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Template can be used to build relationships with students/get to know them better

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Template can be used to build relationships with students/get to know them better

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Template can be used to build relationships with students/get to know them better

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Template can be used to build relationships with students/get to know them better

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Template can be used to build relationships with students/get to know them better

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https://www.unlimitedteacher.com/tqe

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https://www.unlimitedteacher.com/tqe

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https://www.unlimitedteacher.com/tqe

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https://www.unlimitedteacher.com/tqe

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https://www.unlimitedteacher.com/tqe

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I completely understand the benefits of repeated practice with a particular form of writing, annotations, brainstorming. Repeated practice with anything will help make a person better at that task.

But aren't these areas of education which can provide more choice? If I write something on paper, I'm going to remember it, but not if I type it. If I read something on paper, I'll remember it, even it's placement on the page, but I struggle to remember much when reading on a device. It's the way I work.

What about how students work? Why not allow for their preferences?

And my goodness, what about all the different My Way Systems students have to navigate as they move from grade to grade?

When I got rid of novel questions, I replaced them with a more free form note-taking assignment: annotations with a graphic organizer I call a Reading Sheet. It works and is great for readers who need the practice with particular reading strategies. But it became just another homework assignment and many of my students could benefit from more freedom and choice.

I moved to Left & Right Annotations. In my class, or really, I would think any class or anytime a person reads a text, two things must happen: the reader must understand what the author is doing and the reader must connect with the text.

I love my Left and Right Annotations because it's a simple set up (no graphic organizer required). It's simple, memorable, and transferable.

On the LEFT, write about what the author LEFT for you to find.

On the RIGHT, write about the connections you made with the text; the Thoughts, Questions, and Epiphanies which make you wonder if you're RIGHT.

To have a copy of my Left and Right Annotations, please click here.

Thought, Questions, and Epiphanies are a staple in our classroom and the basis for amazing literary discussion without the traditional question lists. It's a student favorite and the top "Must Keep" from our end of the year course survey. For more information, see my post We're Killing the Love of Reading, but Here's an Easy Fix.
During our TQE process, students would continue to make notes, but in different colors to show growth. The small group discussion would be in a second color and show they were listening and considering their group members' ideas, and then a third color shows the same engagement with the class discussion. I simply leave a cup of color pencils on our coffee table at the center of the room.

To see our classroom, check out the posts Photo Gallery of our DIY Flexible Classroom and Improve Soft Skills with Collaborative Screens. Or if you'd like a "tour,"click here.
After students got used to the system, my Left & Right Annotations became optional. Many students continued to use them in my class and in their other subjects because the system worked for them. Their annotations came in handy when we discussed their Reading Comprehension scores. Students would also return to them when an essay or project was assigned, again annotating their own annotations to find their insights.

Student choice, voice, autonomy, and loads of critical thinking. No prompts or question lists required. Reading at its best.

And it's their way, so it will be a lasting and effective tool.

I completely understand the benefits of repeated practice with a particular form of writing, annotations, brainstorming. Repeated practice with anything will help make a person better at that task.

But aren't these areas of education which can provide more choice? If I write something on paper, I'm going to remember it, but not if I type it. If I read something on paper, I'll remember it, even it's placement on the page, but I struggle to remember much when reading on a device. It's the way I work.

What about how students work? Why not allow for their preferences?

And my goodness, what about all the different My Way Systems students have to navigate as they move from grade to grade?

When I got rid of novel questions, I replaced them with a more free form note-taking assignment: annotations with a graphic organizer I call a Reading Sheet. It works and is great for readers who need the practice with particular reading strategies. But it became just another homework assignment and many of my students could benefit from more freedom and choice.

I moved to Left & Right Annotations. In my class, or really, I would think any class or anytime a person reads a text, two things must happen: the reader must understand what the author is doing and the reader must connect with the text.

I love my Left and Right Annotations because it's a simple set up (no graphic organizer required). It's simple, memorable, and transferable.

On the LEFT, write about what the author LEFT for you to find.

On the RIGHT, write about the connections you made with the text; the Thoughts, Questions, and Epiphanies which make you wonder if you're RIGHT.

To have a copy of my Left and Right Annotations, please click here.

Thought, Questions, and Epiphanies are a staple in our classroom and the basis for amazing literary discussion without the traditional question lists. It's a student favorite and the top "Must Keep" from our end of the year course survey. For more information, see my post We're Killing the Love of Reading, but Here's an Easy Fix.
During our TQE process, students would continue to make notes, but in different colors to show growth. The small group discussion would be in a second color and show they were listening and considering their group members' ideas, and then a third color shows the same engagement with the class discussion. I simply leave a cup of color pencils on our coffee table at the center of the room.

To see our classroom, check out the posts Photo Gallery of our DIY Flexible Classroom and Improve Soft Skills with Collaborative Screens. Or if you'd like a "tour,"click here.
After students got used to the system, my Left & Right Annotations became optional. Many students continued to use them in my class and in their other subjects because the system worked for them. Their annotations came in handy when we discussed their Reading Comprehension scores. Students would also return to them when an essay or project was assigned, again annotating their own annotations to find their insights.

Student choice, voice, autonomy, and loads of critical thinking. No prompts or question lists required. Reading at its best.

And it's their way, so it will be a lasting and effective tool.

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Annotate My Way, or Else. - Unlimited Teacher

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I completely understand the benefits of repeated practice with a particular form of writing, annotations, brainstorming. Repeated practice with anything will help make a person better at that task. But aren't these areas of education which can provide more choice? If I write something on paper, I'm going to remember it, but not if I type it.

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Silent Peer Annotations Desk Gallery Walk

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Silent Peer Annotations Desk Gallery Walk

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Silent Peer Annotations Via Desk Gallery Walk Students place papers on desks and silently annotate each other's work. Annotations should include explanations in the student's own words. Extensions

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Silent Peer Annotations Desk Gallery Walk

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Silent Peer Annotations Desk Gallery Walk

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Silent Peer Annotations Via Desk Gallery Walk Students place papers on desks and silently annotate each other's work. Annotations should include explanations in the student's own words. Extensions

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Peter Liljedhal's Vertical Learning for a Math Classroom

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Peter Liljedhal's Vertical Learning for a Math Classroom

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In traditional math classrooms-and in classrooms where challenging, unfamiliar work is often assigned, more generally-the progression " I do, we do, you do" often becomes the default approach to learning, according to researcher and professor of mathematics at Simon Fraser University, Peter Liljedahl.

It makes sense in many cases, particularly when difficult concepts need to be addressed in time windows that are compressed by bell schedules, holiday breaks, andsummer vacation.But used too frequently, this approach, Liljedahl recently told the Cult of Pedagogy, inhibits higher order thinking and results in students who "mimic" teachers. Students who engage in too much rote work miss out on some of the challenging, sometimes confusing work that builds up their self esteem to face difficult thinking tasks in the future.

"By and large students spend most of their class time not thinking, at least not in ways we know they need to think in order to be successful in mathematics." Liljedahl explains. "If they're not thinking, they're not learning."

Liljedahl, the author of Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K-12: 14 Teaching Practices for Enhancing Learning advocates for "Thinking Classrooms", which offers a different take on how classroom work is organized, how tasks are assigned, and how students learn and work together. His conclusions are based on more than a decade of research, experimentation, and collaboration with over 400 K-12 teachers.

In a 2017 article for Edutopia, Liljedahl clarified that a "non-thinking" classroom is "predicated on an assumption that the students either could not or would not think." When presented with difficult problems, students in these classrooms have a hard time pushing through to find their own solutions, he argued, and often wait for teachers to step in to do the heavy lifting for them.

To stimulate independent thinking, Liljedahl says, reorganize some of your classroom approaches: Start with hard puzzles and problems that push kids to their limits; confront the fundamental passivity of classroom seating; and use highly structured group activities to promote discussion, peer review, and iterative thinking.

Starting With 'Thinking Tasks'

Instead of starting a lesson with direct instruction, give students novel "thinking tasks" they can work on, ideally in groups. Liljedahl describes these tasks as problem solving activities and mental puzzles that, early on in the school year, should be "highly engaging, non-curricular tasks" to motivate students and get them in the mindset of challenging themselves. As the school year progresses and students become more accustomed to this mode of working and thinking, the activities and challenges can be replaced with tasks directly related to the curriculum.

Liljedahl points out that the tasks should be carefully sequenced so they get incrementally more challenging. "The goal of thinking classrooms is not to get students to think about engaging with non-curricular tasks day in and day out-that turns out to be rather easy," he told Cult of Pedagogy. "Rather, the goal is to get more of your students thinking, and thinking for longer periods of time, within the context of curriculum, which leads to longer and deeper learning."

Liljedahl has a long list of sample "thinking tasks" to look through. They include challenging dice-related problems, such as: Imagine a typical 6-sided die, and notice that the sum of opposite faces is always seven. The one is across from the six, the two is across from the five, and so on. Now imagine that you were making your own six-sided die that did not have this restriction. How many different dice could be made?

Use Standing, Randomized Group Work

Central to Liljedahl's approach is student collaboration and group work. Instead of grouping students by ability, or allowing them to choose their own groups to work in, his research has shown him students work more effectively-and are more likely to contribute-in randomized groups. According to Liljedahl, interviews with students show that randomized groups "break down social barriers within the room, increase knowledge mobility, reduce stress, and increase enthusiasm for mathematics."

At Design39Campus, a K-8 school in San Diego, eighth grade math teacher Kyle Asmus puts Liljedahl's approach into practice by using a random group generator (such as this one from Classtools or this one from Keamk) to ensure that different kids work together across multiple exercises.

To ensure that all students feel included, Asmus assigns group roles: The scribe writes down possible solutions; the speaker communicates the group's thinking to the broader classroom; the inquirer asks the teacher questions; and the manager makes sure the rest of the group stays on track.

Having students stand while they engage in this collaborative, messy thinking is yet another way to engage them, according to Liljedahl: It makes them much less likely to withdraw from the work, or assume that others will handle it. "It turns out that when students are sitting, they feel anonymous," Liljedahl told Cult of Pedagogy. "And when students feel anonymous, they disengage."

Work on Non-Permanent, Vertical Surfaces

In a thinking classroom, students put notebooks away and participate in group work while standing at vertical non-permanent surfaces such as whiteboards, blackboards, or windows-surfaces that Liljedahl believes promote more risk-taking.

According to Liljedahl, his experimentation with students shows that when comparing a group working on a whiteboard versus a group working on flip chart paper, the group working on whiteboards start working within 20 seconds.

"They'll start making notations on the board. They'll try anything and everything because they feel like they can just erase it if it's wrong," he told Cult of Pedagogy. Meanwhile, students working on chart paper take upwards of three minutes to make a single notation, because, Liljedahl said, they often wait until what they write is perfect-"and that hesitation leads to a lower form of thinking."

Design39 students also practice Liljedahl's "vertical surfaces" learning technique, which Asmus says promotes "high quality collaboration" and facilitates "questions and rich conversations" among students. According to Asmus, when students are presented with challenging tasks and work vertically, the time for students to get to a task is not only quicker, but the time they spend on a task is longer.

The large surfaces spread out around the room also allow students to see the work their peers are doing in other groups, and build off of each other's understanding. "It makes it easy for the whole class to see what everybody else is doing so we can be inspired by each other's ideas," said Iniyaa, a student in Asmus' class.

Answer the Right Questions

As students work vertically in groups, teachers can easily see how they're progressing and bounce around the room. Questions will undoubtedly arise, but Liljedahl says teachers should avoid answering questions asked for the purpose of reducing student effort and getting to an answer more quickly-such as "is this right?" Instead, they should prioritize addressing student questions that will lead to further independent thinking.

In her elementary school classroom in Brooklyn, teacher Tori Filler says that instead of rushing to provide hints and solutions to the hard parts of a lesson, she often asks them to evaluate what's tough about it, and encourages them to sort it out on their own before stepping in to help.

If most of the class is struggling, ask more questions and turn the struggle into a productive discussion for everyone. Asking questions like "What makes this hard?" or "What have we tried?" gets students to think metacognitively and develop the skills to push through challenging work on their own.

Evaluate What You Value

To succeed in a thinking classroom, students need to develop skills like perseverance, academic courage, collaboration, and curiosity, among others. But according to Liljedahl, if we want students to develop these competencies, then we should find ways to evaluate them on it.

"What we choose to evaluate tells students what we value, and, in turn, students begin to value it as well," he writes.

He argues for a mix of both formative and summative assessment in math classrooms that focus less on end products and student ranking, and more on the work leading up to those end products and collaboration between groups to get there.

The educators at Bite Sized Learning, for example, suggest evaluating students on the work they produce, but also on how well they persevere and make an effort in response to challenges, how well they set individual goals and monitor progress toward achieving them, and how well they share information and resources with group members to solve problems and make decisions.

Liljedahl's own formative assessments focus on informing students "about where they are and where they're going in their learning." This can take the form of observations, check-for-understanding questions, or even unmarked quizzes. Summative assessments, meanwhile, "should focus more on the processes of learning than on the products, and should include the evaluation of both group and individual work," Liljedahl writes.

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How to Turn Your Math Classroom Into a 'Thinking Classroom'

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The researcher Peter Liljedahl evangelizes for practices that prioritize and stimulate more hard thinking in classrooms.

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How Living History Projects Build Wisdom, Understanding, and Listening Skills

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StoryCorps interviews with grandparents and community elders can bridge divides and build the kinds of listening and communication skills our students need to thrive.

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When high school history teacher Alex Brouhard mentions his job to other adults, he often hears a similar response: "I disliked the subject in school, but now I find it interesting."

This left Brouhard with a nagging question: If people tend to enjoy history as adults, why do so many middle and high school students report feeling bored and uninterested in the topic?

Students often say that history lessons are full of "dates, people, and places which often require rote memorization," Brouhard writes in an article for EdSurge. But "if taught with the intent to inspire and engage, history is far from boring or monotone."

Over time, Brouhard developed strategies in his high school classroom to connect his students more deeply to the topic-such as starting units at dramatic moments in history and finding ways to bring family and local history into lessons.

Building on the approaches Brouhard lays out-and several others shared by educators-these subtle tweaks to existing lesson plans can help make your history classes more engaging to students.

FOCUS ON INDIVIDUALS TO BUILD CONNECTION

History teachers too often focus on the big picture, says Brouhard, but the stories of individuals are typically more engrossing and "can help students feel more emotionally invested in the history they're learning."

For example, instead of lecturing students about military tactics used during World War I, have them read about it from the perspective of someone who was there: "Describing what trench warfare entailed is one thing, but reading a firsthand account of a soldier who lived through it-exposed to rats and standing in frigid water amidst piled-up bodies-is another," Brouhard writes.

Making an effort to humanize historical figures-without shying away from discussing their mistakes and flaws-can help students relate to prominent individuals in our past and develop a better understanding of their decisions, says eighth-grade history teacher Lauren Brown in an article for MiddleWeb. "All the famous characters in history had key moments in their childhood or early adulthood that helped shape who they became-tell students about those moments."

To incorporate more first-person accounts into history lessons, educator and author Jennifer Gonzalez recommends presenting oral histories from witnesses of specific events or trends in the past-or even the present.

EXAMINE HISTORY FROM OTHER PERSPECTIVES

When covering a global historical event, showing students how other countries describe that same event-through old newspaper articles, textbooks, or other online sources-can help them broaden their perspective and discover that descriptions of the same event diverge widely depending on who is telling the story.

When teaching about the Vietnam War, John DeRose, a history teacher from Wisconsin, has students compare their textbook's account of the war with that of a Vietnamese textbook or newspaper article. Students can be split into groups to discuss the differences between the accounts-or even debate which they think is more accurate and why, DeRose writes.

During a unit on the Spanish-American war, history teacher William Colglazier has students read excerpts from Cuban and Filipino textbooks, which suggest that the USS Maine was deliberately sunk by an explosion caused by American spies. The controversial claim-sort of like the conspiracy theories that kids may encounter online-tends to interest students, and Colglazier has them practice using the analytical skills of a historian to research the claim and attempt (unsuccessfully) to find credible sources that corroborate it.

START WITH THE JUICY PART

Many history teachers feel that it's most natural to teach a historical era chronologically. But often, the most exciting part of the story is in the middle, or even at the end. So, why not start there?

For example, when teaching World War I, "rather than explaining Balkan nationalism, start with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, which provides an immediate point of interest and relevance for students," suggests Brouhard. Or, you could start a unit on the civil rights era with Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous March on Washington-then work backward to explore why such a march was necessary in the first place.

"This approach is similar to a TV crime show that reveals the body in the first minute and then spends the rest of the show assembling evidence," Brouhard writes.

TRY AI TO BRING HISTORY TO LIFE

If you've ever wished you could bring Abraham Lincoln or Albert Einstein to class as a guest speaker, artificial intelligence may be able to offer the next best thing, edtech professor Maureen Yoder said in a presentation at ISTE 2023.

AI chatbots like Hello History allow students to have text-based conversations with models trained to imitate historical figures. Students can grill Cleopatra about the specific challenges that women leaders face or ask Gandhi about what it felt like to go on a hunger strike. Hello History has dozens of figures to choose from, but the free version limits users to 20 messages per day. For longer conversations, students can turn to ChatGPT and prompt it: "For the rest of this conversation, please role-play as [historical figure]."

Given that AI-generated responses are far from reliable, historian and history educator Jonathan S. Jones drives students' critical thinking by asking them to scrutinize history-related output from ChatGPT and look for "factual errors and information that was missing crucial context."

GET INTO CHARACTER

To bring history to life, ask students to step in the shoes of the historical figures they're learning about. (Use your best judgment, of course, as some figures and historical events may be inappropriate for classroom reenactment.)

One monthlong project-based learning project -developed in conjunction with Lucas Education Research-has students serve as delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Through discussions and debates, students develop their understanding of the founders' goals and intentions and how those intentions still shape our lives today.

These activities can be modified for use in individual lessons, too. For example, in one class period, students can take the role of federalists and anti-federalists and debate how much power should be concentrated in the hands of the federal government and how much in the state governments. They can even consider how this debate is still shaping current-day issues like immigration policy.

BRING HISTORY CLOSER TO HOME

When discussing global wars, Brouhard brings his great-grandfather's World War I uniform into class (students are always fascinated by the dent in the metal helmet) and reads excerpts from his other great-grandfather's journal detailing his time as a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II.

To connect his students to the history they're learning about, Brouhard encourages them to bring historical artifacts from their own families to class for show and tell. This might include old photos, diaries, magazines and publications, or, according to educator Rebecca Alber, interesting keepsakes-like an older relative's quinceañera invitation or a military lapel pin from the Vietnam War.

Educator and director of technology Kevin Brookhouser says students can also create their own oral histories by writing up questions and interviewing elders in their family or community to gain their perspective on important events and issues they might be studying in class. "This is not just about sharing family stories; it's the academic work of a historian, creating primary sources," Brookhouser writes.

Teaching students about the history in their own backyard can also make topics more personal, says high school history and government teacher Benjamin Barbour. There are a variety of local sites that can make for interesting history-oriented field trips, such as nonprofits and civic organizations, nearby colleges and universities, long-standing local businesses, and even cemeteries. Primary sources from the library or local historical societies are useful too. In a unit on slavery, Katie Durkin's eighth-grade students in Wilton, Connecticut, visited the library to deepen their understanding of slavery in their town by "reading letters from townspeople, looking at paintings and images, and piecing together the role townspeople played as both enslavers and abolitionists."

GAMIFY YOUR HISTORY LESSON

There are several free, online platforms that offer a wide variety of history and social studies games that can help enliven lessons.

Mission US: Mission US offers seven detailed, story-driven games based on different eras in American history. Each game takes an hour or two to finish, but they save players' progress and can be completed in multiple sittings. For example, in " For Crown or Colony?" students play as a printer's apprentice in 1770 Boston and interact with both patriots and loyalists to decide where their loyalties lie. "Along the way, they engage in empathy and explore issues of liberty, equality, and perspective," writes educator Rebecca Rufo-Tepper.

iCivics: iCivics offers about 20 games with modern, animated graphics designed to teach kids about U.S. governance-such as " Do I Have a Right?," a game that simulates running a civil rights law firm, and " LawCraft," which challenges students to craft a bill and try to get it through Congress. The games boost interest in subject matter "that might otherwise be boring to 12- and 13-year-olds," writes educator Matthew Farber.
History teachers, if you have a method for bringing historical subjects to life and boosting classroom engagement, please let fellow educators know in the comments.

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7 Strategies to Captivate Students in History Class

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These subtle tweaks to lessons can tap into the drama of historical moments and ignite student curiosity.

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Most Important Word Whiparound Activity (1)

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Kids, like adults, cycle through periods of attention and inattention-though the duration of the interval changes with age and is variable across individuals. By high school, according to neurologist and classroom teacher Judy Willis, concentrated study of "20 to 30 minutes for middle and high school students calls for a three-to-five-minute break."

Regardless of attention spans, brain breaks can prevent older students from feeling overwhelmed and provide space for reflection, joy, and connection during a packed school day. They're also a crucial part of the learning process.

"According to one popular school of thought, it's the active, repeated manipulation of material that lays the neural foundations for skill development," writes Youki Terada, Edutopia's research editor. But breaks are often misconstrued as a pause in the active learning process, instead of "the period when our brains compress and consolidate memories of what we just practiced," neuroscientist Leonardo Cohen and his team explain in a June 2021 study. In fact, Cohen continues, incorporating breaks into learning "plays just as important a role as practice in learning a new skill."

Brain "breaks" can take many different forms inside of the classroom, depending on the aim. To boost students' mood, Willis suggests activities that increase restorative neurotransmitters like dopamine: anything that involves "laughing, moving, listening to music, and interacting with peers." Likewise, brain breaks that incorporate physical activity not only provide a moment of stress relief for students but also increase the blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain-stimulating brain activity and helping students regain focus in the face of fatigue.

1. Thinking Outside the Box: On the board, provide students with the start of a doodle that they'll have to creatively transform into something unexpected. This can be anything from two lines to a squiggle or a half circle. To add in some student voice and choice, have volunteers suggest what the initial drawing prompt should look like. Sourced from Tina Centineo via X (formerly Twitter).

2. "Train Your Brain": A fun activity thatstarts by having students touch the tip of their nose with their right index finger and then touch their ear with their left hand index finger. Then have them switch the position of their hands, touching the tip of their nose with their left hand index finger and moving their right index finger to touch their ear. Kids should keep doing this until they can get it right, which may take only a few tries for some and much longer for others. To add an element of competition, see which student can do this activity for the longest without messing up. Sourced from PE teacher Matt Head via TikTok.

3. Would You Rather: Pair students up and have them discuss fun "would you rather" questions. Here are some examples of prompts:

Would you rather live in a world with no technology or a world with no nature?

Would you rather have the ability to speak with animals or the ability to speak all human languages fluently?

Would you rather have your favorite movie character as your best friend or your favorite book character as your sibling?

To add an element of movement, do this activity together as a class. Announce the prompt out loud, and have students go to one side of the room or the other to show which option they'd rather choose. A select couple of volunteers can raise their hands to explain their reasoning. Sourced from Education World.

9. What Is That?: Find a picture of something your class may never encounter in your subject area and display it for students to see. "I showed a physics class a murmuration of starlings but did not tell them what it was," explains former principal Peter Embleton. "No phones or computers, they had to figure out what was happening and why." This not only ignites student curiosity but may introduce your class to something they didn't previously know existed. Sourced from Peter Embleton via X.

11. 1, 2, 3, Math!: Similarly to rock, paper, scissors, students play against each other in pairs. After the players say "1, 2, 3, Math," each displays one, two, three, or four fingers in the palm of their hand. The first of the pair to correctly call out the sum of both players' fingers wins that round and a point. The first person to win three rounds is the champ. Sourced from: Lori Desautels.

13. Classwide Wordle: The word game that swept the nation is sure to keep your students on their toes. According to the game's website, you'll have six tries to guess the five-letter word of the day. The tile color changes depending on how close the guess is: A green tile means the letter "is in the word and in the correct spot," a yellow tile means the letter "is in the word but in the wrong spot," and a gray tile means the letter is not in the word at all. Try playing together as a class, and have students shout out their suggestions, voting on which ideas they like best. Sourced from Kim West via X.

14. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1: To keep kids alert during a long lesson, have them spend a couple of minutes stretching and moving around the room. Consider creating a short sequence of exercises that students can all do together to get their blood flowing-such as five high knees, four jumping jacks, three push-ups, two deep breaths, and one squat. Offering students the option to stand and do the sequence or alternatively sit and stretch in whatever way they choose ensures that this activity is inclusive and considers everyone in your classroom. Sourced from We Are Teachers.

15. Odd One Out: This Google Arts & Culture game challenges you to "guess the AI-generated imposter" among the artworks. You'll be presented with four images and have to guess which of the options was created by AI before time runs out. Compete all together as a class, or have students play together in small groups. This could inspire an interesting conversation around student perceptions and misconceptions of AI. Sourced from Tony Vincent via X.

17. Invisible Pictures: In groups of two, have one student "draw a picture in the air while their partner guesses what it is," writes assistant professor Lori Desautels. To give students a starting point, provide them with categories like foods, animals, or places, and then allow their creative minds to lead the way. For a bit of extra help, allow the guessing partner to ask one or two yes or no questions that will provide them with crucial context. Sourced from Lori Desautels.

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17 Brain Breaks Tailored for High Schoolers

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As high school students navigate more rigorous academic tasks and denser curricular material, the occasional 3-to-5-minute break delivers a wide range of benefits.

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Kids, like adults, cycle through periods of attention and inattention-though the duration of the interval changes with age and is variable across individuals. By high school, according to neurologist and classroom teacher Judy Willis, concentrated study of "20 to 30 minutes for middle and high school students calls for a three-to-five-minute break."

Regardless of attention spans, brain breaks can prevent older students from feeling overwhelmed and provide space for reflection, joy, and connection during a packed school day. They're also a crucial part of the learning process.

"According to one popular school of thought, it's the active, repeated manipulation of material that lays the neural foundations for skill development," writes Youki Terada, Edutopia's research editor. But breaks are often misconstrued as a pause in the active learning process, instead of "the period when our brains compress and consolidate memories of what we just practiced," neuroscientist Leonardo Cohen and his team explain in a June 2021 study. In fact, Cohen continues, incorporating breaks into learning "plays just as important a role as practice in learning a new skill."

Brain "breaks" can take many different forms inside of the classroom, depending on the aim. To boost students' mood, Willis suggests activities that increase restorative neurotransmitters like dopamine: anything that involves "laughing, moving, listening to music, and interacting with peers." Likewise, brain breaks that incorporate physical activity not only provide a moment of stress relief for students but also increase the blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain-stimulating brain activity and helping students regain focus in the face of fatigue.

1. Thinking Outside the Box: On the board, provide students with the start of a doodle that they'll have to creatively transform into something unexpected. This can be anything from two lines to a squiggle or a half circle. To add in some student voice and choice, have volunteers suggest what the initial drawing prompt should look like. Sourced from Tina Centineo via X (formerly Twitter).

2. "Train Your Brain": A fun activity thatstarts by having students touch the tip of their nose with their right index finger and then touch their ear with their left hand index finger. Then have them switch the position of their hands, touching the tip of their nose with their left hand index finger and moving their right index finger to touch their ear. Kids should keep doing this until they can get it right, which may take only a few tries for some and much longer for others. To add an element of competition, see which student can do this activity for the longest without messing up. Sourced from PE teacher Matt Head via TikTok.

3. Would You Rather: Pair students up and have them discuss fun "would you rather" questions. Here are some examples of prompts:

Would you rather live in a world with no technology or a world with no nature?

Would you rather have the ability to speak with animals or the ability to speak all human languages fluently?

Would you rather have your favorite movie character as your best friend or your favorite book character as your sibling?

To add an element of movement, do this activity together as a class. Announce the prompt out loud, and have students go to one side of the room or the other to show which option they'd rather choose. A select couple of volunteers can raise their hands to explain their reasoning. Sourced from Education World.

9. What Is That?: Find a picture of something your class may never encounter in your subject area and display it for students to see. "I showed a physics class a murmuration of starlings but did not tell them what it was," explains former principal Peter Embleton. "No phones or computers, they had to figure out what was happening and why." This not only ignites student curiosity but may introduce your class to something they didn't previously know existed. Sourced from Peter Embleton via X.

11. 1, 2, 3, Math!: Similarly to rock, paper, scissors, students play against each other in pairs. After the players say "1, 2, 3, Math," each displays one, two, three, or four fingers in the palm of their hand. The first of the pair to correctly call out the sum of both players' fingers wins that round and a point. The first person to win three rounds is the champ. Sourced from: Lori Desautels.

13. Classwide Wordle: The word game that swept the nation is sure to keep your students on their toes. According to the game's website, you'll have six tries to guess the five-letter word of the day. The tile color changes depending on how close the guess is: A green tile means the letter "is in the word and in the correct spot," a yellow tile means the letter "is in the word but in the wrong spot," and a gray tile means the letter is not in the word at all. Try playing together as a class, and have students shout out their suggestions, voting on which ideas they like best. Sourced from Kim West via X.

14. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1: To keep kids alert during a long lesson, have them spend a couple of minutes stretching and moving around the room. Consider creating a short sequence of exercises that students can all do together to get their blood flowing-such as five high knees, four jumping jacks, three push-ups, two deep breaths, and one squat. Offering students the option to stand and do the sequence or alternatively sit and stretch in whatever way they choose ensures that this activity is inclusive and considers everyone in your classroom. Sourced from We Are Teachers.

15. Odd One Out: This Google Arts & Culture game challenges you to "guess the AI-generated imposter" among the artworks. You'll be presented with four images and have to guess which of the options was created by AI before time runs out. Compete all together as a class, or have students play together in small groups. This could inspire an interesting conversation around student perceptions and misconceptions of AI. Sourced from Tony Vincent via X.

17. Invisible Pictures: In groups of two, have one student "draw a picture in the air while their partner guesses what it is," writes assistant professor Lori Desautels. To give students a starting point, provide them with categories like foods, animals, or places, and then allow their creative minds to lead the way. For a bit of extra help, allow the guessing partner to ask one or two yes or no questions that will provide them with crucial context. Sourced from Lori Desautels.

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17 Brain Breaks Tailored for High Schoolers

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As high school students navigate more rigorous academic tasks and denser curricular material, the occasional 3-to-5-minute break delivers a wide range of benefits.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Kids, like adults, cycle through periods of attention and inattention-though the duration of the interval changes with age and is variable across individuals. By high school, according to neurologist and classroom teacher Judy Willis, concentrated study of "20 to 30 minutes for middle and high school students calls for a three-to-five-minute break."

Regardless of attention spans, brain breaks can prevent older students from feeling overwhelmed and provide space for reflection, joy, and connection during a packed school day. They're also a crucial part of the learning process.

"According to one popular school of thought, it's the active, repeated manipulation of material that lays the neural foundations for skill development," writes Youki Terada, Edutopia's research editor. But breaks are often misconstrued as a pause in the active learning process, instead of "the period when our brains compress and consolidate memories of what we just practiced," neuroscientist Leonardo Cohen and his team explain in a June 2021 study. In fact, Cohen continues, incorporating breaks into learning "plays just as important a role as practice in learning a new skill."

Brain "breaks" can take many different forms inside of the classroom, depending on the aim. To boost students' mood, Willis suggests activities that increase restorative neurotransmitters like dopamine: anything that involves "laughing, moving, listening to music, and interacting with peers." Likewise, brain breaks that incorporate physical activity not only provide a moment of stress relief for students but also increase the blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain-stimulating brain activity and helping students regain focus in the face of fatigue.

1. Thinking Outside the Box: On the board, provide students with the start of a doodle that they'll have to creatively transform into something unexpected. This can be anything from two lines to a squiggle or a half circle. To add in some student voice and choice, have volunteers suggest what the initial drawing prompt should look like. Sourced from Tina Centineo via X (formerly Twitter).

2. "Train Your Brain": A fun activity thatstarts by having students touch the tip of their nose with their right index finger and then touch their ear with their left hand index finger. Then have them switch the position of their hands, touching the tip of their nose with their left hand index finger and moving their right index finger to touch their ear. Kids should keep doing this until they can get it right, which may take only a few tries for some and much longer for others. To add an element of competition, see which student can do this activity for the longest without messing up. Sourced from PE teacher Matt Head via TikTok.

3. Would You Rather: Pair students up and have them discuss fun "would you rather" questions. Here are some examples of prompts:

Would you rather live in a world with no technology or a world with no nature?

Would you rather have the ability to speak with animals or the ability to speak all human languages fluently?

Would you rather have your favorite movie character as your best friend or your favorite book character as your sibling?

To add an element of movement, do this activity together as a class. Announce the prompt out loud, and have students go to one side of the room or the other to show which option they'd rather choose. A select couple of volunteers can raise their hands to explain their reasoning. Sourced from Education World.

9. What Is That?: Find a picture of something your class may never encounter in your subject area and display it for students to see. "I showed a physics class a murmuration of starlings but did not tell them what it was," explains former principal Peter Embleton. "No phones or computers, they had to figure out what was happening and why." This not only ignites student curiosity but may introduce your class to something they didn't previously know existed. Sourced from Peter Embleton via X.

11. 1, 2, 3, Math!: Similarly to rock, paper, scissors, students play against each other in pairs. After the players say "1, 2, 3, Math," each displays one, two, three, or four fingers in the palm of their hand. The first of the pair to correctly call out the sum of both players' fingers wins that round and a point. The first person to win three rounds is the champ. Sourced from: Lori Desautels.

13. Classwide Wordle: The word game that swept the nation is sure to keep your students on their toes. According to the game's website, you'll have six tries to guess the five-letter word of the day. The tile color changes depending on how close the guess is: A green tile means the letter "is in the word and in the correct spot," a yellow tile means the letter "is in the word but in the wrong spot," and a gray tile means the letter is not in the word at all. Try playing together as a class, and have students shout out their suggestions, voting on which ideas they like best. Sourced from Kim West via X.

14. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1: To keep kids alert during a long lesson, have them spend a couple of minutes stretching and moving around the room. Consider creating a short sequence of exercises that students can all do together to get their blood flowing-such as five high knees, four jumping jacks, three push-ups, two deep breaths, and one squat. Offering students the option to stand and do the sequence or alternatively sit and stretch in whatever way they choose ensures that this activity is inclusive and considers everyone in your classroom. Sourced from We Are Teachers.

15. Odd One Out: This Google Arts & Culture game challenges you to "guess the AI-generated imposter" among the artworks. You'll be presented with four images and have to guess which of the options was created by AI before time runs out. Compete all together as a class, or have students play together in small groups. This could inspire an interesting conversation around student perceptions and misconceptions of AI. Sourced from Tony Vincent via X.

17. Invisible Pictures: In groups of two, have one student "draw a picture in the air while their partner guesses what it is," writes assistant professor Lori Desautels. To give students a starting point, provide them with categories like foods, animals, or places, and then allow their creative minds to lead the way. For a bit of extra help, allow the guessing partner to ask one or two yes or no questions that will provide them with crucial context. Sourced from Lori Desautels.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
17 Brain Breaks Tailored for High Schoolers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As high school students navigate more rigorous academic tasks and denser curricular material, the occasional 3-to-5-minute break delivers a wide range of benefits.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Kids, like adults, cycle through periods of attention and inattention-though the duration of the interval changes with age and is variable across individuals. By high school, according to neurologist and classroom teacher Judy Willis, concentrated study of "20 to 30 minutes for middle and high school students calls for a three-to-five-minute break."

Regardless of attention spans, brain breaks can prevent older students from feeling overwhelmed and provide space for reflection, joy, and connection during a packed school day. They're also a crucial part of the learning process.

"According to one popular school of thought, it's the active, repeated manipulation of material that lays the neural foundations for skill development," writes Youki Terada, Edutopia's research editor. But breaks are often misconstrued as a pause in the active learning process, instead of "the period when our brains compress and consolidate memories of what we just practiced," neuroscientist Leonardo Cohen and his team explain in a June 2021 study. In fact, Cohen continues, incorporating breaks into learning "plays just as important a role as practice in learning a new skill."

Brain "breaks" can take many different forms inside of the classroom, depending on the aim. To boost students' mood, Willis suggests activities that increase restorative neurotransmitters like dopamine: anything that involves "laughing, moving, listening to music, and interacting with peers." Likewise, brain breaks that incorporate physical activity not only provide a moment of stress relief for students but also increase the blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain-stimulating brain activity and helping students regain focus in the face of fatigue.

1. Thinking Outside the Box: On the board, provide students with the start of a doodle that they'll have to creatively transform into something unexpected. This can be anything from two lines to a squiggle or a half circle. To add in some student voice and choice, have volunteers suggest what the initial drawing prompt should look like. Sourced from Tina Centineo via X (formerly Twitter).

2. "Train Your Brain": A fun activity thatstarts by having students touch the tip of their nose with their right index finger and then touch their ear with their left hand index finger. Then have them switch the position of their hands, touching the tip of their nose with their left hand index finger and moving their right index finger to touch their ear. Kids should keep doing this until they can get it right, which may take only a few tries for some and much longer for others. To add an element of competition, see which student can do this activity for the longest without messing up. Sourced from PE teacher Matt Head via TikTok.

3. Would You Rather: Pair students up and have them discuss fun "would you rather" questions. Here are some examples of prompts:

Would you rather live in a world with no technology or a world with no nature?

Would you rather have the ability to speak with animals or the ability to speak all human languages fluently?

Would you rather have your favorite movie character as your best friend or your favorite book character as your sibling?

To add an element of movement, do this activity together as a class. Announce the prompt out loud, and have students go to one side of the room or the other to show which option they'd rather choose. A select couple of volunteers can raise their hands to explain their reasoning. Sourced from Education World.

9. What Is That?: Find a picture of something your class may never encounter in your subject area and display it for students to see. "I showed a physics class a murmuration of starlings but did not tell them what it was," explains former principal Peter Embleton. "No phones or computers, they had to figure out what was happening and why." This not only ignites student curiosity but may introduce your class to something they didn't previously know existed. Sourced from Peter Embleton via X.

11. 1, 2, 3, Math!: Similarly to rock, paper, scissors, students play against each other in pairs. After the players say "1, 2, 3, Math," each displays one, two, three, or four fingers in the palm of their hand. The first of the pair to correctly call out the sum of both players' fingers wins that round and a point. The first person to win three rounds is the champ. Sourced from: Lori Desautels.

13. Classwide Wordle: The word game that swept the nation is sure to keep your students on their toes. According to the game's website, you'll have six tries to guess the five-letter word of the day. The tile color changes depending on how close the guess is: A green tile means the letter "is in the word and in the correct spot," a yellow tile means the letter "is in the word but in the wrong spot," and a gray tile means the letter is not in the word at all. Try playing together as a class, and have students shout out their suggestions, voting on which ideas they like best. Sourced from Kim West via X.

14. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1: To keep kids alert during a long lesson, have them spend a couple of minutes stretching and moving around the room. Consider creating a short sequence of exercises that students can all do together to get their blood flowing-such as five high knees, four jumping jacks, three push-ups, two deep breaths, and one squat. Offering students the option to stand and do the sequence or alternatively sit and stretch in whatever way they choose ensures that this activity is inclusive and considers everyone in your classroom. Sourced from We Are Teachers.

15. Odd One Out: This Google Arts & Culture game challenges you to "guess the AI-generated imposter" among the artworks. You'll be presented with four images and have to guess which of the options was created by AI before time runs out. Compete all together as a class, or have students play together in small groups. This could inspire an interesting conversation around student perceptions and misconceptions of AI. Sourced from Tony Vincent via X.

17. Invisible Pictures: In groups of two, have one student "draw a picture in the air while their partner guesses what it is," writes assistant professor Lori Desautels. To give students a starting point, provide them with categories like foods, animals, or places, and then allow their creative minds to lead the way. For a bit of extra help, allow the guessing partner to ask one or two yes or no questions that will provide them with crucial context. Sourced from Lori Desautels.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
17 Brain Breaks Tailored for High Schoolers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As high school students navigate more rigorous academic tasks and denser curricular material, the occasional 3-to-5-minute break delivers a wide range of benefits.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Kids, like adults, cycle through periods of attention and inattention-though the duration of the interval changes with age and is variable across individuals. By high school, according to neurologist and classroom teacher Judy Willis, concentrated study of "20 to 30 minutes for middle and high school students calls for a three-to-five-minute break."

Regardless of attention spans, brain breaks can prevent older students from feeling overwhelmed and provide space for reflection, joy, and connection during a packed school day. They're also a crucial part of the learning process.

"According to one popular school of thought, it's the active, repeated manipulation of material that lays the neural foundations for skill development," writes Youki Terada, Edutopia's research editor. But breaks are often misconstrued as a pause in the active learning process, instead of "the period when our brains compress and consolidate memories of what we just practiced," neuroscientist Leonardo Cohen and his team explain in a June 2021 study. In fact, Cohen continues, incorporating breaks into learning "plays just as important a role as practice in learning a new skill."

Brain "breaks" can take many different forms inside of the classroom, depending on the aim. To boost students' mood, Willis suggests activities that increase restorative neurotransmitters like dopamine: anything that involves "laughing, moving, listening to music, and interacting with peers." Likewise, brain breaks that incorporate physical activity not only provide a moment of stress relief for students but also increase the blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain-stimulating brain activity and helping students regain focus in the face of fatigue.

1. Thinking Outside the Box: On the board, provide students with the start of a doodle that they'll have to creatively transform into something unexpected. This can be anything from two lines to a squiggle or a half circle. To add in some student voice and choice, have volunteers suggest what the initial drawing prompt should look like. Sourced from Tina Centineo via X (formerly Twitter).

2. "Train Your Brain": A fun activity thatstarts by having students touch the tip of their nose with their right index finger and then touch their ear with their left hand index finger. Then have them switch the position of their hands, touching the tip of their nose with their left hand index finger and moving their right index finger to touch their ear. Kids should keep doing this until they can get it right, which may take only a few tries for some and much longer for others. To add an element of competition, see which student can do this activity for the longest without messing up. Sourced from PE teacher Matt Head via TikTok.

3. Would You Rather: Pair students up and have them discuss fun "would you rather" questions. Here are some examples of prompts:

Would you rather live in a world with no technology or a world with no nature?

Would you rather have the ability to speak with animals or the ability to speak all human languages fluently?

Would you rather have your favorite movie character as your best friend or your favorite book character as your sibling?

To add an element of movement, do this activity together as a class. Announce the prompt out loud, and have students go to one side of the room or the other to show which option they'd rather choose. A select couple of volunteers can raise their hands to explain their reasoning. Sourced from Education World.

9. What Is That?: Find a picture of something your class may never encounter in your subject area and display it for students to see. "I showed a physics class a murmuration of starlings but did not tell them what it was," explains former principal Peter Embleton. "No phones or computers, they had to figure out what was happening and why." This not only ignites student curiosity but may introduce your class to something they didn't previously know existed. Sourced from Peter Embleton via X.

11. 1, 2, 3, Math!: Similarly to rock, paper, scissors, students play against each other in pairs. After the players say "1, 2, 3, Math," each displays one, two, three, or four fingers in the palm of their hand. The first of the pair to correctly call out the sum of both players' fingers wins that round and a point. The first person to win three rounds is the champ. Sourced from: Lori Desautels.

13. Classwide Wordle: The word game that swept the nation is sure to keep your students on their toes. According to the game's website, you'll have six tries to guess the five-letter word of the day. The tile color changes depending on how close the guess is: A green tile means the letter "is in the word and in the correct spot," a yellow tile means the letter "is in the word but in the wrong spot," and a gray tile means the letter is not in the word at all. Try playing together as a class, and have students shout out their suggestions, voting on which ideas they like best. Sourced from Kim West via X.

14. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1: To keep kids alert during a long lesson, have them spend a couple of minutes stretching and moving around the room. Consider creating a short sequence of exercises that students can all do together to get their blood flowing-such as five high knees, four jumping jacks, three push-ups, two deep breaths, and one squat. Offering students the option to stand and do the sequence or alternatively sit and stretch in whatever way they choose ensures that this activity is inclusive and considers everyone in your classroom. Sourced from We Are Teachers.

15. Odd One Out: This Google Arts & Culture game challenges you to "guess the AI-generated imposter" among the artworks. You'll be presented with four images and have to guess which of the options was created by AI before time runs out. Compete all together as a class, or have students play together in small groups. This could inspire an interesting conversation around student perceptions and misconceptions of AI. Sourced from Tony Vincent via X.

17. Invisible Pictures: In groups of two, have one student "draw a picture in the air while their partner guesses what it is," writes assistant professor Lori Desautels. To give students a starting point, provide them with categories like foods, animals, or places, and then allow their creative minds to lead the way. For a bit of extra help, allow the guessing partner to ask one or two yes or no questions that will provide them with crucial context. Sourced from Lori Desautels.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
17 Brain Breaks Tailored for High Schoolers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As high school students navigate more rigorous academic tasks and denser curricular material, the occasional 3-to-5-minute break delivers a wide range of benefits.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days - a sobering lesson learned - Authentic Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The following account comes from a veteran HS teacher who just became a Coach in her building. Because her experience is so vivid and sobering I have kept her identity anonymous. But nothing she describes is any different than my own experience in sitting in HS classes for long periods of time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days - a sobering lesson learned - Authentic Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The following account comes from a veteran HS teacher who just became a Coach in her building. Because her experience is so vivid and sobering I have kept her identity anonymous. But nothing she describes is any different than my own experience in sitting in HS classes for long periods of time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days - a sobering lesson learned - Authentic Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The following account comes from a veteran HS teacher who just became a Coach in her building. Because her experience is so vivid and sobering I have kept her identity anonymous. But nothing she describes is any different than my own experience in sitting in HS classes for long periods of time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days - a sobering lesson learned - Authentic Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The following account comes from a veteran HS teacher who just became a Coach in her building. Because her experience is so vivid and sobering I have kept her identity anonymous. But nothing she describes is any different than my own experience in sitting in HS classes for long periods of time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days - a sobering lesson learned - Authentic Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The following account comes from a veteran HS teacher who just became a Coach in her building. Because her experience is so vivid and sobering I have kept her identity anonymous. But nothing she describes is any different than my own experience in sitting in HS classes for long periods of time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
iExploreScience | Because science is meant to be discovered.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Three-Dimensional Assessments For The NGSS Made Simple | iExploreScience

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A three dimensional assessments asks students to use Science and Engineering Practices to demonstrate understanding of DCIs, using the lenses of the CCC.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Most agree: Strong, trusting relationships between students and teachers are the key to high-functioning, academically challenging classrooms. But according to high school Spanish teacher Natalie Lalagos, that's only a fraction of the story.

To lay the groundwork for productive classroom discussions and truly fruitful group work, for example, teachers should think about relationships along four dimensions: teacher to individual student, teacher to whole class, student to student, and student to whole class.

It might start with simple adjustments that improve classroom cohesion more generally. A teacher's identity, Lalagos suggests, should be known to the class, just as a student should feel "seen and known" by their teacher. Students, meanwhile, should develop bonds with each other, as well as a "sense of belonging" in the classroom community as a whole.

We've scoured our archives to highlight fun, quick, and easy-to-implement strategies that can (and should) be deployed daily, weekly, and even year-round to build and sustain strong classroom communities.

1. Morning meetings: The ubiquitous morning meeting, suitable for all ages, is simple to conduct and gives students and teachers a chance to reflect on the day ahead and recalibrate as they prepare to learn. The meetings can take many forms but tend to focus on prosocial greetings, reflection, and sharing: Tools like mood meters and strategies like roses and thorns allow students to convey how they're feeling that day without oversharing. Integrating group activities into the first minutes of your lessons- relationship-building games, mindfulness activities like deep breathing, or even movement-can loosen kids up for learning while having fun in the process.

By establishing strong social connections, morning meetings can reduce classroom disruptions by up to 75 percent, according to a 2017 study.

2. Name tents/name toss: An easy and interesting way to tackle name pronunciation at the start of the year is to ask students to fold paper in half and create name tents, complete with the phonetic spelling of their name. Students can decorate the other side of these tents-with drawings or images that represent them, for example-so that teachers can glean valuable insights about their passions or identities, writes high school teacher Kati Begen.

To socialize pronunciations more broadly, Kristy Zamagni-Twomey recommends fun games. Arrange students in a circle, introduce a ball, and have each student pronounce their name before tossing the ball to another child (alternatively, you can have all students say "Hi, ____" before the ball is tossed). Or, you can give students blindfolds, have one student speak a simple greeting, and ask the blindfolded student to guess the name of the speaker. During the games, be sure to gently correct mispronunciations.

3. Get-to-know-you surveys: Use free tools like SurveyMonkey or Poll Everywhere to ask students questions that range from icebreakers like "What is the best gift you've ever received and why?" or "Who are you closest to in your family and why?" to more academically oriented questions, such as "What scares you most about this class?"

Because you can make responses anonymous to peers, "students will often reveal things that they wouldn't otherwise," says high school administrator Sean Cassel. The activity really bears fruit when you follow up with students, writes middle school teacher Lindsay Kervan: Pull a student aside and ask about the sibling they mentioned on the survey, for example, or integrate student interests in curricular materials.

4. All about me: Askstudents to create a fun presentation including 10 facts about themselves: Encourage them to use media like video, photos, and music, Cassel writes. To model the activity, ease the pressure, and help students connect with you, make a presentation for yourself and go first.

Another spin on the activity? High school English teacher Larry Ferlazzo recommends "I Am" lists, which provide students with sentence starters they can complete, like "I am happy when ____," "I hope to ____," or "I am most scared when ____."

7. Identity portraits: This activity is really beginning to take off in the Edutopia community. To get to know her students better, and make their whole selves feel included and visible in her classroom, middle school teacher Shana V. White gives students crayons and colored pencils and asks them to draw an outline of their head and shoulders.

After drawing a line down the middle of their hand-drawn outline, they add skin tone, clothing, and other visible features on one side, and on the other side of the portrait they list words that describe their identity-their ethnic background, hobbies, or religion, for example. White says she hangs up the final portraits in her classroom so that students see them every day and "know that all those identities are accepted in this place."

8. 5x5 assessment: Choose five students to think about for five minutes each day, suggests Todd Finley, a professor of English education at East Carolina University, in North Carolina. Dwell on questions like these: What have I noticed about them recently? What behavior patterns? What outside affinities, struggles, values, and goals have been revealed? After you've done this, interact with the students that same day and ask them a question that came up during your thinking-for instance, "Mike, a couple of days ago you were talking about your dad's new job. How will that change things for you and your family?"

For two minutes each day, 10 days in a row, have a personal conversation with a student about anything they're interested in (as long as it's G-rated). The strategy sounds simple, but its inventor, psychologist Raymond Wlodkowski, found that it can lead to an 85 percent improvement in one student's behavior and improve the behavior of other students in your classroom too.

10. Greeting at the door: To get a quick pulse on how students are feeling and provide them with a jolt of encouragement before they take their seats, greet them individually at the door.

Kindergarten teacher Falon Turner starts her mornings by saying a student's name, making eye contact, and using a friendly greeting-like a high-five-to motivate students and gather important information about them. "Do they look escalated, do they look triggered, do they look upset?" High school teacher David Tow asks older students, "How are you doing?" when he greets them at the door. If he senses reluctance or evasion in the response, he makes a note and follows up with "Are you sure?"

12. Attendance check-in: Transform the drudgery ofattendance into an easy, daily way to get students to open up, writes high school English teacher Jori Krulder.Instead of having students say "Here" when their name is called, Krulder suggests giving them prompts that invite them to "have a voice, share a piece of themselves with peers, and build a culture of connectedness." This can include using a mood meter to identify the color they're feeling, sharing a word they've been dwelling on, or mentioning the last thing they read (a book or text message) that moved them in some way.

13. Assign seats (but change them often): Cicely Woodard recommends switching up seating assignments periodically-once a month or so. This gives students more opportunities to work together and "learn about each other," Woodard writes. Apps like Random Name Picker and Smart Seat can make this simple to do. After each change, Woodard recommends making time for short icebreakers so that students can get to know each other a bit.

14. Show and tell: It's old school, but it still works like a charm, according to Woodard.Starting at the beginning of the year, ask students to bring in something that represents them, their culture, or their passions. Plan to set aside five or 10 minutes each day for a few students to share what they brought until everyone in the class has participated.

To mix things up, ask students to stand and find a random partner to discuss the questions with, using prompts like "Find someone wearing the same color shoes as you."

16. Dialogue journals: Liz Galarza, a middle school writing teacher in New York, tells Cult of Pedagogy that exchanging short letters (three to five sentences) with individual students during the year can help you connect with them individually and improve their writing. She suggests using a simple notebook that teachers and students can pass back and forth. Initial entries can build off of surveys or other get-to-know-you activities. For example, "You wrote that you play basketball. Me too! Who is your favorite player?"

Galarza asks her students to write one letter a week and said she spends an hour writing back responses for one classroom-however, the timeline and frequency can be adjusted to fit your own needs.
We'd love this article to be an evolving document of best practices, so please use the comments to add any of your own favorite strategies to build relationships in the classroom. If we see something we love, we may well add it to the list!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
23 Ways to Build and Sustain Classroom Relationships

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These teacher-approved activities will help create the sort of classroom bonds that pave the way to academic success.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Most agree: Strong, trusting relationships between students and teachers are the key to high-functioning, academically challenging classrooms. But according to high school Spanish teacher Natalie Lalagos, that's only a fraction of the story.

To lay the groundwork for productive classroom discussions and truly fruitful group work, for example, teachers should think about relationships along four dimensions: teacher to individual student, teacher to whole class, student to student, and student to whole class.

It might start with simple adjustments that improve classroom cohesion more generally. A teacher's identity, Lalagos suggests, should be known to the class, just as a student should feel "seen and known" by their teacher. Students, meanwhile, should develop bonds with each other, as well as a "sense of belonging" in the classroom community as a whole.

We've scoured our archives to highlight fun, quick, and easy-to-implement strategies that can (and should) be deployed daily, weekly, and even year-round to build and sustain strong classroom communities.

1. Morning meetings: The ubiquitous morning meeting, suitable for all ages, is simple to conduct and gives students and teachers a chance to reflect on the day ahead and recalibrate as they prepare to learn. The meetings can take many forms but tend to focus on prosocial greetings, reflection, and sharing: Tools like mood meters and strategies like roses and thorns allow students to convey how they're feeling that day without oversharing. Integrating group activities into the first minutes of your lessons- relationship-building games, mindfulness activities like deep breathing, or even movement-can loosen kids up for learning while having fun in the process.

By establishing strong social connections, morning meetings can reduce classroom disruptions by up to 75 percent, according to a 2017 study.

2. Name tents/name toss: An easy and interesting way to tackle name pronunciation at the start of the year is to ask students to fold paper in half and create name tents, complete with the phonetic spelling of their name. Students can decorate the other side of these tents-with drawings or images that represent them, for example-so that teachers can glean valuable insights about their passions or identities, writes high school teacher Kati Begen.

To socialize pronunciations more broadly, Kristy Zamagni-Twomey recommends fun games. Arrange students in a circle, introduce a ball, and have each student pronounce their name before tossing the ball to another child (alternatively, you can have all students say "Hi, ____" before the ball is tossed). Or, you can give students blindfolds, have one student speak a simple greeting, and ask the blindfolded student to guess the name of the speaker. During the games, be sure to gently correct mispronunciations.

3. Get-to-know-you surveys: Use free tools like SurveyMonkey or Poll Everywhere to ask students questions that range from icebreakers like "What is the best gift you've ever received and why?" or "Who are you closest to in your family and why?" to more academically oriented questions, such as "What scares you most about this class?"

Because you can make responses anonymous to peers, "students will often reveal things that they wouldn't otherwise," says high school administrator Sean Cassel. The activity really bears fruit when you follow up with students, writes middle school teacher Lindsay Kervan: Pull a student aside and ask about the sibling they mentioned on the survey, for example, or integrate student interests in curricular materials.

4. All about me: Askstudents to create a fun presentation including 10 facts about themselves: Encourage them to use media like video, photos, and music, Cassel writes. To model the activity, ease the pressure, and help students connect with you, make a presentation for yourself and go first.

Another spin on the activity? High school English teacher Larry Ferlazzo recommends "I Am" lists, which provide students with sentence starters they can complete, like "I am happy when ____," "I hope to ____," or "I am most scared when ____."

7. Identity portraits: This activity is really beginning to take off in the Edutopia community. To get to know her students better, and make their whole selves feel included and visible in her classroom, middle school teacher Shana V. White gives students crayons and colored pencils and asks them to draw an outline of their head and shoulders.

After drawing a line down the middle of their hand-drawn outline, they add skin tone, clothing, and other visible features on one side, and on the other side of the portrait they list words that describe their identity-their ethnic background, hobbies, or religion, for example. White says she hangs up the final portraits in her classroom so that students see them every day and "know that all those identities are accepted in this place."

8. 5x5 assessment: Choose five students to think about for five minutes each day, suggests Todd Finley, a professor of English education at East Carolina University, in North Carolina. Dwell on questions like these: What have I noticed about them recently? What behavior patterns? What outside affinities, struggles, values, and goals have been revealed? After you've done this, interact with the students that same day and ask them a question that came up during your thinking-for instance, "Mike, a couple of days ago you were talking about your dad's new job. How will that change things for you and your family?"

For two minutes each day, 10 days in a row, have a personal conversation with a student about anything they're interested in (as long as it's G-rated). The strategy sounds simple, but its inventor, psychologist Raymond Wlodkowski, found that it can lead to an 85 percent improvement in one student's behavior and improve the behavior of other students in your classroom too.

10. Greeting at the door: To get a quick pulse on how students are feeling and provide them with a jolt of encouragement before they take their seats, greet them individually at the door.

Kindergarten teacher Falon Turner starts her mornings by saying a student's name, making eye contact, and using a friendly greeting-like a high-five-to motivate students and gather important information about them. "Do they look escalated, do they look triggered, do they look upset?" High school teacher David Tow asks older students, "How are you doing?" when he greets them at the door. If he senses reluctance or evasion in the response, he makes a note and follows up with "Are you sure?"

12. Attendance check-in: Transform the drudgery ofattendance into an easy, daily way to get students to open up, writes high school English teacher Jori Krulder.Instead of having students say "Here" when their name is called, Krulder suggests giving them prompts that invite them to "have a voice, share a piece of themselves with peers, and build a culture of connectedness." This can include using a mood meter to identify the color they're feeling, sharing a word they've been dwelling on, or mentioning the last thing they read (a book or text message) that moved them in some way.

13. Assign seats (but change them often): Cicely Woodard recommends switching up seating assignments periodically-once a month or so. This gives students more opportunities to work together and "learn about each other," Woodard writes. Apps like Random Name Picker and Smart Seat can make this simple to do. After each change, Woodard recommends making time for short icebreakers so that students can get to know each other a bit.

14. Show and tell: It's old school, but it still works like a charm, according to Woodard.Starting at the beginning of the year, ask students to bring in something that represents them, their culture, or their passions. Plan to set aside five or 10 minutes each day for a few students to share what they brought until everyone in the class has participated.

To mix things up, ask students to stand and find a random partner to discuss the questions with, using prompts like "Find someone wearing the same color shoes as you."

16. Dialogue journals: Liz Galarza, a middle school writing teacher in New York, tells Cult of Pedagogy that exchanging short letters (three to five sentences) with individual students during the year can help you connect with them individually and improve their writing. She suggests using a simple notebook that teachers and students can pass back and forth. Initial entries can build off of surveys or other get-to-know-you activities. For example, "You wrote that you play basketball. Me too! Who is your favorite player?"

Galarza asks her students to write one letter a week and said she spends an hour writing back responses for one classroom-however, the timeline and frequency can be adjusted to fit your own needs.
We'd love this article to be an evolving document of best practices, so please use the comments to add any of your own favorite strategies to build relationships in the classroom. If we see something we love, we may well add it to the list!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
23 Ways to Build and Sustain Classroom Relationships

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These teacher-approved activities will help create the sort of classroom bonds that pave the way to academic success.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Most agree: Strong, trusting relationships between students and teachers are the key to high-functioning, academically challenging classrooms. But according to high school Spanish teacher Natalie Lalagos, that's only a fraction of the story.

To lay the groundwork for productive classroom discussions and truly fruitful group work, for example, teachers should think about relationships along four dimensions: teacher to individual student, teacher to whole class, student to student, and student to whole class.

It might start with simple adjustments that improve classroom cohesion more generally. A teacher's identity, Lalagos suggests, should be known to the class, just as a student should feel "seen and known" by their teacher. Students, meanwhile, should develop bonds with each other, as well as a "sense of belonging" in the classroom community as a whole.

We've scoured our archives to highlight fun, quick, and easy-to-implement strategies that can (and should) be deployed daily, weekly, and even year-round to build and sustain strong classroom communities.

1. Morning meetings: The ubiquitous morning meeting, suitable for all ages, is simple to conduct and gives students and teachers a chance to reflect on the day ahead and recalibrate as they prepare to learn. The meetings can take many forms but tend to focus on prosocial greetings, reflection, and sharing: Tools like mood meters and strategies like roses and thorns allow students to convey how they're feeling that day without oversharing. Integrating group activities into the first minutes of your lessons- relationship-building games, mindfulness activities like deep breathing, or even movement-can loosen kids up for learning while having fun in the process.

By establishing strong social connections, morning meetings can reduce classroom disruptions by up to 75 percent, according to a 2017 study.

2. Name tents/name toss: An easy and interesting way to tackle name pronunciation at the start of the year is to ask students to fold paper in half and create name tents, complete with the phonetic spelling of their name. Students can decorate the other side of these tents-with drawings or images that represent them, for example-so that teachers can glean valuable insights about their passions or identities, writes high school teacher Kati Begen.

To socialize pronunciations more broadly, Kristy Zamagni-Twomey recommends fun games. Arrange students in a circle, introduce a ball, and have each student pronounce their name before tossing the ball to another child (alternatively, you can have all students say "Hi, ____" before the ball is tossed). Or, you can give students blindfolds, have one student speak a simple greeting, and ask the blindfolded student to guess the name of the speaker. During the games, be sure to gently correct mispronunciations.

3. Get-to-know-you surveys: Use free tools like SurveyMonkey or Poll Everywhere to ask students questions that range from icebreakers like "What is the best gift you've ever received and why?" or "Who are you closest to in your family and why?" to more academically oriented questions, such as "What scares you most about this class?"

Because you can make responses anonymous to peers, "students will often reveal things that they wouldn't otherwise," says high school administrator Sean Cassel. The activity really bears fruit when you follow up with students, writes middle school teacher Lindsay Kervan: Pull a student aside and ask about the sibling they mentioned on the survey, for example, or integrate student interests in curricular materials.

4. All about me: Askstudents to create a fun presentation including 10 facts about themselves: Encourage them to use media like video, photos, and music, Cassel writes. To model the activity, ease the pressure, and help students connect with you, make a presentation for yourself and go first.

Another spin on the activity? High school English teacher Larry Ferlazzo recommends "I Am" lists, which provide students with sentence starters they can complete, like "I am happy when ____," "I hope to ____," or "I am most scared when ____."

7. Identity portraits: This activity is really beginning to take off in the Edutopia community. To get to know her students better, and make their whole selves feel included and visible in her classroom, middle school teacher Shana V. White gives students crayons and colored pencils and asks them to draw an outline of their head and shoulders.

After drawing a line down the middle of their hand-drawn outline, they add skin tone, clothing, and other visible features on one side, and on the other side of the portrait they list words that describe their identity-their ethnic background, hobbies, or religion, for example. White says she hangs up the final portraits in her classroom so that students see them every day and "know that all those identities are accepted in this place."

8. 5x5 assessment: Choose five students to think about for five minutes each day, suggests Todd Finley, a professor of English education at East Carolina University, in North Carolina. Dwell on questions like these: What have I noticed about them recently? What behavior patterns? What outside affinities, struggles, values, and goals have been revealed? After you've done this, interact with the students that same day and ask them a question that came up during your thinking-for instance, "Mike, a couple of days ago you were talking about your dad's new job. How will that change things for you and your family?"

For two minutes each day, 10 days in a row, have a personal conversation with a student about anything they're interested in (as long as it's G-rated). The strategy sounds simple, but its inventor, psychologist Raymond Wlodkowski, found that it can lead to an 85 percent improvement in one student's behavior and improve the behavior of other students in your classroom too.

10. Greeting at the door: To get a quick pulse on how students are feeling and provide them with a jolt of encouragement before they take their seats, greet them individually at the door.

Kindergarten teacher Falon Turner starts her mornings by saying a student's name, making eye contact, and using a friendly greeting-like a high-five-to motivate students and gather important information about them. "Do they look escalated, do they look triggered, do they look upset?" High school teacher David Tow asks older students, "How are you doing?" when he greets them at the door. If he senses reluctance or evasion in the response, he makes a note and follows up with "Are you sure?"

12. Attendance check-in: Transform the drudgery ofattendance into an easy, daily way to get students to open up, writes high school English teacher Jori Krulder.Instead of having students say "Here" when their name is called, Krulder suggests giving them prompts that invite them to "have a voice, share a piece of themselves with peers, and build a culture of connectedness." This can include using a mood meter to identify the color they're feeling, sharing a word they've been dwelling on, or mentioning the last thing they read (a book or text message) that moved them in some way.

13. Assign seats (but change them often): Cicely Woodard recommends switching up seating assignments periodically-once a month or so. This gives students more opportunities to work together and "learn about each other," Woodard writes. Apps like Random Name Picker and Smart Seat can make this simple to do. After each change, Woodard recommends making time for short icebreakers so that students can get to know each other a bit.

14. Show and tell: It's old school, but it still works like a charm, according to Woodard.Starting at the beginning of the year, ask students to bring in something that represents them, their culture, or their passions. Plan to set aside five or 10 minutes each day for a few students to share what they brought until everyone in the class has participated.

To mix things up, ask students to stand and find a random partner to discuss the questions with, using prompts like "Find someone wearing the same color shoes as you."

16. Dialogue journals: Liz Galarza, a middle school writing teacher in New York, tells Cult of Pedagogy that exchanging short letters (three to five sentences) with individual students during the year can help you connect with them individually and improve their writing. She suggests using a simple notebook that teachers and students can pass back and forth. Initial entries can build off of surveys or other get-to-know-you activities. For example, "You wrote that you play basketball. Me too! Who is your favorite player?"

Galarza asks her students to write one letter a week and said she spends an hour writing back responses for one classroom-however, the timeline and frequency can be adjusted to fit your own needs.
We'd love this article to be an evolving document of best practices, so please use the comments to add any of your own favorite strategies to build relationships in the classroom. If we see something we love, we may well add it to the list!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
23 Ways to Build and Sustain Classroom Relationships

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These teacher-approved activities will help create the sort of classroom bonds that pave the way to academic success.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Most agree: Strong, trusting relationships between students and teachers are the key to high-functioning, academically challenging classrooms. But according to high school Spanish teacher Natalie Lalagos, that's only a fraction of the story.

To lay the groundwork for productive classroom discussions and truly fruitful group work, for example, teachers should think about relationships along four dimensions: teacher to individual student, teacher to whole class, student to student, and student to whole class.

It might start with simple adjustments that improve classroom cohesion more generally. A teacher's identity, Lalagos suggests, should be known to the class, just as a student should feel "seen and known" by their teacher. Students, meanwhile, should develop bonds with each other, as well as a "sense of belonging" in the classroom community as a whole.

We've scoured our archives to highlight fun, quick, and easy-to-implement strategies that can (and should) be deployed daily, weekly, and even year-round to build and sustain strong classroom communities.

1. Morning meetings: The ubiquitous morning meeting, suitable for all ages, is simple to conduct and gives students and teachers a chance to reflect on the day ahead and recalibrate as they prepare to learn. The meetings can take many forms but tend to focus on prosocial greetings, reflection, and sharing: Tools like mood meters and strategies like roses and thorns allow students to convey how they're feeling that day without oversharing. Integrating group activities into the first minutes of your lessons- relationship-building games, mindfulness activities like deep breathing, or even movement-can loosen kids up for learning while having fun in the process.

By establishing strong social connections, morning meetings can reduce classroom disruptions by up to 75 percent, according to a 2017 study.

2. Name tents/name toss: An easy and interesting way to tackle name pronunciation at the start of the year is to ask students to fold paper in half and create name tents, complete with the phonetic spelling of their name. Students can decorate the other side of these tents-with drawings or images that represent them, for example-so that teachers can glean valuable insights about their passions or identities, writes high school teacher Kati Begen.

To socialize pronunciations more broadly, Kristy Zamagni-Twomey recommends fun games. Arrange students in a circle, introduce a ball, and have each student pronounce their name before tossing the ball to another child (alternatively, you can have all students say "Hi, ____" before the ball is tossed). Or, you can give students blindfolds, have one student speak a simple greeting, and ask the blindfolded student to guess the name of the speaker. During the games, be sure to gently correct mispronunciations.

3. Get-to-know-you surveys: Use free tools like SurveyMonkey or Poll Everywhere to ask students questions that range from icebreakers like "What is the best gift you've ever received and why?" or "Who are you closest to in your family and why?" to more academically oriented questions, such as "What scares you most about this class?"

Because you can make responses anonymous to peers, "students will often reveal things that they wouldn't otherwise," says high school administrator Sean Cassel. The activity really bears fruit when you follow up with students, writes middle school teacher Lindsay Kervan: Pull a student aside and ask about the sibling they mentioned on the survey, for example, or integrate student interests in curricular materials.

4. All about me: Askstudents to create a fun presentation including 10 facts about themselves: Encourage them to use media like video, photos, and music, Cassel writes. To model the activity, ease the pressure, and help students connect with you, make a presentation for yourself and go first.

Another spin on the activity? High school English teacher Larry Ferlazzo recommends "I Am" lists, which provide students with sentence starters they can complete, like "I am happy when ____," "I hope to ____," or "I am most scared when ____."

7. Identity portraits: This activity is really beginning to take off in the Edutopia community. To get to know her students better, and make their whole selves feel included and visible in her classroom, middle school teacher Shana V. White gives students crayons and colored pencils and asks them to draw an outline of their head and shoulders.

After drawing a line down the middle of their hand-drawn outline, they add skin tone, clothing, and other visible features on one side, and on the other side of the portrait they list words that describe their identity-their ethnic background, hobbies, or religion, for example. White says she hangs up the final portraits in her classroom so that students see them every day and "know that all those identities are accepted in this place."

8. 5x5 assessment: Choose five students to think about for five minutes each day, suggests Todd Finley, a professor of English education at East Carolina University, in North Carolina. Dwell on questions like these: What have I noticed about them recently? What behavior patterns? What outside affinities, struggles, values, and goals have been revealed? After you've done this, interact with the students that same day and ask them a question that came up during your thinking-for instance, "Mike, a couple of days ago you were talking about your dad's new job. How will that change things for you and your family?"

For two minutes each day, 10 days in a row, have a personal conversation with a student about anything they're interested in (as long as it's G-rated). The strategy sounds simple, but its inventor, psychologist Raymond Wlodkowski, found that it can lead to an 85 percent improvement in one student's behavior and improve the behavior of other students in your classroom too.

10. Greeting at the door: To get a quick pulse on how students are feeling and provide them with a jolt of encouragement before they take their seats, greet them individually at the door.

Kindergarten teacher Falon Turner starts her mornings by saying a student's name, making eye contact, and using a friendly greeting-like a high-five-to motivate students and gather important information about them. "Do they look escalated, do they look triggered, do they look upset?" High school teacher David Tow asks older students, "How are you doing?" when he greets them at the door. If he senses reluctance or evasion in the response, he makes a note and follows up with "Are you sure?"

12. Attendance check-in: Transform the drudgery ofattendance into an easy, daily way to get students to open up, writes high school English teacher Jori Krulder.Instead of having students say "Here" when their name is called, Krulder suggests giving them prompts that invite them to "have a voice, share a piece of themselves with peers, and build a culture of connectedness." This can include using a mood meter to identify the color they're feeling, sharing a word they've been dwelling on, or mentioning the last thing they read (a book or text message) that moved them in some way.

13. Assign seats (but change them often): Cicely Woodard recommends switching up seating assignments periodically-once a month or so. This gives students more opportunities to work together and "learn about each other," Woodard writes. Apps like Random Name Picker and Smart Seat can make this simple to do. After each change, Woodard recommends making time for short icebreakers so that students can get to know each other a bit.

14. Show and tell: It's old school, but it still works like a charm, according to Woodard.Starting at the beginning of the year, ask students to bring in something that represents them, their culture, or their passions. Plan to set aside five or 10 minutes each day for a few students to share what they brought until everyone in the class has participated.

To mix things up, ask students to stand and find a random partner to discuss the questions with, using prompts like "Find someone wearing the same color shoes as you."

16. Dialogue journals: Liz Galarza, a middle school writing teacher in New York, tells Cult of Pedagogy that exchanging short letters (three to five sentences) with individual students during the year can help you connect with them individually and improve their writing. She suggests using a simple notebook that teachers and students can pass back and forth. Initial entries can build off of surveys or other get-to-know-you activities. For example, "You wrote that you play basketball. Me too! Who is your favorite player?"

Galarza asks her students to write one letter a week and said she spends an hour writing back responses for one classroom-however, the timeline and frequency can be adjusted to fit your own needs.
We'd love this article to be an evolving document of best practices, so please use the comments to add any of your own favorite strategies to build relationships in the classroom. If we see something we love, we may well add it to the list!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
23 Ways to Build and Sustain Classroom Relationships

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These teacher-approved activities will help create the sort of classroom bonds that pave the way to academic success.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Most agree: Strong, trusting relationships between students and teachers are the key to high-functioning, academically challenging classrooms. But according to high school Spanish teacher Natalie Lalagos, that's only a fraction of the story.

To lay the groundwork for productive classroom discussions and truly fruitful group work, for example, teachers should think about relationships along four dimensions: teacher to individual student, teacher to whole class, student to student, and student to whole class.

It might start with simple adjustments that improve classroom cohesion more generally. A teacher's identity, Lalagos suggests, should be known to the class, just as a student should feel "seen and known" by their teacher. Students, meanwhile, should develop bonds with each other, as well as a "sense of belonging" in the classroom community as a whole.

We've scoured our archives to highlight fun, quick, and easy-to-implement strategies that can (and should) be deployed daily, weekly, and even year-round to build and sustain strong classroom communities.

1. Morning meetings: The ubiquitous morning meeting, suitable for all ages, is simple to conduct and gives students and teachers a chance to reflect on the day ahead and recalibrate as they prepare to learn. The meetings can take many forms but tend to focus on prosocial greetings, reflection, and sharing: Tools like mood meters and strategies like roses and thorns allow students to convey how they're feeling that day without oversharing. Integrating group activities into the first minutes of your lessons- relationship-building games, mindfulness activities like deep breathing, or even movement-can loosen kids up for learning while having fun in the process.

By establishing strong social connections, morning meetings can reduce classroom disruptions by up to 75 percent, according to a 2017 study.

2. Name tents/name toss: An easy and interesting way to tackle name pronunciation at the start of the year is to ask students to fold paper in half and create name tents, complete with the phonetic spelling of their name. Students can decorate the other side of these tents-with drawings or images that represent them, for example-so that teachers can glean valuable insights about their passions or identities, writes high school teacher Kati Begen.

To socialize pronunciations more broadly, Kristy Zamagni-Twomey recommends fun games. Arrange students in a circle, introduce a ball, and have each student pronounce their name before tossing the ball to another child (alternatively, you can have all students say "Hi, ____" before the ball is tossed). Or, you can give students blindfolds, have one student speak a simple greeting, and ask the blindfolded student to guess the name of the speaker. During the games, be sure to gently correct mispronunciations.

3. Get-to-know-you surveys: Use free tools like SurveyMonkey or Poll Everywhere to ask students questions that range from icebreakers like "What is the best gift you've ever received and why?" or "Who are you closest to in your family and why?" to more academically oriented questions, such as "What scares you most about this class?"

Because you can make responses anonymous to peers, "students will often reveal things that they wouldn't otherwise," says high school administrator Sean Cassel. The activity really bears fruit when you follow up with students, writes middle school teacher Lindsay Kervan: Pull a student aside and ask about the sibling they mentioned on the survey, for example, or integrate student interests in curricular materials.

4. All about me: Askstudents to create a fun presentation including 10 facts about themselves: Encourage them to use media like video, photos, and music, Cassel writes. To model the activity, ease the pressure, and help students connect with you, make a presentation for yourself and go first.

Another spin on the activity? High school English teacher Larry Ferlazzo recommends "I Am" lists, which provide students with sentence starters they can complete, like "I am happy when ____," "I hope to ____," or "I am most scared when ____."

7. Identity portraits: This activity is really beginning to take off in the Edutopia community. To get to know her students better, and make their whole selves feel included and visible in her classroom, middle school teacher Shana V. White gives students crayons and colored pencils and asks them to draw an outline of their head and shoulders.

After drawing a line down the middle of their hand-drawn outline, they add skin tone, clothing, and other visible features on one side, and on the other side of the portrait they list words that describe their identity-their ethnic background, hobbies, or religion, for example. White says she hangs up the final portraits in her classroom so that students see them every day and "know that all those identities are accepted in this place."

8. 5x5 assessment: Choose five students to think about for five minutes each day, suggests Todd Finley, a professor of English education at East Carolina University, in North Carolina. Dwell on questions like these: What have I noticed about them recently? What behavior patterns? What outside affinities, struggles, values, and goals have been revealed? After you've done this, interact with the students that same day and ask them a question that came up during your thinking-for instance, "Mike, a couple of days ago you were talking about your dad's new job. How will that change things for you and your family?"

For two minutes each day, 10 days in a row, have a personal conversation with a student about anything they're interested in (as long as it's G-rated). The strategy sounds simple, but its inventor, psychologist Raymond Wlodkowski, found that it can lead to an 85 percent improvement in one student's behavior and improve the behavior of other students in your classroom too.

10. Greeting at the door: To get a quick pulse on how students are feeling and provide them with a jolt of encouragement before they take their seats, greet them individually at the door.

Kindergarten teacher Falon Turner starts her mornings by saying a student's name, making eye contact, and using a friendly greeting-like a high-five-to motivate students and gather important information about them. "Do they look escalated, do they look triggered, do they look upset?" High school teacher David Tow asks older students, "How are you doing?" when he greets them at the door. If he senses reluctance or evasion in the response, he makes a note and follows up with "Are you sure?"

12. Attendance check-in: Transform the drudgery ofattendance into an easy, daily way to get students to open up, writes high school English teacher Jori Krulder.Instead of having students say "Here" when their name is called, Krulder suggests giving them prompts that invite them to "have a voice, share a piece of themselves with peers, and build a culture of connectedness." This can include using a mood meter to identify the color they're feeling, sharing a word they've been dwelling on, or mentioning the last thing they read (a book or text message) that moved them in some way.

13. Assign seats (but change them often): Cicely Woodard recommends switching up seating assignments periodically-once a month or so. This gives students more opportunities to work together and "learn about each other," Woodard writes. Apps like Random Name Picker and Smart Seat can make this simple to do. After each change, Woodard recommends making time for short icebreakers so that students can get to know each other a bit.

14. Show and tell: It's old school, but it still works like a charm, according to Woodard.Starting at the beginning of the year, ask students to bring in something that represents them, their culture, or their passions. Plan to set aside five or 10 minutes each day for a few students to share what they brought until everyone in the class has participated.

To mix things up, ask students to stand and find a random partner to discuss the questions with, using prompts like "Find someone wearing the same color shoes as you."

16. Dialogue journals: Liz Galarza, a middle school writing teacher in New York, tells Cult of Pedagogy that exchanging short letters (three to five sentences) with individual students during the year can help you connect with them individually and improve their writing. She suggests using a simple notebook that teachers and students can pass back and forth. Initial entries can build off of surveys or other get-to-know-you activities. For example, "You wrote that you play basketball. Me too! Who is your favorite player?"

Galarza asks her students to write one letter a week and said she spends an hour writing back responses for one classroom-however, the timeline and frequency can be adjusted to fit your own needs.
We'd love this article to be an evolving document of best practices, so please use the comments to add any of your own favorite strategies to build relationships in the classroom. If we see something we love, we may well add it to the list!

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23 Ways to Build and Sustain Classroom Relationships

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These teacher-approved activities will help create the sort of classroom bonds that pave the way to academic success.

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Story Corps Strategies for Student Interviews

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Story Corps Strategies for Student Interviews

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After 17 years of listening, we know what makes a good conversation: Start by asking Great Questions.

Here are some of our suggestions for getting a good conversation going. We encourage you to use the ones you like and to come up with your own. This list is in no particular order. Choose one of the categories below, or scroll through and read them all.

Great Questions for Anyone

Friends or Colleagues

If you could interview anyone from your life living or dead, but not a celebrity, who would it be and why?

What is your first memory of me?

Was there a time when you didn't like me?

What makes us such good friends?

How would you describe me? How would you describe yourself?

Where will we be in 10 years? 20 years?

Do you think we'll ever lose touch with each other?

Grandparents

Where did you grow up?

What was your childhood like?

Who were your favorite relatives?

Do you remember any of the stories your grandparents used to tell you?

How did you and grandma/grandpa meet?

What was my mom/dad/parent like growing up?

Do you remember any songs that you used to sing to your children? Can you sing them now?

Were your granparents well-behaved?

What is the worst thing your grandparents ever did?

What were your parents like?

What were your grandparents like?

How would you like to be remembered?

Are you proud of me?

Raising Children

Parents

Do you remember what was going through your head when you first saw me?

How did you choose my name?

What was I like as a baby? As a young child?

Do you remember any of the songs you used to sing to me? Can you sing them now?

What were my siblings like?

What were the hardest moments you had when I was growing up?

If you could do everything again, would you raise me differently?

What advice would you give me about raising my own kids?

What are your dreams for me?

How did you meet mom/dad?

How do you think we are alike? How do you think we are different?

Are you proud of me?

Growing Up

School

Teachers

Love & Relationships

Do you have a love of your life?

When did you first fall in love?

Can you tell me about your first kiss?

What was your first serious relationship?

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Do you ever think about previous lovers?

What lessons have you learned from your relationships?

Who were the "ones that got away" in your life?

What was the hardest break up you've ever experienced?

Do you remember the best date you ever went on?/Do you remember your first date?

Marriage & Partnerships

Working

Describe the work that you do.

Tell me about how you got into your line of work.

Do you like your job?

What did you think you were going to be when you grew up?

What did you want to be when you grew up?

What lessons has your work life taught you?

If you could do anything now, what would you do? Why?

Do you plan on retiring? If so, when? How do you feel about it?

Do you have any favorite stories from your work life?

Religion

Can you tell me about your religious beliefs/spiritual beliefs? What is your religion?

How did you come to your faith? From your family? From a particular experience or set of experiences?

How has your faith evolved over time?

Have you experienced any miracles?

What was the most profound spiritual moment of your life?

Do you believe in God?

How have you experienced God (or a Higher Power) in your life?

Do you believe in the after-life? What do you think it will be like?

When you meet God, what do you want to say?

Have there been moments that tested your faith? What were those challenges and how did they impact your faith?

Serious Illness

Can you tell me about your illness?

Do you think about dying? Are you scared?

How do you imagine your death?

Do you believe in an after-life?

Do you regret anything?

Do you look at your life differently now than before you were diagnosed?

Do you have any last wishes?

If you were to give advice to me or others in our family, what would it be?

What have you learned from life? The most important things?

Has this illness changed you? What have you learned?

How do you want to be remembered?

Family Heritage

Where are your parents' families from?

Have you ever been there? What was that experience like?

What traditions have been passed down in your family?

Who were your favorite relatives?

Do you remember any of the stories they used to tell you?

What are the classic family stories? Jokes? Songs?

Military

Remembering a Loved One

Justice

© 2003-2022 StoryCorps, Inc.

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After 17 years of listening, we know what makes a great conversation: Ask great questions. Here are some of our suggestions for getting a good conversation going. We encourage you to use the ones you like and to come up with your own.

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Story Corp Strategies for Student Interviews (cont.)

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Story Corp Strategies for Student Interviews (cont.)

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1. Plan Your Questions
Before you record anything, use the StoryCorps question lists to plan your questions (or write your own), and share them ahead of time with your partner. This simple preparation will help you get the most out of your time together.

2. Ask Warm-Up Questions
Press the record button and follow the prompts to introduce yourself and your partner. Then ask a few warm-up questions, like "Where were you born?" or "Can you describe the first time we met?"
Our self-directed recording tools allow anyone to record a meaningful conversation in person or remotely with a friend, mentor, or loved one. After your interview, you'll have the option to add your recording to StoryCorps' archive at the Library of Congress for future generations to listen to and learn from.
StoryCorps Connect makes it easy to record a conversation remotely through your web browser.

You can also record in person with the easily downloadable StoryCorps App.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
At the heart of a great conversation are the people connecting, talking, and sharing, but there are a few things we can all do to smooth the way. The team at StoryCorps developed these 10 tips to help you have a relaxed and meaningful conversation with your interview partner.

# data[].attributes.headline
Story Corps Strategies for Student Interviews 

# data[].attributes.subject
Story Corps Strategies for Student Interviews 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
After 17 years of listening, we know what makes a good conversation: Start by asking Great Questions.

Here are some of our suggestions for getting a good conversation going. We encourage you to use the ones you like and to come up with your own. This list is in no particular order. Choose one of the categories below, or scroll through and read them all.

Great Questions for Anyone

Friends or Colleagues

If you could interview anyone from your life living or dead, but not a celebrity, who would it be and why?

What is your first memory of me?

Was there a time when you didn't like me?

What makes us such good friends?

How would you describe me? How would you describe yourself?

Where will we be in 10 years? 20 years?

Do you think we'll ever lose touch with each other?

Grandparents

Where did you grow up?

What was your childhood like?

Who were your favorite relatives?

Do you remember any of the stories your grandparents used to tell you?

How did you and grandma/grandpa meet?

What was my mom/dad/parent like growing up?

Do you remember any songs that you used to sing to your children? Can you sing them now?

Were your granparents well-behaved?

What is the worst thing your grandparents ever did?

What were your parents like?

What were your grandparents like?

How would you like to be remembered?

Are you proud of me?

Raising Children

Parents

Do you remember what was going through your head when you first saw me?

How did you choose my name?

What was I like as a baby? As a young child?

Do you remember any of the songs you used to sing to me? Can you sing them now?

What were my siblings like?

What were the hardest moments you had when I was growing up?

If you could do everything again, would you raise me differently?

What advice would you give me about raising my own kids?

What are your dreams for me?

How did you meet mom/dad?

How do you think we are alike? How do you think we are different?

Are you proud of me?

Growing Up

School

Teachers

Love & Relationships

Do you have a love of your life?

When did you first fall in love?

Can you tell me about your first kiss?

What was your first serious relationship?

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Do you ever think about previous lovers?

What lessons have you learned from your relationships?

Who were the "ones that got away" in your life?

What was the hardest break up you've ever experienced?

Do you remember the best date you ever went on?/Do you remember your first date?

Marriage & Partnerships

Working

Describe the work that you do.

Tell me about how you got into your line of work.

Do you like your job?

What did you think you were going to be when you grew up?

What did you want to be when you grew up?

What lessons has your work life taught you?

If you could do anything now, what would you do? Why?

Do you plan on retiring? If so, when? How do you feel about it?

Do you have any favorite stories from your work life?

Religion

Can you tell me about your religious beliefs/spiritual beliefs? What is your religion?

How did you come to your faith? From your family? From a particular experience or set of experiences?

How has your faith evolved over time?

Have you experienced any miracles?

What was the most profound spiritual moment of your life?

Do you believe in God?

How have you experienced God (or a Higher Power) in your life?

Do you believe in the after-life? What do you think it will be like?

When you meet God, what do you want to say?

Have there been moments that tested your faith? What were those challenges and how did they impact your faith?

Serious Illness

Can you tell me about your illness?

Do you think about dying? Are you scared?

How do you imagine your death?

Do you believe in an after-life?

Do you regret anything?

Do you look at your life differently now than before you were diagnosed?

Do you have any last wishes?

If you were to give advice to me or others in our family, what would it be?

What have you learned from life? The most important things?

Has this illness changed you? What have you learned?

How do you want to be remembered?

Family Heritage

Where are your parents' families from?

Have you ever been there? What was that experience like?

What traditions have been passed down in your family?

Who were your favorite relatives?

Do you remember any of the stories they used to tell you?

What are the classic family stories? Jokes? Songs?

Military

Remembering a Loved One

Justice

© 2003-2022 StoryCorps, Inc.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
After 17 years of listening, we know what makes a great conversation: Ask great questions. Here are some of our suggestions for getting a good conversation going. We encourage you to use the ones you like and to come up with your own.

# data[].attributes.headline
Story Corps Strategies for Student Interviews (cont.)

# data[].attributes.subject
Story Corps Strategies for Student Interviews (cont.)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
1. Plan Your Questions
Before you record anything, use the StoryCorps question lists to plan your questions (or write your own), and share them ahead of time with your partner. This simple preparation will help you get the most out of your time together.

2. Ask Warm-Up Questions
Press the record button and follow the prompts to introduce yourself and your partner. Then ask a few warm-up questions, like "Where were you born?" or "Can you describe the first time we met?"
Our self-directed recording tools allow anyone to record a meaningful conversation in person or remotely with a friend, mentor, or loved one. After your interview, you'll have the option to add your recording to StoryCorps' archive at the Library of Congress for future generations to listen to and learn from.
StoryCorps Connect makes it easy to record a conversation remotely through your web browser.

You can also record in person with the easily downloadable StoryCorps App.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
At the heart of a great conversation are the people connecting, talking, and sharing, but there are a few things we can all do to smooth the way. The team at StoryCorps developed these 10 tips to help you have a relaxed and meaningful conversation with your interview partner.

# data[].attributes.headline
Story Corps Strategies for Student Interviews

# data[].attributes.subject
Story Corps Strategies for Student Interviews

# data[].attributes.body
Could be useful for Journalism/Yearbook

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
After 17 years of listening, we know what makes a good conversation: Start by asking Great Questions.

Here are some of our suggestions for getting a good conversation going. We encourage you to use the ones you like and to come up with your own. This list is in no particular order. Choose one of the categories below, or scroll through and read them all.

Great Questions for Anyone

Friends or Colleagues

If you could interview anyone from your life living or dead, but not a celebrity, who would it be and why?

What is your first memory of me?

Was there a time when you didn't like me?

What makes us such good friends?

How would you describe me? How would you describe yourself?

Where will we be in 10 years? 20 years?

Do you think we'll ever lose touch with each other?

Grandparents

Where did you grow up?

What was your childhood like?

Who were your favorite relatives?

Do you remember any of the stories your grandparents used to tell you?

How did you and grandma/grandpa meet?

What was my mom/dad/parent like growing up?

Do you remember any songs that you used to sing to your children? Can you sing them now?

Were your granparents well-behaved?

What is the worst thing your grandparents ever did?

What were your parents like?

What were your grandparents like?

How would you like to be remembered?

Are you proud of me?

Raising Children

Parents

Do you remember what was going through your head when you first saw me?

How did you choose my name?

What was I like as a baby? As a young child?

Do you remember any of the songs you used to sing to me? Can you sing them now?

What were my siblings like?

What were the hardest moments you had when I was growing up?

If you could do everything again, would you raise me differently?

What advice would you give me about raising my own kids?

What are your dreams for me?

How did you meet mom/dad?

How do you think we are alike? How do you think we are different?

Are you proud of me?

Growing Up

School

Teachers

Love & Relationships

Do you have a love of your life?

When did you first fall in love?

Can you tell me about your first kiss?

What was your first serious relationship?

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Do you ever think about previous lovers?

What lessons have you learned from your relationships?

Who were the "ones that got away" in your life?

What was the hardest break up you've ever experienced?

Do you remember the best date you ever went on?/Do you remember your first date?

Marriage & Partnerships

Working

Describe the work that you do.

Tell me about how you got into your line of work.

Do you like your job?

What did you think you were going to be when you grew up?

What did you want to be when you grew up?

What lessons has your work life taught you?

If you could do anything now, what would you do? Why?

Do you plan on retiring? If so, when? How do you feel about it?

Do you have any favorite stories from your work life?

Religion

Can you tell me about your religious beliefs/spiritual beliefs? What is your religion?

How did you come to your faith? From your family? From a particular experience or set of experiences?

How has your faith evolved over time?

Have you experienced any miracles?

What was the most profound spiritual moment of your life?

Do you believe in God?

How have you experienced God (or a Higher Power) in your life?

Do you believe in the after-life? What do you think it will be like?

When you meet God, what do you want to say?

Have there been moments that tested your faith? What were those challenges and how did they impact your faith?

Serious Illness

Can you tell me about your illness?

Do you think about dying? Are you scared?

How do you imagine your death?

Do you believe in an after-life?

Do you regret anything?

Do you look at your life differently now than before you were diagnosed?

Do you have any last wishes?

If you were to give advice to me or others in our family, what would it be?

What have you learned from life? The most important things?

Has this illness changed you? What have you learned?

How do you want to be remembered?

Family Heritage

Where are your parents' families from?

Have you ever been there? What was that experience like?

What traditions have been passed down in your family?

Who were your favorite relatives?

Do you remember any of the stories they used to tell you?

What are the classic family stories? Jokes? Songs?

Military

Remembering a Loved One

Justice

© 2003-2022 StoryCorps, Inc.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
After 17 years of listening, we know what makes a great conversation: Ask great questions. Here are some of our suggestions for getting a good conversation going. We encourage you to use the ones you like and to come up with your own.

# data[].attributes.headline
Story Corps Strategies for Student Interviews (cont.)

# data[].attributes.subject
Story Corps Strategies for Student Interviews (cont.)

# data[].attributes.body
Could be useful for Journalism/Yearbook

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
1. Plan Your Questions
Before you record anything, use the StoryCorps question lists to plan your questions (or write your own), and share them ahead of time with your partner. This simple preparation will help you get the most out of your time together.

2. Ask Warm-Up Questions
Press the record button and follow the prompts to introduce yourself and your partner. Then ask a few warm-up questions, like "Where were you born?" or "Can you describe the first time we met?"
Our self-directed recording tools allow anyone to record a meaningful conversation in person or remotely with a friend, mentor, or loved one. After your interview, you'll have the option to add your recording to StoryCorps' archive at the Library of Congress for future generations to listen to and learn from.
StoryCorps Connect makes it easy to record a conversation remotely through your web browser.

You can also record in person with the easily downloadable StoryCorps App.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
At the heart of a great conversation are the people connecting, talking, and sharing, but there are a few things we can all do to smooth the way. The team at StoryCorps developed these 10 tips to help you have a relaxed and meaningful conversation with your interview partner.

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https://rightquestion.org/what-is-the-qft/

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The Question Formulation Technique in 90 Seconds.

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https://rightquestion.org/what-is-the-qft/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Question Formulation Technique in 90 Seconds.

# data[].attributes.body
https://rightquestion.org/what-is-the-qft/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Question Formulation Technique in 90 Seconds.

# data[].attributes.body
https://rightquestion.org/what-is-the-qft/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Question Formulation Technique in 90 Seconds.

# data[].attributes.body
https://rightquestion.org/what-is-the-qft/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Question Formulation Technique in 90 Seconds.

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AI Program that helps teach math processes

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AI Program that helps teach math processes

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Students 'don't need an answer, they need help with the process,' and combining ChatGPT with Wolfram Alpha is one way to guide them through it.

Mitch Blunt / Ikon Images

For math teachers, the AI revolution recently experienced by so many of our colleagues in other subjects didn't start with the release of ChatGPT. AI had already entered our classrooms several years ago via Photomath, an app that gives a step-by-step solution to any math equation when you simply point a phone camera at a worksheet or whiteboard.

What many of us discovered back then was that apps that guide students through the correct steps of a math problem aren't all bad. Sure, they can help students cheat, but they can also be as valuable as the textbooks we've used for years to teach the same processes.

The problem with Photomath or AI in general isn't that they help us find the correct answer, it's that they do little to help students learn the right process to find the answer themselves. In my view, this is where AI can truly be useful in math education, and fortunately, new tools are being developed to guide students through the productive struggle that helps them learn.

Checking Our Work

ChatGPT has proven useful for many school subjects, though math is decidedly not one of them. On its own, it is generally terrible at math (especially geometry). Recently, it's been shown to suffer from what's known as AI drift, where the technology actually regresses. That means ChatGPT by itself was worse at doing math problems in August of this year than it was back in March.

ChatGPT can still be a useful tool for math teachers, but it requires an add-on.

Wolfram Alpha is the long-used math/science/data engine. Combining the two gives the verbal fluency of ChatGPT with the mathematical integrity of Wolfram Alpha. I've personally recommended Wolfram Alpha Pro since 2015. It's a rock-solid tool for math teachers. But it has not been traditionally easy to "talk to." ChatGPT has the conversational ability and Wolfram Alpha has the mathematical accuracy for algebra and most nongeometry problems.

Let's pull back the curtain and see exactly how it works. Back in January, math professor Paul T. von Hippel identified some specific errors that ChatGPT made in calculations.
I want you to fact-check this problem. Suppose the hypotenuse of a right triangle is 7.1 miles long, and one of the legs is 3.85 miles long. How long is the other leg?
I took this error from one of von Hippel's blog posts and pasted it into the chat with the prompt, "I want you to fact-check this problem." (You can see my full exchange with ChatGPT here -I require students to cite any conversations with AI as part of the disclosure process).

ChatGPT alone couldn't come up with the right solution. As part of its calculation, it made a small error when finding a square root, making the overall answer incorrect. But ChatGPT-4 with the Wolfram Alpha plug-in did come up with the right answer-thanks to the overall accuracy of Wolfram Alpha. Great! So it can do a math problem. We've had accurate problem-solving all along with Photomath and Wolfram Alpha. So why use ChatGPT?

Here is where the real power comes in. I asked ChatGPT with the Wolfram Alpha plug-in, "Can you identify where the mistake was made in the first problem?"

And there it is. ChatGPT-4 with the Wolfram Alpha plug-in accurately identified the mistake in the calculation and explained it in a straightforward way, similar to how a math teacher might explain it to a student. Asking AI to identify and explain mistakes is a real time-saver, and something other math tools cannot do.

With that said, I'm also testing the AI-powered Khanmigo from Khan Academy in my classroom, as it will help teach binary numbers. I'm extremely hopeful that this app will help coach students instead of just "giving answers."

Respect the Productive Struggle

The true promise of AI is realized when we harness it to enhance the productive struggle that makes learning click-and leads to more learning. As education professor ​​Rishi Sriram has written on the neuroscience of productive struggle: "Learning is not about turning on a light. Instead, it's about constructing better and faster roads. Smart brains are efficient brains, and that efficiency comes through myelinating brain wires through repeated practice with specific feedback. Although it makes learning more difficult, it's a difficulty that pays off in the long run."

My students need to attempt answers, learn from their mistakes, and receive feedback in order to learn how to solve problems on their own. It's what productive struggle is all about.

Students don't need an answer; they need help with the process. They need to know the specific step where they're making a mistake so they can learn how to arrive at the correct answer themselves.

This, in my opinion, is where most math tools fall short. They give the answers, and yes, they give the steps. But they don't point out where the student is making the mistake. And except in the case of Khanmigo, they do not withhold the answer.

1. A respect for the productive struggle required to learn math

2. A transparency that gives math teachers oversight of AI's interactions with their students (just like a teacher would have with a paraprofessional, I might add)

AI can be a great helper for math teachers. Yet we may need to return to some old-fashioned screencasting to show students how math is actually performed. Or we need to find AI tools that give us two essential ingredients:

We're on the cusp of some amazing breakthroughs in math technology and education as a whole, and I have no doubt that AI will be a part of it. But we've already proven that giving kids the answer does not help them learn. Empowering them to be self-reliant, independent thinkers is crucial. Artificial intelligence can be a tool to facilitate this process, but we must strike a balance. Effective AI does not make humans obsolete; it unleashes human potential.

Using AI as a partner to accurately coach our students through the productive struggle is the sweet spot we're all looking for. That, my fellow teachers, is the answer to improving math with AI. Now let's improve our process when it comes to using AI.

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Using AI to Encourage Productive Struggle in Math

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Students 'don't need an answer, they need help with the process,' and combining ChatGPT with Wolfram Alpha is one way to guide them through it.

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AI Conversation with a Historical Figure

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AI Conversation with a Historical Figure

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In middle and high school, incorporating mood-boosting, brain-stimulating attention breaks into lessons can head off student inattention, boredom, and fatigue at the pass. To find many more brain breaks designed especially for older students, read Paige Tutt's article for Edutopia titled " 17 Brain Breaks Tailored for High Schoolers." To learn more about the neuroscience behind brain breaks, see Dr. Judy Willis's article " Using Brain Breaks to Restore Students' Focus" or Ethan R. Buch, Leonardo Claudino, Romain Quentin, Marlene Bönstrup, and Leonardo G. Cohen's 2021 research on how rest intervals strengthen the consolidation of skills.

To learn more about each of the breaks shown in the video, visit these sources:

Think Outside the Box activity from Tina Centineo, via X (formerly Twitter)

Jigsaw Jumble activity from "8 Easy, Awesome Brain Break Games for High School Students," by Jenn Breisacher, Student-Centered World

Sequence of Exercises and Calming Break from "54 Educational Brain Breaks Your Students Will Love," by Stephanie Sanders, We Are Teachers

Balloon Toss from AwesomelyTeacher, via X

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament from Barre Unified Union School District

Mysterious Image Game from Peter Embleton, via X

Tower of Terror Cup-Stacking Game from Jonathan Alsheimer, via X

Collaborative Class Story from Dora Hartsell, via X

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students are still learning, even during brief breaks, which serve to help them decompress, refocus, and process new information.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In middle and high school, incorporating mood-boosting, brain-stimulating attention breaks into lessons can head off student inattention, boredom, and fatigue at the pass. To find many more brain breaks designed especially for older students, read Paige Tutt's article for Edutopia titled " 17 Brain Breaks Tailored for High Schoolers." To learn more about the neuroscience behind brain breaks, see Dr. Judy Willis's article " Using Brain Breaks to Restore Students' Focus" or Ethan R. Buch, Leonardo Claudino, Romain Quentin, Marlene Bönstrup, and Leonardo G. Cohen's 2021 research on how rest intervals strengthen the consolidation of skills.

To learn more about each of the breaks shown in the video, visit these sources:

Think Outside the Box activity from Tina Centineo, via X (formerly Twitter)

Jigsaw Jumble activity from "8 Easy, Awesome Brain Break Games for High School Students," by Jenn Breisacher, Student-Centered World

Sequence of Exercises and Calming Break from "54 Educational Brain Breaks Your Students Will Love," by Stephanie Sanders, We Are Teachers

Balloon Toss from AwesomelyTeacher, via X

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament from Barre Unified Union School District

Mysterious Image Game from Peter Embleton, via X

Tower of Terror Cup-Stacking Game from Jonathan Alsheimer, via X

Collaborative Class Story from Dora Hartsell, via X

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students are still learning, even during brief breaks, which serve to help them decompress, refocus, and process new information.

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In middle and high school, incorporating mood-boosting, brain-stimulating attention breaks into lessons can head off student inattention, boredom, and fatigue at the pass. To find many more brain breaks designed especially for older students, read Paige Tutt's article for Edutopia titled " 17 Brain Breaks Tailored for High Schoolers." To learn more about the neuroscience behind brain breaks, see Dr. Judy Willis's article " Using Brain Breaks to Restore Students' Focus" or Ethan R. Buch, Leonardo Claudino, Romain Quentin, Marlene Bönstrup, and Leonardo G. Cohen's 2021 research on how rest intervals strengthen the consolidation of skills.

To learn more about each of the breaks shown in the video, visit these sources:

Think Outside the Box activity from Tina Centineo, via X (formerly Twitter)

Jigsaw Jumble activity from "8 Easy, Awesome Brain Break Games for High School Students," by Jenn Breisacher, Student-Centered World

Sequence of Exercises and Calming Break from "54 Educational Brain Breaks Your Students Will Love," by Stephanie Sanders, We Are Teachers

Balloon Toss from AwesomelyTeacher, via X

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament from Barre Unified Union School District

Mysterious Image Game from Peter Embleton, via X

Tower of Terror Cup-Stacking Game from Jonathan Alsheimer, via X

Collaborative Class Story from Dora Hartsell, via X

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students are still learning, even during brief breaks, which serve to help them decompress, refocus, and process new information.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In middle and high school, incorporating mood-boosting, brain-stimulating attention breaks into lessons can head off student inattention, boredom, and fatigue at the pass. To find many more brain breaks designed especially for older students, read Paige Tutt's article for Edutopia titled " 17 Brain Breaks Tailored for High Schoolers." To learn more about the neuroscience behind brain breaks, see Dr. Judy Willis's article " Using Brain Breaks to Restore Students' Focus" or Ethan R. Buch, Leonardo Claudino, Romain Quentin, Marlene Bönstrup, and Leonardo G. Cohen's 2021 research on how rest intervals strengthen the consolidation of skills.

To learn more about each of the breaks shown in the video, visit these sources:

Think Outside the Box activity from Tina Centineo, via X (formerly Twitter)

Jigsaw Jumble activity from "8 Easy, Awesome Brain Break Games for High School Students," by Jenn Breisacher, Student-Centered World

Sequence of Exercises and Calming Break from "54 Educational Brain Breaks Your Students Will Love," by Stephanie Sanders, We Are Teachers

Balloon Toss from AwesomelyTeacher, via X

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament from Barre Unified Union School District

Mysterious Image Game from Peter Embleton, via X

Tower of Terror Cup-Stacking Game from Jonathan Alsheimer, via X

Collaborative Class Story from Dora Hartsell, via X

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students are still learning, even during brief breaks, which serve to help them decompress, refocus, and process new information.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In middle and high school, incorporating mood-boosting, brain-stimulating attention breaks into lessons can head off student inattention, boredom, and fatigue at the pass. To find many more brain breaks designed especially for older students, read Paige Tutt's article for Edutopia titled " 17 Brain Breaks Tailored for High Schoolers." To learn more about the neuroscience behind brain breaks, see Dr. Judy Willis's article " Using Brain Breaks to Restore Students' Focus" or Ethan R. Buch, Leonardo Claudino, Romain Quentin, Marlene Bönstrup, and Leonardo G. Cohen's 2021 research on how rest intervals strengthen the consolidation of skills.

To learn more about each of the breaks shown in the video, visit these sources:

Think Outside the Box activity from Tina Centineo, via X (formerly Twitter)

Jigsaw Jumble activity from "8 Easy, Awesome Brain Break Games for High School Students," by Jenn Breisacher, Student-Centered World

Sequence of Exercises and Calming Break from "54 Educational Brain Breaks Your Students Will Love," by Stephanie Sanders, We Are Teachers

Balloon Toss from AwesomelyTeacher, via X

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament from Barre Unified Union School District

Mysterious Image Game from Peter Embleton, via X

Tower of Terror Cup-Stacking Game from Jonathan Alsheimer, via X

Collaborative Class Story from Dora Hartsell, via X

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Students are still learning, even during brief breaks, which serve to help them decompress, refocus, and process new information.

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Interactive Simulations for Science and Math

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Interactive Simulations for Science and Math

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Over 1.1 billion simulations delivered

160interactive simulations

97language translations

3001teacher-submitted lessons

Founded in 2002 by Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman, the PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder creates free interactive math and science simulations. PhET sims are based on extensive education research and engage students through an intuitive, game-like environment where students learn through exploration and discovery.

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Founded in 2002 by Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman, the PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder creates free interactive math and science simulations. PhET sims are based on extensive education research and engage students through an intuitive, game-like environment where students learn through exploration and discovery.

# data[].attributes.headline
Interactive Simulations for Science and Math

# data[].attributes.subject
Interactive Simulations for Science and Math

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Over 1.1 billion simulations delivered

160interactive simulations

97language translations

3001teacher-submitted lessons

Founded in 2002 by Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman, the PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder creates free interactive math and science simulations. PhET sims are based on extensive education research and engage students through an intuitive, game-like environment where students learn through exploration and discovery.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Founded in 2002 by Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman, the PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder creates free interactive math and science simulations. PhET sims are based on extensive education research and engage students through an intuitive, game-like environment where students learn through exploration and discovery.

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Learn what makes a PhET sim unique, develop strategies for writing sim-based activities, and design a lesson plan and activity sheet.

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Learn what makes a PhET sim unique, develop strategies for writing sim-based activities, and design a lesson plan and activity sheet.

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About this printout

This rubric is designed to be used for any oral presentation. Students are scored in three categories-delivery, content, and audience awareness.

Teaching with this printout

Oral presentation and speaking are important skills for students to master, especially in the intermediate grades. This oral presentation rubric is designed to fit any topic or subject area. The rubric allows teachers to assess students in several key areas of oral presentation. Students are scored on a scale of 1-4 in three major areas. The first area is Delivery, which includes eye contact, and voice inflection. The second area, Content/Organization, scores students based on their knowledge and understanding of the topic being presented and the overall organization of their presentation. The third area, Enthusiasm/Audience Awareness, assesses students based on their enthusiasm toward the topic and how well they came across to their intended audience. Give students the oral presentation rubric ahead of time so that they know and understand what they will be scored on. Discuss each of the major areas and how they relate to oral presentation.

More ideas to try

After students have completed their oral presentations, ask them to do a self-assessment with the same rubric and hold a conference with them to compare their self-assessment with your own assessment.

Provide students with several examples of oral presentations before they plan and execute their own presentation. Ask students to evaluate and assess the exemplar presentations using the same rubric.

Students can do a peer evaluation of oral presentations using this rubric. Students meet in partners or small groups to give each other feedback and explain their scoring.

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About this printout This rubric is designed to be used for any oral presentation. Students are scored in three categories-delivery, content, and audience awareness. Teaching with this printout Oral presentation and speaking are important skills for students to master, especially in the intermediate grades.