Map Can Take You On a Marvelous Journey

Students need to write about what they know. It puts them in a comfort zone, which will promote risk. "Without risk, it is nearly impossible to grow as a writer." Vicki Spandel said that and I totally agree. But, a fresh answer is needed for this question: what do students really know? Out of all of the books I've read on writing and teaching writing, Stephen King's "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft," has made the largest impact on my life. And this very activity was born from reading King's book. To be exact, from this very quote: "If you are a plumber, you know plumbing, but that is far from the extent of your knowledge; your heart knows things and so does your imagination." Boom! It hit me then and there. Maps!

Heart Map

If you teach writing, you have probably used Katie Wood Ray's heart map activity. It's self-explanatory: you list things you love inside of a heart hopefully creating writing topics. My take on it: I split the heart into two sections -- the "loves" section and the "bugs" section. Instead of love and hate, I use loves and bugs. You can't have the lovey-dovey stuff without the ugly in the world. And sometimes the things that bug you can bring about some darn good writing. This is where you'll find out that it bugs Johnny to share a room with his younger brother, but he loves running through the sprinkler.

Brain Map

With the plumber from King's quote in mind, I then created a brain map, a huge, puffy, marshmallow-like brain. Kids know stuff and love sharing it. This is their chance. The brain map might hold science facts, sports records, or state capitals. One year I had a student who was obsessed with bugs. He identified and listed every single insect that resided within our classroom. Cool, if you like bugs.

Imagination Map

The last map, the imagination map, is my favorite. This is the map I would have loved to see when I was in third grade. The imagination map can be anything. I've used dragons and monsters, but I think the shield with the capital "I" in the center is my favorite because there's more area to fill. Anything and everything fantastical can be listed on this map. Goblins, witches, aliens, and of course completely original "things" like the Oooby-Nooby can be showcased on the I-Map.

Extra Tips

I like making the maps black and white and super-duper-sized to hang on the wall. Let the kids fill them up with color and community building info. I have also made them small enough to glue into a notebook or journal for privacy. We all know that writing can be very private at times.

Your students' factual, emotional, and creative intelligences are set free, which builds community during the early stages of the school year. Good luck!

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A Classroom Canvas that Encourages Community | Edutopia

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Blogger and elementary teacher Gaetan Pappalardo lets his students get creative with their room decoration because it gives him a chance to get to know them, and each other. And that lays a solid community foundation right from the start.

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Resident Assistant – Human Taco Icebreaker / Teambuilder

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Resident Assistant – Human Taco Icebreaker / Teambuilder

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Human Taco Icebreaker / Teambuilder

HUMAN TACO: Stick labeled note card (with taco ingredient) on the back of everyone's shirt. (i.e. the word meat printed on a note card) Have each player mingle around asking yes/no questions to find out the taco ingredient that is on their back. Explain the correct order of ingredients in a Human Taco: shell, meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, salsa and then give the start command, "I'm hungry! Let's eat!" Each individual must find out which ingredient they are and then find enough to form a complete Human Taco.

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HUMAN TACO: Stick labeled note card (with taco ingredient) on the back of everyone's shirt. (i.e. the word meat printed on a note card) Have each player mingle around asking yes/no questions to find out the taco ingredient that is on their back.

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Giants, Wizards, & Elves - Description of a fun group game

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Giants, Wizards, & Elves - Description of a fun group game

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Giants, Wizards, & Elves - Description of a fun group game

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Active, all-engaging game -- fun way to get a group physically and mentally alert