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The Name Game- A Powerful Cooperative Learning Strategy

Do a google search for “The Name Game” and you might never forgive me for getting that old tune stuck in your head all day: “Judy, Judy bo Budy, banana-fana fo Fudy…” How did that song become such a sensation?

Annoying soundtracks aside, The Name Game I am sharing here is a powerful, easy, and fun cooperative learning strategy that you will set on repeat every chance you get.

Three Good Things

Lots of good things come in threes: The Three Little Pigs, the original Star Wars, the Sanderson Sisters, etc. When facilitating The Name Game, just remember the number three. You will need three balls, or other objects to throw, at least three people, and the three rules below:

Say the person’s name that you are going to throw the ball to before you throw it.
Throw the ball in a way that the person can catch it.
Throw the ball to the same person.

The First Ball-Follow the Rules

These “footbags” or hacky sacks are the best for the first and second rounds

Don’t be fooled by the implied simplicity of The Name Game. Often, when something looks easy, it’s because we have spent countless hours perfecting it to look that way. Think brushing your teeth: years of reminders from your parents, cavities, cleanings, etc.

Be a stickler about following the rules for the first round, and use a ball that is easy to catch and throw, like a beanbag or hacky sack. You will probably even hear a comment or two about how this is too easy, cue the 5th grade boy who is trying to show off by using just one hand.

Rule #1- Say the name

Saying a person’s name shows respect. According to an article in the Washington Post, “A person’s name is the greatest connection to identity and individuality.” When we look at someone and say their name it sends the message that we see them. Such a small thing, but a moment of connection can be the anchor that keeps us steady in a day filled with choppy waters.

Also, saying a person’s name before you throw the ball shows kindness. Again, this is a small act that sends the message, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to throw anything until you are ready.” When you say their name, they will automatically look toward you, signaling they are ready for whatever it is you are going to “give” them.

Rule #2-The trust throw

The second rule to remember is to throw the ball in a way that the person can catch it. This builds trust. “I trust you that you are going to throw it in the right direction, with just the right amount of height and velocity. Not only that, but you trust me, that I will catch it. You believe I can catch it, and we are building a two way relationship-throwing and catching.”

rule #3-same same same

The third rule is to always throw it to the same person. This builds consistency. Consistency creates of feeling of safety in some ways because it sets us up to know what to expect. I know that you are going to throw the ball to me, and I am going to throw the ball to the next person. This becomes the most important part of this game and is a big part of why this is considered a cooperative learning game. We will know we are successful when we can complete at least one full round of ball tosses without dropping the ball. Having met the goal, we can now tackle more complex tasks.

The Second Ball- Create a Sense of Urgency

Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, i.e., life in 2019, you’ve got another think coming my friend. (Check out this blog post on how we’ve been saying that saying wrong forever.) Adding a second ball to The Name Game adds a level of intrigue and a little thing I like to call urgency.

Knowing that another ball is coming soon, means I have got to get rid of this ball I am holding. Sometimes, when I feel a sense of urgency, I lose my ability to maintain the things I have already built, just little things like respect and trust. I might forget to say your name, I will probably throw the ball a little harder or faster and you will feel set up for failure. But, if we can trust ourselves and each other, we can still be successful and even have fun. Urgency can create a level of challenge that is fun!

Remember the goal is still success still here, so having a second bean bag or hacky sack is best. We are leveling up the challenge just a little at a time. Even leveling up to a tennis ball could be too much for many groups. Always wait until success is achieved, getting the ball all the way through to each person, before adding a level of complexity.

The Third Ball- Ready to Take Risks

People are interesting. When they experience the level of challenge a second ball brings to the group, and they also see the potential for success, they seem a little hungry. They want to live on the edge, or at least take a peek over it. They want to see what it is they are made of. (link to my own blog post)

Don’t get too hasty. We can’t just go jumping off cliffs without first checking to make sure we’ve got a parachute and we know how to use it. Your group has to earn it. I know its just a Name Game folks, but get excited with me.

When you feel they are ready, here are some ways to level up: With young players, adding a small but somewhat heavy stuffed animal will be plenty of excitement and challenge for these guys. Don’t forget high school kids are still kids, and are excited to throw around a little stuffed Bigfoot. You could also add a medium sized ball that bounces, like a basket ball to the mix. Now, participants have to change the way they throw the ball. So its a thinking activity. “I threw that last one, but now I am going to bounce this one.” Brain change.

The Secret Sauce-Debrief

When will be know we are successful? Add an element that seems just out of reach to the group. Say something like, “You will know you are good, really good, when you can add something with a lot of risk.” Anything with liquids adds a lot of risk: a small water bottle, a milk carton, a gallon jug. The stakes get higher when there is a possibility that someone could get covered in milk. Don’t get too carried away. There are risks, and then there are big mistakes. We aren’t going to start throwing knives or anything.

Name what the group has learned, how the experience felt, and what was done to overcome obstacles or correct mistakes. Why was this important? What were the challenges and triumphs? How did you feel and how does this transfer to other tasks in our day and life?

Check out this blog post, four easy ways to bring cooperative learning back to your classroom, for more cooperative learning ideas and to get an overview of the challenge and triumph debrief I use.

Enjoy The Name Game the next time you have a group and some time to build cooperation.

8 Reasons You Prefer to Work Alone and How to Fix It.

Working alone is in my comfort zone and I am a cooperative learning enthusiast!

Every time I walk into a classroom, I look for opportunities to get students to do the work of learning together.

Light bulb moments, new ideas, inspiration, realization, revelation… So many ways to describe what happens when two or more minds are in sync. It’s learning magic!

And yet, I set up boundaries for my work. Looking for alone time to get things done. Working with colleagues requires a higher skill set, and more energy, and is almost always less efficient.

It’s also just plain uncomfortable. Here are just eight reasons I’d rather work alone despite everything I know about the value of cooperative learning:

I’d rather work alone because…

I’d rather work alone because I’m not willing to take on your failures.
I’d rather work alone because I care more about a job well done than building a partnership.
I’d rather work alone because I’m not sure you have anything of value to offer.
I’d rather work alone because the only person I can trust is myself.
I’d rather work alone because I know I will always do a better job than you will.
I’d rather work alone because I don’t have time to help you figure it out.
I’d rather work alone because I don’t need any help.
I’d rather work alone because this job is too important to make mistakes.

Yikes.

Sometimes it’s not such a fun thing to do some honest self-reflection. And yet, even as those words came flowing out onto the page, I felt of sense of relief. Maybe we all feel this way, or maybe I am a control freak and a perfectionist. Probably both of those things are true.

We teach best what we most need to learn.
Richard Bach

A New Definition of Safety

circle and discover — What can you control?

Classrooms are places where control and perfectionism have lived quite comfortably since around the time of, I don’t know, one-room schoolhouses.

But we forget that joy is not found in control or perfection.

Sure, we need safe places where people can learn. Heck, we need safe places period. Shouldn’t everywhere be a safe place? Maybe we need to redefine our idea of safety, and maybe it doesn’t have a whole lot to do with control.

Self-awareness is such a great way to start our discussions about safety and control.

Using an empowerment tool like the My Circle of Control worksheet either in classrooms or for ourselves is a practical and visual way to ask yourself some questions about your own sense of control and even reveal your ideas about perfection. Using it along with This big list of things I can control shifts our perspective because it allows us to see that we actually do have control over the things that are most important.

Not only does it empower you to let go of lots of heavy baggage that serves little purpose in your life, but also it gives you permission to set up your own definition of safety.

For me, it feels safe to know that I am curious and will make mistakes. That I can ask for help, try new things, and be honest. It feels safe to know that I am a work in progress, will never be perfect, and even that I can rely on imperfect other people.

Two Reasons to Work Together

I am a star — Gold stars for perfect ideas.

Let’s reframe those 8 reasons we would rather work alone and change our perspective. Learning should be fun, and it’s okay if it’s a little uncomfortable sometimes too. Also, two is easier to remember than eight, and it can really be summed up with the following:

Finished is better than perfect
Nothing is ever finished, so nothing will ever be perfect.

Now that you are armed with these two reasons to work with others and get things done, try to have a little fun at the same time!

4 easy ways to bring cooperative learning back to your classroom!

Kinder through grade twelve, these cooperative learning strategies are tried and true ways to get your students thinking out loud and listening in.

For many of us, cooperative learning became a best practice we had to let go of during the pandemic. All of a sudden, it wasn’t so easy to tell your students to “turn and talk” to their shoulder partner to process a concept or idea.

Just like SEL and Self Care became hot topics once we realized how badly they were needed, cooperative learning needs to make a comeback in a big way.

Who is wise? He who learns from everyone.
Ben Franklin

We need to hear different perspectives. We need to process things orally. We need to follow the trail of ideas to a bigger and more meaningful destination! Enter cooperative learning.

This year, I have had the unique opportunity to work in hundreds of classrooms from kinder all the way up to the big kids in their senior year. Unfortunately, many of these smart capable young people just sort of forgot how to have a conversation with someone else.

So, what makes a cooperative learning experience the ticket to a meaningful conversation? How do we uncover all the great ideas lurking beneath the surface in our students?

1. Break the Ice

First, start with an ice breaker. We’ve got to warm up to the idea of sharing our thinking, even with people we know and love. One of the very best ways to melt the ice is with a smile or a laugh. Give them something unexpected to think over, something low stakes. One of the best and fastest ways to do this is with a “would you rather” question.

Would you rather?

Would you rather questions that are a bit quirky send the message that it’s ok to think outside the box. It is even better to take a risk and get a little creative. Best of all, be a little bit weird.

When I ask students if they would rather have an elephant-sized duck or one hundred duck-sized elephants, the responses are genuinely original. Fourth graders are devising a business plan to grow and sell duck-sized elephants, while their classmates are discussing how practical it would be to ride an elephant-sized duck over land, air, and sea.

By having your students move to one side of the room or the other based on their choice, you have now included movement, which is another critical piece to the warm-up for cooperative learning and deeper academic conversations.

Another great way to break the ice and prep those brilliant minds for cooperative learning is to start with a brain break.

Time for a brain break

Brain Breaks are quickly becoming the norm in many elementary classrooms throughout the day. Not only because of all the research showing its benefits to giving kids a learning boost but because they just know it works.

“Pink Toe” is one of my favorite brain breaks because it’s quick and silly and appropriate for any fun-loving group. The person leading this brain break calls out a body part and a color. (I dare you to say the words body part in a fifth-grade classroom.)

Participants will then move quickly to touch the color with the body part called out. For example, if you say “Pink Toe,” everyone must move quickly to something pink, and touch it with their toe. I recommend keeping your shoes on, but do what tickles your fancy (or your toes.)

Now that everyone has smiled and warmed up a bit, let us move on to the cooperative part.

2. Which one does not belong.

This activity is awesome because there is no right answer. In a world where we place so much emphasis on being right, we forget how to have real problem-solving and inclusive conversations.

To get things started, display a large image like the one below from an amazing free resource over at wodb.ca.

The image is divided into four sections, each is related in some way but also has characteristics that make it the odd one out. (If you have any siblings, no further explanation is needed.) Ask your students to take a little think time to look at all four images and choose one that does not belong with the others.

Once they have decided on one, they will need to explain their reasoning for why they chose it. For example, in the image above, the star does not belong because it does not have a red outline like the other shapes.

Now that we are sharing our perspectives and reasonings, students start to discover that there is no wrong answer. Hooray! We can all be right at the same time! World peace. Done.

But what about…?

Here is where that one math teacher always politely reminds us that we cannot have world peace in math. Math must have the right answer. Just take a look at these fun little number talks from wodb.ca and let the madness begin.

I threw the bacon and donuts in there just for fun.

Enter cooperative learning. Group your class into 3-4, give them a new image with four related concepts. They can now have a small group discussion about how the images are all related, and start pointing out the ones that do not belong.

Many students will choose different images for different reasons just naturally. This is what we want. We are hoping for a little disagreement. You may even need to encourage a little more disagreement. Respectful disagreement. Oh, how the world would be a more wonderful place if we could practice a little more respectful disagreement.

3. Classified

Scientifically speaking, not CIA speaking, to classify is to put things into groups. Like goes with like, birds go with bees because they both fly. You know. Determining which things should be placed together and why is fertile ground for a cooperative learning experience.

To begin, give groups of students a stack of cards with images or words on them. Apples to Apples Big Picture is a great resource for this.

Next, students will spread out all the cards to look for reasons to begin to classify the cards into groups. Discussions will naturally begin about why certain cards belong together.

Can you see why these cards were classified together?

To dial up the complexity, ask them to create no less than three groups and no more than six. This makes it more difficult for them to take the easy road with a “people” group and an “animal” group.

Finally, students will label each group that they have created with a word that describes the group as a whole. Students will then travel the room at your signal to see what other students have classified and why.

Depending on the grade level, ask them to either rearrange the cards at each table to form new classifications of cards or ask them to create a new label for the classifications that are created. Either way, enlightening and delightful discourse flows!

4. Match Mine

3rd graders comparing their models to the original

And now for the main event. My number one go-to strategy to get even the toughest of skeptics to believe in cooperative learning is Match Mine. I truly believe we could begin to solve the world’s problems with a few legos and a whole lot of active listening.

To get cooperative learning started, group your students. Three to four students in a group is ideal, and review ideas for handling frustration and noise levels.

To begin, create a model of 8-10 blocks and hide it from the students. Give students their own set of blocks, but be sure they don’t have all the right pieces or all the identical pieces.

For activities to be truly cooperative there must be a common goal the students are working toward. In this case, the goal is to work together to build a duplicate model of the one that is hidden.

One member of each team will be given about 10 seconds to view the hidden model before returning to their team to begin giving them directions on how to build it.

But what about…?

Here is the kicker: the student who saw the hidden model MUST keep their hands behind their backs while giving instructions. Game. Changer. Yes, this can get frustrating, be sure to review some strategies for that ahead of time.

Don’t Forget the Debrief

When you give students the opportunity to reflect and name the experiences they just had during a cooperative learning activity, you open the door for them to own it.

Not only that, you validate their experience. You give it value. A great way to debrief any experience is to draw a quick T-chart. One side will be the challenges and the other will be the triumphs.

Challenges

Having done this hundreds of times, every group names all the same things. The first challenge they always name is that they don’t have the right materials. Time, no hands, and remembering the model are always on the list as well.

Triumphs

The word triumph is fully intentional. Now you get to celebrate the good stuff. The stuff that happened because of the challenges. Fun makes the top of the list, followed by working together, time (again) and finally the opportunity to be creative.

If the teams had exactly the same blocks, they would have missed the chance to get creative.

Isn’t this what we want more of? They do.

I hope you will give these a try and if you do, let me know in the comments how it went!

Use Time to Design Meaningful Learning Experiences

Educators design meaningful learning experiences to enrich, support, and engage learners by using their time and space intentionally.

Time and space are the foundation upon which we build systems, routines, and procedures that enable us to feel safe. Once we know the boundaries and stay within them, we are more willing to take risks, innovate, and create.

Here are a few ideas for how to design a meaningful morning for you and your students, no matter the circumstances or constantly changing directives. Getting the day started on the right foot sets the course for a smooth and predictable routine. Check back for an additional post on designing the rest of the day.

Part 1: Design the Morning Time

Use Time to Design Meaningful Learning Experiences

When students arrive, we greet them by name and they enter the room knowing they belong and have responsibilities. There are no surprises and they aren’t waiting for you to tell them what to do. A task list is visible to set students up for success.

Meaningful morning experiences include self-awareness and self-regulation tasks, community and citizenship tasks, and mindset and metacognition tasks.

Every moment of the day is precious and carries with it a sense of urgency. A sense of urgency reinforces the message that our time is spent on purpose. And don’t forget that laughter and play can and should be a part of every day.

Set a timer for all tasks, and display it for students to see as well. Ask the students how much time they think they will need for the tasks at hand, then negotiate based on reality. A student timekeeper will be one of the most important jobs you give out, especially at the beginning of the year.

Self Awareness and Self Regulation Tasks

Use Light-Hearted SEL Check-Ins to Design Meaningful Learning Experiences

This Feels Like: Students are welcomed with a sense of belonging and ownership in the space, knowing being a learner is more important than doing the learning. Students know where to put their belongings and when to use them. They know what to expect and they have a say in how some decisions will be made throughout the process.
This looks like: Music playing in the background when students arrive creates a sense of well-being. There is a Social Emotional Check In available to encourage students to reflect on how they feel and how they can regulate those feelings ( Moods of Batman Meme.) There is a familiar schedule which is reviewed each day, with any deviations being clearly defined. Student questions are answered and students have smiled at least once before the learning day begins.

Community and Citizenship Tasks

Use Checklists to Design Meaningful Learning Experiences

Feels like: Having a sense of responsibility means being trusted and relied upon for an important task.
Looks like: Students have a job that is an important part of the success of the community and knows how and when to perform it. Class discussion is a regular part of every day, and all students will be held accountable for the unique perspective they bring. This also includes digital citizenship and how we participate online.

Mindset and Metacognition Tasks

Feels Like: Having a sense of purpose in the time spent on tasks, feeling challenged but not anxious in the material, engaged in curiousity and exploration in possibility and relevance.
Looks Like: A timer is running for all tasks, student work is gradually increasing in complexity, the teacher is listening and conferring, students are set up for success with work that connects and reinforces previous learning. Students are given thinking strategies to use when tackling challenging materials. Students use the learning space as a resource.

Designing the Rest of the Day

Use Time to Create Meaningful Learning Experiences

When you take the time to set up the environment, the environment will pay you back with time.

All of these morning tasks take 30 minutes or less once the school year is well underway. At the beginning of the year, these tasks can take much longer. Remember to put in the initial investment with time, and the space will take over after.

Everyone becomes more efficient when they know what to expect and how to be successful.

Once your morning tasks are complete, move into the Workshop, which is where students begin to dig into the more creative and innovative part of the day. This is where the real learning experiences happen!

Read Use Space to Design Learning Experiences to discover ideas for the remainder of the school day, including more Workshop ideas, mindfulness, and accountability.

Long Live the Snow Day!

Did you know there are people in the world who have never experienced a snow day? They live in Arizona and I can’t help but feel so sad for them.

It’s difficult to describe the feeling of waking up to fresh piles of snow, especially on a school day, and waiting for the call. The call that gives you permission to stay in your pajamas, make a big breakfast, and stare out the window at the gift of time – the snow day.

How to Get a Snow Day

Most people believe snow days come to us by luck, coincidence, or even prayer. But as the ancient Roman philosopher says…

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Seneca

To prepare properly and invite the several inches of snow needed to call off the school day, I advise the following steps to be performed in order.

On a Sunday night before bed, put your pajamas on inside out.
Next, take a bucket of ice and pour it into your toilet.
Tap the side of the toilet bowl with a spoon.

Remember, this is only going to work if there is an opportunity for precipitation in the forecast. Also, it really helps to be in an area cold enough to support the snow. We are looking for a little luck, maybe even a dash of magic, not a miracle.

What to do on a Snow Day

Now that you have your snow day, you’ve had your breakfast, and you’ve stared out the window in utter satisfaction, get outside. You really never know how long it will last and you can bet a snowplow is most likely on its way. is urgency in getting to the freshies with your rail sled, or just any old sled, or skis, or snowshoes before it melts or before that pesky snowplow.

A rail sled is my choice as it has the potential to take you as far as you want to go with just a little grade and the perfect conditions. The true power of a rails sled lies in testing just how far you can ride it. Every trip down the hill stretches just a little farther than the last.

Will Snow Days be a Thing of the Past?

It’s up to us to preserve the magic of a snow day. I hope it doesn’t become a story we tell our kids about the old days, before this thing we call remote learning stole our chances for more play and less work.

We cannot let snow accumulation overnight go unnoticed and uncelebrated!

Long live the snow day! I hope you will stand with me in preserving this celebration of a generous gift of moisture. We must honor the tradition and ignore the urge to continue with business as usual.

The next time there is a hint of snow in the forecast, I’ll be wearing my PJs inside out. Will you?

Three Reasons You Should Be Reading Picture Books!

I’m a grown-up and I love picture books. Maybe I’m not a very good grown-up. Sometimes I still wake up on Saturday mornings wanting to eat cereal and watch cartoons. I’m thinking this would be a much better start than watching all that bad news.

A great picture book reminds you of you. It reminds you of the simplicity of life. Words and illustrations work together to bring a smile, and if they are really doing their job, they give you goosebumps. Hopefully, everyone has had at least one picture book in their life to help them along, to make them less lonely, to laugh, cry, and feel a little empathy.

Here are three reasons everyone, including grown-ups, should be reading picture books.

Picture Books Have Less Text

Picture books are by definition, short on words and heavy on illustrations. Less writing means more space for the reader to make their own meaning. It is an opportunity for the reader to join in on the conversation, rather than passively listen in. Authors must choose each and every word wisely. I wonder if picture book authors learn to trust their readers or give them permission to make their own meaning while they read. It feels a bit like they are being generous with their ideas, allowing participation in the story.

With less writing, readers have the opportunity to continue the story, play with it a bit more. Perhaps there is more freedom to explore or wonder what could happen next, or what is happening somewhere else. I love it when authors create different versions of popular stories or tell the story from a different character’s perspective. Readers are allowed to dream and laugh and cry and learn in shorter more manageable chunks.

Picture Books are Full of Pictures

One of my favorite picture books is What Do You Do With a Problem, by Kobi Yamada and illustrated by Mae Besom. I have read it aloud to both children and adults and every time it is a meaningful experience. As the problem grows darker and bigger with each turn of the page, we also get to see hints of light and symbols of direction. This book would in no way be as powerful as it is without the pictures.

Sometimes, well meaning teachers will discourage readers from choosing picture books, or books with pictures in general. We worry that readers won’t be able to visualize the story for themselves. Good readers visualize when they comprehend, its part of the fun of reading, but who is to say illustrations do not ignite an even more imaginative experience?

Comprehension is a complex skill and picture books are just the tool to help readers build that skill. They help us notice and name our world or made-up worlds, and they help us identify ourselves in others, otherwise known as building empathy.

Picture Books Inspire More Authors

Obviously, I love books. We need all kinds of texts in our lives. Picture books inspire us for all of the reasons above and more, but perhaps the most exciting reason we need them lies in our ability to see ourselves as authors. Although I haven’t published any books, I know the process isn’t easy. Still, we all have stories to tell. Maybe we will tell them in words, pictures, music, or poetry, but we must tell them. What if we weren’t so intimidated by writing or the process of publishing and we all just told our stories?

Let’s not forget the most important reason of all: Picture books are just a lot of fun. In this world where we are all trying to find a variety of ways to spend our time, reading sometimes gets the short end of the stick. I raise my voice along with this grown-up author who reads picture books regularly and not to a child, just for herself.

Will you join us? If you are interested in filling your life with a little more laughter, a lot more joy, and a whole world of empathy, I’ll be sharing my favorite picks over the next few months.

Happy Picture Booking!

4 Big Reasons to Love Breakout EDU

Three years ago, I used the majority of my teaching budget (very small) to buy a Breakout Edu Kit. It was, and still is, one of the best teaching tools I have ever invested in.

If you still haven’t heard of this awesome teaching tool, the concept is a little bit like the popular escape rooms popping up all over the world.

Escape room victory photo! L-R my older sister, younger sister, mom, and me

My first Escape Room experience was ~~mind-blowing~~, ~~like going to Disneyland~~, super crazy fun.

After paying for our tickets, our little group was invited into a small room together, where we were asked to give up our cell phones. We listened for a few minutes as the game master explained the rules of the game, and also how he would be available for support if needed. We then followed him into another small room where we were left with one hour to figure things out and get our picture taken to admit defeat or claim ourselves geniuses.

Ok, now can you just read that paragraph again with your teaching lenses on?

I am resisting the urge to italicize the entire paragraph for emphasis. Is this not everything we want in education, maybe minus the small rooms?

My escape room experience left me with no choice but to find a way to recreate as much of it as possible in my classroom. Thankfully, I discovered BreakoutEDU!

So… here are my three BIGGEST reasons for loving Breakout EDU.

Stickers to decorate my box are on the way!

1. Reason #1- Competent and Connected

The way to motivate people to work hard is to give them challenging tasks that they can figure out for themselves while making them feel competent and connected.
USA Today

Struggle doesn’t feel good. That’s why it works. Sometimes we just want people to give us the answers. Actually, I wish someone would please tell me what to do everyday to be blissfully happy, content, successful, and to finally have the carefully sculpted arms of an athlete.

We do have to work for things, especially the things I mentioned above. Work can be a struggle, but it can also be fun. There is nothing more powerful than knowing you can do something. Independence is not about never asking for help, its about being a good learner.

How much could you accomplish if you felt competent and connected? Feeling competent means you are willing to recognize that you do have skills and apply them to the current situation. It may take a loving nudge or an encouraging word, but you can do it! You got this.

Feeling connected means you can also appreciate and recognize that other people have skills and perspectives that can also be applied to the current situation. Collaboration is not just a nice thing to try, it is absolutely essential, especially when solving problems.

Reason #2- Curiosity and Urgency

The concept for Breakout Edu’s kit is a bit different from an escape room in that you aren’t actually trying to break out of a room. Instead, you are working to break into a box.

Why would you want to break into a locked box? What could be so great about whatever is in that box that you need to spend all this time trying to get locks open to get into it? Aha! Your wondering right now aren’t you?

Curiosity. This is what led Alice down the rabbit hole. This is what killed the cat. This is what… ok, ok. You get the point.

This quote is one of my all-time favorites. I might have a thing for Godmothers lately, which you can read about in my previous post, How to Teach Like Cinderella.

Speaking of Cinderella, another important element that is a big part of the breakout experience is the sense of urgency.

Urgency makes things important. Cinderella had to get away from the castle before the clock struck twelve, or…her horses would turn into mice, and all that.

I currently have a Breakout Edu game going at a friend’s house. It’s been over a month now and they still haven’t solved the puzzles. This is not for lack of curiosity. The last game I set up for them had them working on it relentlessly and solved within a couple of hours.

This time, there isn’t a sense of urgency. There really wasn’t before, but it was new and novelty trumps most things. I guess I need to go get my box.

Reason #3- Backward Design and Failure

Every Breakout Edu game starts with backward design. Backward design is the first element of effective instruction and a best practice for planning. It provides the structure, and when you have structure you allow for creativity.

Solving all the puzzles leads to opening all the locks, which leads to getting the box open. When you plan your first breakout, you will start with the final box. You’ve got to think through the game from end to beginning. Now, don’t let your control freak come out here. You are simply setting up a pathway, the absolute magic happens when your players collaborate, problem-solve, create strategies, and fail. They fail and they fail and they fail until they get it right.

The funny thing is failing doesn’t feel so bad when you don’t have time for it. Sulking is a complete and utter waste of time and everyone understands that pretty quickly in a timed breakout.

However, your first breakout should be set up in a way that is building the stamina of your players. Even better if you have players that have done something similar in the past. Do you not love that we are calling our students players now?

Backward Design gives us the gift of a destination, while allowing us to creatively chart our own course.

#4 When Time Runs Out

Time. The thing we all want more of, and the thing we fear the most. You know that feeling when you have a room full of energetic kids and nothing planned to fill that time? Yikes.

When the time runs out on your Breakout Edu game, it runs out. Your players may not have gotten into that box, and this is actually a good thing. Kids, and adults, are so used to getting what they want, when they want it. That feeling you get when you realize its not happening is a healthy thing.

Its called following through with what you said, and also reality. We are not always going to solve everything. What we can do is play a new game and apply what we learned from the last one. This is one of the best parts of the game. Do not let your game end without a discussion about what went well, and what wasn’t working. This is called learning.

I can’t wait to hear about your experiences using a breakout style lesson in your classroom, or with your friends at your local escape room! What if we changed the way education is done by calling ourselves players instead of students.

How To Teach Like Cinderella

A little magic gives us the proper lenses with which to see the world and ourselves. The pixie dust, sparkles, and twinkle of a wand make things visible we would have never seen with our every day, unmagical eyes.

Teaching during this time, we can learn a lot from a young girl, living in tough times. Teaching like Cinderella helps us to have a little hope, want a little more, and be brave enough to enjoy the experience.

Having a Little Hope

“To wear dreams on one’s feet, is to begin to give reality to one’s dreams.”
Roger Vivier

I used to have a beautiful pair of silver sequined heels. Living on a dirt road in Colorado doesn’t make for the best care of silver sequin shoes, but having them just proved I was prepared. Imagine how happy my godmother would be to find that she had just a little less work to do. Yep, I’m that girl.

You know the kind of girl I’m talking about. She’s the kind of girl who has little mice for friends, she sings as she does her endless, meaningless chores, and when the birds wake her in the morning, she gazes out at the beautiful castle in the sky with a hint of hope.

Cinderella had hope, and that, my friends, is why so many of us love this classic and why it’s been reimagined so many times and in so many ways.

Wanting a Little More

In Disney’s Godmothered, we get to see a twist of this same story in the modern world, where everyone has given up on happily ever after, or maybe even wanting more for themselves.

We also learn a valuable lesson about change. When I saw the godmother’s classroom, where all the godmothers in training go to learn, I immediately recognized it as the typical school setting. Teacher at the front, students in desks, ready to learn. What you just can’t miss in this version is that all the students are gray-haired and probably nearing a hundred.

They are also a bit bored out of their minds.

I get it. We want the comfort of our kids learning the way we learned. We believe it works and we are the proof.

Thank goodness a bumbling young fairy is brave enough to try something new.

And what we learn from her story is that we should listen more and talk less. While we are in the midst of change, and we are trying lots of new things, don’t forget to listen to your kids.

I hope we will find through all of this that what we really need in education has been there all along. It’s inside our students. Listen to them. Help them develop what is already there and our jobs become a lot more focused and a lot less overwhelming.

Having a Little Experience

We have to remember that Cinderella never wanted to go to the ball to marry the prince, it just happened. What she really wanted was to go to the ball to have the experience. She wanted to know what it felt like to be in the castle, to wear a nice dress, to even feel a little beautiful.

When her fairy godmother arrived, she ended up with a whole lot more, but the best gift she was given was the shoes.

The other gift her godmother gave her was a little confidence. It must have taken a lot of bravery for her to climb all those stairs to see inside the lives of the people who lived so differently.

The best part is that all of the tools the godmother gave were just an illusion. The true magic was inside the girl. She was already enough and more, and thank goodness the storytellers at Disney knew how to help us see her before she became a princess.

6 Big Reasons to Love a Writer’s Notebook

Using a writer’s notebook is a simple way to recognize yourself first as a writer, then as an author. Teaching kids to recognize themselves as writers and authors is one of the best things you can do for them. Here are my six biggest reasons to love a writer’s notebook.

P.S. The following ideas have evolved from some of my favorite resources, but mostly from this book, which was a critical guide for helping me get my students started, and this article which is sooo worth your read.

1. A Writer’s Notebook as a Classroom Structure

A writer’s notebook can be whatever you want it to be. If you are like me, you have a spiral-bound, lined notebook you can get pretty much anywhere for around a dollar. I also keep a digital writer’s notebook in my drive. This is to encourage the use of my daily writing for publishing. The format doesn’t matter, the purpose does. Whatever you choose, it should be something so accessible you practically trip over it daily, reminding you to write something.

The writer’s notebook is not only something you should have and be writing in on a very regular basis, but your students need it as well. For students, I suggest a non-digital format for their notebooks.

Notebooks will become a personal item for students to collect their own thoughts and ideas, and a place to notice the world around them. A writer’s notebook can be a classroom structure that is used as a consistent tool to organize student and classroom thinking all in one place, over an entire year!

2. Making Thinking Visible: Reading Their Minds!

What I love most about writer’s notebooks is that I can look into them and it’s a peek into my student’s brains. I tell my students that their thinking matters so much, that they need to write it down. The writer’s notebook is where we keep and hold onto thinking. It’s also how I know how I can do my best work as their teacher, for them.

By reading their thoughts, I can better understand their thinking. Maybe I will find places to push their thinking, fill in some gaps, or discover something to share with others. What teacher doesn’t want to be able to read their students’ minds? We are literally becoming mind readers here! This website has some great tips and visuals for getting kids started.

3. A Place for Building Relationships

In the back of their notebooks, students have a section called Lit Logs. This is where we practice the skill of writing letters back and forth to each other and connect on a more individual level.

Essentially, it is a conferring tool! Students know they can write to me anytime in the Lit Log and submit it to me, like sending a text message. I will also use this section to ask them to respond to a prompt, or a problem we may be having in our community. Check out my previous post for ideas about how I’ve used the writer’s notebook to give students some mindfulness time.

I collect these and respond with a short, personal message. This really helps them feel heard and seen and is so important for building relationships throughout the year. When you have a strong relationship with your students, they are more likely to engage in the content you are delivering.

4. A Place for Building Learning Communities

The writer’s notebook is also where we store our class thinking, such as copies of anchor charts, mini-lesson notes, and discussion protocols and norms. Students know that they will be held accountable for their engagement in our collaborative learning community. They will also be asked to share some of their thinking with other class members, and it is easier for them to do that if they already have it written down and are prepared in advance.

5. A Place to Experiment

A notebook is by nature a processing tool. Its a place to capture thinking, jot down notes, sketch ideas, experiment and play with language. Students understand that it is their notebook, but that I will be using it to formatively assess where they are in the processing of content.

When they have a place to try things out, they will discover their own thoughts and even be able to see the learning taking place over time. The process is critical to their ability to create a product that can be used for summative assessments later.

6. A Place to Live the Writing Life

Finally, the reason I love writer’s notebooks is because I use them in my own life. People are thinkers, if you can think, you can write. If students can get into the habit of writing down their thoughts, they will pay attention to them more, they can become more metacognitive.

Writer’s notice the world around them, and pay attention to their place within it. Authors know they must practice writing on a regular basis, and that what they have to say is important. They intend to publish their writing for other people to read. By keeping a writer’s notebook over the last several years, I have been able to have articles published in magazines and online.

How to Build a Self Directed Learner

Teaching students to be more self-aware through Metacognition, Mindset and Mindfulness will build them into more self-directed learners. Self-directed learners are more likely to engage and find motivation because they recognize themselves as learners, rather than participants.

Motivation

Motivation, or reasons for taking action, is a little hard to come by these days. Heck, motivation was a little expensive before the pandemic. Nowadays, you better have a whole lot of intrinsic drive saved up and a heaping tablespoon of purpose to push through to the other side. And what about your students? Purpose? Intrinsic motivation?

In my classroom, motivation was a sometimes thing. As in, sometimes my students were intrinsically motivated, and sometimes they were extrinsically motivated. As a professional, I knew it was a big part of my job to move them from extrinsic to intrinsic. Teaching is an art form in this way because this is where your creativity and enthusiasm can be powerful, and contagious.

Compliance

At the end of each day, my students were given 30 minutes of “Your Time.” Everyone understood that most of the day was considered “My Time.” Really, it was communicated this way: “If you will do the things I and other teachers are asking you to do for most of the day, you will be given a fraction of time at the end of the day to do whatever you wish!” The lines between motivation and compliance get a little fuzzy here.

Is that a bargain or what? It worked so well because I could use this last bit of our day to catch the kids who needed some reteaching, or who were just not able to complete something for whatever reasons they had that day. It also saved me from having to threaten to take away their recess time, which ends up working against you in the long run.

Incentives

Aside from the daily time compromise, there were other mostly successful tactics for getting kids to be compliant. Celebrations are an important part of life, and I wholeheartedly believe we should be celebrating our achievements big or small as often as possible. Incentives are pretty effective in the workplace, at home, and yes, at school. If I’m going to be at school every day, you can bet I’m looking for ways to make it more fun, and not everything is inherently fun. The possibility of earning an ice cream and movie party after learning all my math facts is just good stuff.

Of course, we are all finding ways to recreate what we were doing in the classroom before. We are digitizing as much content as possible, and striving for as much collaboration as we can get synchronously and asynchronously. However, engagement continues to be the missing piece. Even for those students who want to please, who will do everything they can to complete the tasks they are asked to complete, and even for the families who value everything their student’s teachers are sending out, the engagement gap threatens to grow at an alarming rate.

The Engagement Gap

As educators, we talk a whole heap about achievement gaps. Have you ever heard of an engagement gap? In the spring of 2016, pre-pandemic, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development published a report with the following profound statement about the purpose of said report.

Because achievement is unlikely to improve if students are not engaged in their education, finding ways to close the engagement gap is
an essential goal to ensure that high school seniors graduate well prepared for the rigors of college and careers—and become well rounded, successful, contributing members of society.
Introduction, The Engagement Gap -Spring 2016

This report followed a previous report published in 2014 titled The State of America’s Schools: The Path to Winning Again in Education, where we come to the meat of my argument and the motivation 😉 behind this blog post.

The current focus on standardized testing assumes that all students should have a similar educational experience. We leave little time for students to figure out what they love to do and where their greatest talents lie. We waste time and talent.
Connie Rath, Gallup Education

The Self-Directed Learner

Students need to figure out what they LOVE to do, and WHERE their greatest talents lie. Let’s not waste any more time. Students can become more engaged, more motivated, and more successful, but they need to start with self-awareness.

It’s like the old parable of teaching a man to fish. Shall we continue to hope our students will be motivated to do the things we are asking them, or can we give them the skills to discover who they are, to value their uniqueness, and then to recognize their contribution?

This awesome student friendly rubric from Awordonthird.com identifies ways students can evaluate themselves as they move toward becoming more self-aware and more self-directed.

The 3 Ms: Metacognition, Mindset, and Mindfulness are just three of the many tools that are available for creating more self-awareness. These Ms were the foundation upon which I built my curriculum for each and every school year, and are also what I find to be most valuable as I continue to develop my own sense of self and purpose.

Metacognition

Metacognition is the awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes. I first learned about this concept in a PEBC conference a few years ago. This awesome article from Edutopia explains it as a way to “drive your brain.” When I first teach it to my students, I tell them it is just thinking about your thinking.

Teaching students about their brains, and how to have some control over its processes, is one of the most magical things we can do as educators. When we name and notice what we are doing or thinking, we are gaining self-awareness. I love the PEBC framework for teaching metacognition using thinking strategies. Visualizing, Inferring, and Determining Importance are a reimagining of the same reading and comprehension strategies teachers have been using for years. The captivating part comes when you notice yourself or someone else doing it and name it.

The naming and noticing that comes with teaching these strategies is where we start to uncover the real value in these strategies. When students understand that their brains are already doing these things, they start to see themselves as learners. They might even start to believe that they are capable of learning anything. Well, a teacher can dream, can’t she?

Mindset

Ever since Carol Dweck gave the world her research on Growth vs. Fixed Mindsets, our brains have never been the same. Again, it reminds us that we have the ability to control our thoughts, and maybe even to some extent, the course of our lives.

If this were the case, we would all be living the high life. (Is that still a saying? I live in Colorado, so I’m thinking the meaning of this phrase has changed.) The concept of control is so closely related to the concept of self-directed. When we understand ourselves, we can better organize ourselves. I’m not saying you must be organized to be successful, but I do believe it to be a skill we should all strive to develop in order to better care for ourselves and others.

Big Life Journal has a wonderful resource for teaching your students about growth mindset. Probably one of my favorite parts of teaching growth mindset is the fact that mistakes are critical to learning.

This unit from Angela Watson has several weeks of step by step instructions for teachers and a student journal. I love the videos that were selected for this unit because they include some very well known people who have made tons of mistakes before creating success in their own lives.

Mindfulness

Every day after lunch, my students would come in from recess with loads of complaints and problems. It could take up to 20 minutes of instructional time to resolve these issues. We decided to try something new.

As they entered the classroom, the lights would be low, and soft music would be playing. They could lay on the floor or sit anywhere in the room, but they had to be away from other students. They could doodle or write in their writer’s notebook, but they absolutely could not talk for ten whole minutes.

Here is one of my favorite videos to play on the Smartboard during this time.

We created an anchor chart showing the only reasons anyone could break the silence of that time. Some examples included aliens landing outside our classroom, someone was either bleeding a lot or throwing up, or if bigfoot walked into the room.

My students grew to love and look forward to this tiny bit of silence in the day. This became such a sacred time that they began to ask for it from their other teachers. What an awesome example of a student advocating for themselves and recognizing a need. All for the price of just ten minutes a day.

What are your students looking forward to each day? How are they motivated, and how do they engage in your lessons? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments.