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Mitchell, D. (1996). Writing to learn across the curriculum and the English teacher. English Journal, 85, 93-97.

Santa, C., & Havens, L. (1995). Creating independence through student-owned strategies: Project CRISS. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.

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RAFT is a writing strategy that helps students understand their roles as writers, the audience they will address, the varied formats for writing, and the topic they will be writing about. By using this strategy, teachers encourage students to write creatively, to consider a topic from a different perspective, and to gain practice writing for different audiences.

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The (Not Sot) Little Itty Bitty Book Of The C.I.F. (Common Instructional Framework)

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The (Not Sot) Little Itty Bitty Book Of The C.I.F. (Common Instructional Framework)

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The (Not Sot) Little Itty Bitty Book Of The C.I.F. (Common Instructional Framework)

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Protocols By Tag | New Protocols | Spanish Protocols | Portuguese Protocols | Protocols For Youth Engagement

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Laura Randazzo - Solutions for the Secondary Classroom

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Swat Teams are the Fun Fix - Laura Randazzo - Solutions for the Secondary Classroom

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Ready to move beyond tired Jeopardy slides? Try a few rounds of the Flyswatter Game, a no-fail way to keep teens active and excited about test prep. Six Easy St

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Have you ever finished a lesson early and wondered what to do with the class for the rest of the period? I usually have the opposite problem. I'm usually working my tail off trying to fit everything in. However, the Earth must have tilted on its axis the other day because I unexpectedly ended up with an extra 15 minutes of class time. Now what?? It took my students all of 2 seconds to suggest trashketball. They know I love it as much as they do. Many math reviews are painful, tedious, and slow. Trashketball, on the other hand, is effective, engaging, and keeps my students excited about learning. It also helps the time fly!

Setting Up Trashketball

This game is incredibly easy to set up. I can have the game set up and ready to go in less than 3 minutes. Here's what you need:

Ball

I keep an old rubber ball in my class just for this purpose. It's not anything fancy and half the time the ball is flat. Seriously, the ball is so flat that it won't roll, but that doesn't matter.

Trashcan

We play the game with our regular classroom trash can. I don't even bother to empty out the trash because we're in a hurry to get the game started. I used to have a nice, big, round trash can that was perfect. In my new classroom, I have a rectangular trash can which is not exactly ideal, but it works.

Questions

For the questions, I use something I can access quickly. You know that when you're digging around looking for something special, the kids get antsy. If you're playing this game as a time filler, the key is to get the game started as quickly as possible. One of my favorite resources to use is Boom Cards in FastPin mode. Other options would be to use task cards that you have handy, vocabulary words you've been studying, or just make up your own problems to write on the board. I like to sneak in test prep questions to help my students become more comfortable with these types of problems.

Keeping Score

I don't do anything fancy or cute when it comes to teams and scoring. I make an effort to get the game started as quickly as possible. We usually play girls against boys and I keep score by putting tally marks on my dry erase board. As an alternative, you can have the students keep the score at their desks.

How I Play Trashketball

There are different variations of this game out there. This is what it looks like in my room.

1. First, I show the class a problem and everyone works it. This is non-negotiable - it doesn't matter to me whose turn it is.

2. I call on a student from the first team to share the answer. There are usually plenty of volunteers. I try to play enough rounds that everyone has a chance to answer, but I don't put pressure on anyone to answer. Some kids just don't like shooting baskets in front of the class. No biggie.

3. If the answer is correct, their team gets a point and that student gets the chance to shoot the ball into the trash can.

4. If a basket is made, then the team gets another point.

5. Play continues until we run out of time.

Maintaining Control

I'll be honest - my kids have the potential to get out of hand while playing this game. For my sanity, I added a new rule to the game and it has been a lifesaver! Here's the magical rule: If you talk, the other team gets a point. It's so simple but highly effective! With this rule, I learned that my kids have a lot more self-control than I realized.

Reasons to Play Trashketball

Students are happy and engaged.

The game takes little preparation.

The talking rule makes behavior management a breeze.

It's a fun way to review skills.

Students enjoy test prep with this game.

Trashketball is a review game that your students are going to love. If you've never played before, you HAVE to give it a try! Your students will beg you to play this game all year long and you won't mind giving in occasionally.

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Trashketball - An Exciting and Easy Way to Review

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Trashketball is a student approved review game. With very little preparation, you can keep students motivated and angaged during review time.

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| | Filed Under: Math, Math Centers, Test Prep, Writing & Grammar

A few years ago, I was introduced to a highly motivating, fast-paced academic version of the games Spoons. After playing a few rounds and having a lot of fun, I knew this was something I wanted to incorporate as much as possible into my classroom.

The academic version of Spoons is a great way to motivate your students to review almost any concept! (If you are not familiar with the regular card game, click here to read about it)

My own students request to continue playing it a recess, and they literally cheer when I put Spoons games in their math centers for the week. (Read more about math centers in my classroom here.) Read on to learn how you can play spoons in the classroom with your students and grab free games!

4 Players

3 Spoons

16 cards (four of the same cards that "match"). I know some people use more cards when they play Spoons so they have a dealer stack or a discard stack. My version has neither. This keeps the game from lasting too long. Usually in one center rotation my students can easily play two or three rounds of Spoons (the same game or a different game to review multiple skills).

Answer Key and Directions Page

The 4 players sit in a circle with the 3 spoons in the middle.

One of the players distributes 4 cards to each player, including him or herself.

Each player takes turns passing one card that they do not want to the player to their left, usually at one player's signal to "Switch". (There is no discard pile.)

When a player has 4 cards that are a match, he/she, as quietly as possible, takes a spoon from the center.

As the other players notice this, they (as quietly as possible) take a spoon until there is one player without a spoon.

The player without a spoon must say, "Prove it!" to the player that has the match.

Next, the player with the match has to prove that his/her cards are matches.

If the original player is able to prove it, the player without the spoon has to add an S to his/her scoreboard. If the original player cannot prove that his/her cards match, that player gets an S.

Take up all cards, shuffle, and play again.

If a player spells the word SPOONS, they lose.

Differences Between the Traditional Version of Spoons and My Version

If you are familiar with the traditional Spoons game, there are some differences that I made to keep the game educational and realistic as far as prepping and playing.

The main difference between this game of spoons in the "fun" game of spoons is that the last person to grab the spoon is not eliminated. They have to tell the person with the match to "Prove it."

Another difference is there are only 16 cards, enough for each player to have four cards. There is no draw or discard pile. The students keep passing the same cards for the round.

The final main difference is that the matches are not perfect matches in the sense that each card shows exactly the same word, number, or phrase. Here is example of a four card "match" from my Main Idea Spoons game.

As you can see they are not matches in the sense that every card says the same word or phrase. Instead they are matched because the three supporting details support the main idea. This takes the rigor up a notch and really makes the students think when they are deciding which cards to keep or switch. It also ups the rigor when it comes time for them to prove their matches.

These are pretty simple to make your own once you choose a skill or concept that can be reviewed with four matches. To be honest, choosing a skill that works for this type of game is the difficult part. Not all skills will have four "easy to come up with" matches and sometimes you have to be creative.

Once you have chosen your skill, you will need 16 index cards or pieces of card stock. Write your four sets of four matches on the cards. Create a quick answer key and you are done. Here is an example of what a hand-created match for a Parts of Speech Spoons game could look like.

For this game, the students could be matching basic parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs). The cards shown would be a complete match for noun: the card labeled noun, the card defining nouns, and two sentences with nouns underlined.

Don't want to make your own Spoons games? Keep reading until the end of this post because I have two free Spoons games for you to try with your students and links to where you can purchase some more, if you want!

If you have five players, have two of the players partner up. This would be a great way to scaffold a struggling student by partnering them with another student.

If you have only 3 players, have them place one of the cards in the middle for all the players "to have". Have this card be placed face up and teach the students that any of them can use that card for one of their matches. Then, they will each be given 5 cards instead of 4. However, they will still only have to find four of the same concept or number.

You will need to explicitly teach your students behavior expectations for this game. The students get very excited playing Spoons, so you have to set the expectations from the get-go. Usually, my kids love "playing" the game so much that they will self-monitor their own behavior. However, I have had to take the "game" aspect away from a few groups over the years. When the students lose the game for the week, they have to use the game pieces as a matching or sort, and they have to record their answers to turn in. If you have to do this, you will only have to do it once because the students would much rather play the game.

When I put Spoons games in centers, I always put at least two different Spoons games for the students to play while they are at that center. My students can only play around 3-4 rounds of one game before they have to choose another game to play (carrying their letters over to the next game).

Print your games on different colored card stock or colored paper to help the students keep them organized, especially if you place more than one game at a center.

When I first introduce the game, I teach it in small groups of students. This way I can model explicitly how I want them to play, how I want them to grab the spoons, etc. When I have lower groups of students, I use cards with numbers on them to easily teach the concept of the game. Keep reading the next section for more tips and a link to download the simple game I use to model and introduce the game.

One of the best parts of using this game in the classroom is that you teach the game one time, and then your students can play it over and over with new educational concepts. All they need to know is that they are looking for or matching in the new game and they are good to go. For an extra challenge for some groups, sometimes I don't always tell them what they are looking for as far as matches. This makes the game similar to an open sort and really makes the students think about how the cards relate.
**Click here to grab the Simple Game for Introducing Spoons for FREE!**
To initially teach and introduce the game, I do like to use a very simple version that only has the students matching numbers. This allows the students to get comfortable with how the game works, passing the cards, proving their matches, assigning letters, etc. This also allows me to explicitly model my expectations for playing. We play the simple version for a couple of quick rounds and then I introduce the first academic spoons to finish out the rounds.

Want to try out the academic version of Spoons with your students? Or just want a closer look at how the games work to see if they are a good fit for your class? Try these free games!

Want even more Spoons Games? Click on the images below to see the math spoons games, the literacy spoons games, and the discounted bundle of all of my spoons games!

What do you think about playing Spoons in the classroom? Is this something you have done or could see yourself doing in the future? Let me know in the comments!

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Playing Spoons in the Classroom {Highly Engaging Review Game}

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This post explains how teachers can use an academic version of the highly engaging Spoons game to review concepts. Free games included!

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Make Any Worksheet Into an Escape Room in the Classroom -

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An escape room in the classroom is a super fun way to engage your students in any topic. Make one easily with the worksheet you already have!

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Well it took almost a full school year, but thanks to a professional development I went to, I found a review technique ALL of my 7th graders were on board with.

I call it "True, False, Fix."

The PD person led us through a variety of strategies, and one was a review where there were 20 statements about the content from the lesson divided into pairs in 10 spots around the room. We each started at a pair of statements, read them, and put the one we thought was correct right side up and the incorrect one upside down. The person leading the PD, checked them, we moved to the next pair of statements, then the next, and we kept going and getting checked until we had done all 10 pairs. I thought it was a neat idea, but it had been designed for 4th graders so I put my own spin on it for my 7th graders.

As the schedule worked out, my girls had a test our 2nd day back from spring break, so I spent our first class getting them back in gear and reviewing. I figured I might as well try this new strategy because it's getting close to the end of our year and I wanted to shake things up for the girls and do something different.

I typed up 16 statements related to the test material, some true and some false. I divided the girls into pairs and each pair got all 16 pieces of paper in a pile. They divided them into true and false and then I checked them. Once each pair's true/false separations were correct, the girls took turns explaining why each was false and restated it so it was true (for example: Mexico won the Mexican-American War was corrected to America won the Mexican-American War). Afterwards, in their pairs, they wrote two true and two false statements related to the material that had not already been covered, swapped them with another pair, and they sorted and fixed them one more time.

We also played THIS review game afterwards with some of the larger topics from the semester just to make sure they hadn't brain dumped *everything* over break, because their final exam is closer than they realize. ***Exciting update, this post has been featured on the TpT Blog!***
Do you have any new strategies or tips that other teachers would benefit from, especially as it gets close to the end of the year? I'd love to read about them in the comments 🙂

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True, False, Fix: A Social Studies Review Game

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Well it took almost a full school year, but thanks to a professional development I went to, I found a review technique ALL of my 7th graders were on board with. I call it "True, False, Fix." The PD person led us through a variety of strategies, and one was a review where there were...

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Classroom teachers are always looking for ways to keep learning fun and exciting for their students. Enter Punch It! - a punch cup game with a twist for test prep review, learning, and skills mastery. Read on to find out how to make a punch cup game for the classroom - a true punch cup game DIY tutorial.

I created this game to be used at any time of the school year, but it's especially helpful during skills review and test prep time. It's super easy to set up and game play is not complex at all! Best of all, your students will LOVE playing this game and will beg to play it ALL. THE. TIME. Guaranteed!
This post contains affiliate links. If you click through, I may receive a small commission. Thanks!
Here are the steps for setting up your Punch Cup Game and playing it as a class:

First, gather all the supplies you will need to make your punch cup game. It will take about 30 minutes to set this up the first time, but once you've done that, you can reuse the punch cup tray over and over again by just adding new prizes and tissue paper. So, time investment up front for lots of fun learning time down the road!
You will need:

Large Cookie Sheet (you can even set up two sheets to use side by side for a larger class)

Large Plastic Party Cups (there are so many great colors available)

Rubber Bands

Tissue Paper

Hot Glue Gun

Scissors

A Few Small Prizes (I used these adorable Umiku 3D Erasers.... super cute!)

Fun Teacher's Pointer (for punching the cups)

Punch It! Game Cards and Point Cards (or you can make your own)

See the entire tutorial by watching the step-by-step video here: Now that you've gathered all your supplies, you are ready to make a punch cup game for the classroom! Let's get started!
Begin by using a hot glue gun to add a ring of glue to the bottom of each plastic cup. Turn the cup over and press firmly to the cookie sheet. Do this with all the cups until the sheet is covered. Be sure to leave a little space between cups so that you can later add the tissue paper and rubber bands.

Next, drop slips of paper with point values into most of the cups. In a couple of the punch cups, drop small prizes or pieces of paper that say "prize" on them, so students can get a prize from you later.

Once all the cups have either a point value or prize inside, cut out squares of tissue paper a little larger than the top of each cup. Secure the tissue paper to the top of the cup with a rubber band.

Please Note: While the punch cup board is sitting flat in these photos, you can definitely display or hang it on its side. (Just drill 2 holes on one side of the tray and hang with twine or cord.) It is a little more fun to punch the cups straight on, rather than downward. The class can also see the game better if you hang it on its side.

Now that your punch cup tray is fully prepared and ready, you can begin playing a punch cup game! Place a stack of question cards (you can write your own or get them premade and ready-to-go) face down in a pile on the table.

Divide the class into two or more teams. Have a student from one team turn over a question card. Every student must solve the problem, but you'll mainly be checking the answers of the team whose turn it is. If they get the correct answer, then a member of that team earns a turn to punch a cup.

Have the student carefully (if students are a bit careful, you will be able to reuse the punch cup tray time after time by just adding new tissue paper) punch a cup with either their fingers or with a fun pointer. If there are points inside, the student's team wins those points. If there is a prize inside, the student gets to keep the prize.

Continue playing until either all cups have been punched or all the question cards have been answered.

The punch cup tray should last a long time and be able to be reused by just adding new prizes, point values, and tissue paper after each game.

I love that this game setup can be used with ANY set of question cards! It really is the perfect review and test prep activity!
Get your ready-to-go, printable Punch It! Punch Cup Math Bundles for the Year here:
Save This Idea for Later

Click on the image to save it to your Pinterest boards for later!

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How to Make a Punch Cup Game for the Classroom - Appletastic Learning

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Classroom teachers are always looking for ways to keep learning fun and exciting for their students. Enter Punch It! - a punch cup game with a twist for test prep review, learning, and skills mastery. Read on to find out how to make a punch cup game for the classroom - a true punch cup game DIY tutorial.

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18 Engagement Strategies For Any Classroom

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18 Engagement Strategies For Any Classroom

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18 Engagement Strategies For Any Classroom

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Retrieval practice, elaboration, and concept mapping help students make richer, more meaningful connections between ideas.

With uncertainty hovering over fall plans, teaching and learning continue to look different from district to district than ever before. While administrators juggle with tough choices, almost every teacher is back to reading, reflecting, and restructuring their lesson plans to keep their learners engaged and learning-and as equitable as possible given the constraints. In this post, I share three strategies, informed by the learning sciences, that teachers can use online or face-to-face to deepen student learning: retrieval practice, elaboration, and concept mapping.

Strategy 1: Retrieval Practice

1. Create a version of your study guide that has only the questions. Ask students to practice answering them without additional support. Once they're done, they can share their answers; they can also look up the correct answers, either alone or in groups.

2. Use a brain dump. Ask students to write down everything they remember relevant to your question (or the topic) on a piece of paper. You can stop here, or have students compare their work to find gaps, similarities, and differences.

Retrieval practice, or the practice of remembering, is a robust learning strategy as summarized in a meta-analysis of more than 200 studies published by my colleagues and me. Retrieval practice is when you push yourself to write, tell, or draw what you've already learned, and it can be especially helpful for concepts you may not remember as clearly-the process of remembering will help strengthen your memory. Plus, you have the added benefit of identifying what you know and don't know. Some teachers use this strategy in their classrooms already-maybe you do too. If not, here are two ways to start:

Strategy 2: Elaboration

1. Ask learners to compare two examples of the same concept or share specific examples. For example, when covering concepts of reusable energy, ask questions such as, "What are three similarities and differences between wind and solar energy?" Use these questions in a discussion board, in a short answer prompt, or to jazz up the thinking quotient of your worksheet.

2. Learners can explain the topic out loud to themselves, friends, a sibling, or a parent. You can also incorporate it into group activities-like a jigsaw-or have students role-play as the teacher and explain the topic to the class. For virtual classrooms, Flipgrid is an excellent tool: Students can record themselves reading about a topic and then answering questions like "How do I apply this topic in my life?" For younger students who may need more scaffolding, you can ask a more targeted prompt, like "How do I consume energy every day?"

Elaboration -also known as elaborative interrogation-refers to expanding a concept to be more detailed, allowing our brain to connect multiple concepts to one central idea. The more connections we make, the more likely we are to remember relevant information. Think of the icebreaker "Tell me one fun thing about yourself." Not only does it help you remember something interesting about a person-they like rocky road ice cream, for example-but you may also think of that person every time you see the flavor. In a learning context, elaboration can often be done by asking questions that require engaging deeply with content. So instead of asking learners to simply memorize information, they can compare and contrast right and wrong answers. This approach is so simple, you likely use it in your class already. Here are two ways to start:

Putting It All Together: Concept Mapping

Concept mapping combines retrieval practice and elaboration through the process of drawing one's understanding of relationships between concepts. A map usually contains at least two concepts (nouns), a relationship (verb or concise description), and a directional arrow connecting the concepts. When reading the map, we create mini sentences (excusing poor grammar, of course). For example, a student learning about bacteria can create a concept map that includes any relevant ideas-such as specific types of bacteria (" Helicobacter pylori") or ways to describe them ("single-celled organism"). This layout allows learners to identify what they know and where the gaps are, in addition to the relationships between concepts. A review of more than 140 experiments suggests that this strategy is superior to rote memorization because it encourages students to make richer, more meaningful connections within a topic.

1. Focusing stage: Learners are given or are asked to identify a guiding question-such as "How is ice formed?"-relevant to the current topic.

2. Brainstorming stage (making use of retrieval practice): Learners do a brain dump in response to the guiding question, writing down any concepts and ideas that come to mind.

3. Organizing stage (elaboration): Learners review their brain dump and pick out concepts that are central to the guiding question, followed by asking themselves, "How are these concepts connected?"

4. Layout stage: Learners build their map connecting the concepts with directional arrows showcasing their understanding. At the top of the map, they can start by writing down the main ideas of the topic, and then start connecting words together.

5. Linking stage: They complete the first draft of the concept map by labeling the arrows with these descriptions. For example, if they start with the words "ice" and "cold," they can connect the two with "is." This encourages learners to think about the relationships between different ideas.

6. Revising stage: There is no perfect concept map. Give learners the opportunity to redo and update based on their understanding.

There are six stages in concept mapping, starting with the instructor providing learners with a specific guiding question.

In the past, I've done concept mapping with kindergarteners, replacing words with pictures, and it's so much fun to have them form sentences using images. The goal is to help them retrieve, elaborate, and share their understanding. (I also recommend looking into Dual Coding for Teachers and other resources by Oliver Caviglioli.)

A final tip: You don't have to do all of these strategies for every topic. Pick and choose, mix and match. Start small and build up. These strategies work because they engage the learner's attention and encourage them to think more deeply about the content.

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3 Brain-Based Strategies That Encourage Deeper Thinking

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Retrieval practice, elaboration, and concept mapping help students make richer, more meaningful connections between ideas.