Sophie and Sadie's Scholarly Site

 

As much as possible in my social studies classes, we learn and work together in teams and small groups.

WHY? TEAM-BUILDING BUILDS BRIDGES!

The challenge here was to build a bridge of pipe cleaners that would hold a textbook. The only materials were two desks, masking tape, and the pipe clears. There was NO TALKING allowed

This group of girls worked quietly and efficiently to build their bridge in less than 10 minutes. Another plus with  that class of kids happened naturally:  When a group completed the task, the entire class  ALL applauded and celebrated. WOW!!!

Another Bridge Built

Sometimes you can rethink an activity into your theme or subject matter  and make  it a cooperative game or task. In our camping unit, we used the beach balls to do the traditional over and under. It was a challenge because it was a windy day!

Beach Ball Over and Under Relay

Just about any activity can be made into a cooperative one- tasks can be divided among the group or steps can be given as roles in the group.  Third- fifth grades love this stuff because they want to be social.

But they are KIDS so sometimes we play games  just for fun as teams, too. Playing and working together is important as well as learning to accept defeats, being a good sport and also be a  gracious winner. You don’t  “just earn” how to do this if you don’t play  any games where there are winners and losers. There must be a balance if you play games in your class.

My best classes over the  20-plus years I have been teaching  are the classes that we live, work, and play almost as a family. We support each other, get along well, and have a caring atmosphere. Sometimes these relationships happen naturally  like the group in the pictures above, but most often, teambuilding really must be an on-going  DAILY effort  starting from Day One. Here’s a new favorite of mine used at the end of last year with a group that built relationships over the course of that year to be like our school family by school’s end.

 

“THE LIFEBOAT”

We   did this activity at the end of the year as a part of our  2-3  week unit based on camping and the book Week in The Woods  by Andrew Clements. I used the Lorenz Publications team and game books throughout that unit. They are awesome books to develop these skills and can be done very often with no special materials.

How To Do The Lifeboat:

I put several old blankets on the ground. All 20 of my students stepped into our lifeboat. I explained to them that we wanted everyone to be rescued, and that if the lifeboat capsized or sank, we might all possibly drown or freeze ( Thank you Hollywood for the movie Titanic!).

Everyone had room and was comfortable, but then I explained that the lifeboat was leaking and so there would be less space. I folded one blanket in half.

It began to get a little more crowded. Our lifeboat began to lose more air…The blankets were folded again.At this point, I was only a spotter ( and you must have several children to have that role).The kids actually thought how they could save room.  ( One or two  girls wanted to piggyback!). It was interesting and fun to see who became the leaders and who were the thinkers and problem-solvers. It was decided  that everyone must  stand on one foot, balance, and hold tight. And that is exactly what these kids did in order to “survive”.

Once  someone lost their balance, and it was inspiring to watch the kids grab someone as if they really would fall into the cold, freezing waters to a certain death, and hear the group rejoice that no one was lost. This was one of those spine-tingling “A-HA Moments” of teaching.

I would recommend  any of these teambuilding activities below to any teachers but especially in the intermediate grades  ( 3-5), middle, and high school.

Here are some fabulous resources I use for finding teambuilding games many of which can be adapted to review and content in any subject matter such as spelling, math, and reading:

Here are some teambuilding ideas  that I found online, also:

Teambuilding Games

More Teambuilding Games

Teambuilding Activities for Kids

I hope you will include some team-building  activities and games in your classroom this year. Enjoy!

 

Yesterday I finished the book Learn Me Good by John Pearson. This  humorous book was about an engineer who takes a job as a third grade math teacher in a school with high poverty and mobility ( meaning that the kids move  a lot, not as in “upward mobility” AKA “rich” kids). I laughed out loud, many , many times and thought of some of my students ( everybody has had a Marvin), but I guess I kept waiting for that moment where there would be another side of this teacher realized- a profound moment of awakening in the midst of the humor and day-to-day account, but it never happened.
So when I finished I thought “Well, it was  no “The Water is Wide” (  by Pat Conroy)!”

It made me think of books and stories that inspired and encouraged me as a teacher.

When I first started teaching  a long time ago in a town even smaller than where I am  right now, one of my  fellow teacher friends  ( or as we were called  by a veteran teacher,  one of my fellow “baby teachers”)  said  she was telling some stories of the children we taught and their conditions and our struggles and woes as teachers. She related her tales  to one of her high school teachers, and he said “You need to read a book written by one of my classmates.” How funny. Her teacher was a Citadel grad, and that classmate and friend was Pat Conroy.
First, let me tell you that Pat Conroy has written many good books, but unfortunately for many of  you, those books  became movies so you’ve never actually READ one of his many books. Sorry, seeing the movies here doesn’t count. You need to read A Prince of Tides, and trust me, no disrespect to Ms. Barbra Streisand, but the book is even more moving and emotional than what was portrayed on-screen.
The Water Is Wide has a classic ( OLD) version starring a young Jon Voight ( you know Angelina Jolie’s dad for you younger folks). A very good movie, but still…

Conroy wrote the book based on an old folk song. Here’s a version by James Taylor (*sigh*):



“The water is wide, I can't cross o'er
And neither have I wings to fly
Give me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row, my love and I”

( lyrics from lyricsfreak.com)

The teacher in the story ( Conroy) tries his very best to give his students  “wings to fly” despite the poverty, racism, and ignorance of  both the island dwellers and the outsiders.

I  also came up with a list of books that involved teachers as characters or teachers as authors. The book Among Schoolchildren  is by an observer in a classroom rather than a teacher,  and  so it is interesting just because it gives a different point of view of the daily lives of a class and its teacher that was followed for a year. Other books about teaching that are noteworthy are linked below.




My final category is my own “I’ve seen the movie, but I’ve never read the book.”  I loved the movie Freedom Writers, and here is the book the movie is based on.

Finally, I am adding something I came across yesterday as I was looking over my Daddy’s Wake Forest Alumni Magazine. What an incredible story about a teacher ( yes, GOOD COACHES ARE GREAT TEACHERS) whose selflessness is inspiring. Read  “The Gift” here:

http://magazine.wfu.edu/2011/06/03/the-gift/

Technorati Tags: Pat Conroy, Marva Collins, Wake Forest University, " The Water is Wide", teaching

Today’s focus is going to be on something that is both WILD and WONDERFUL: WATER! Right now in sunny SC, the temperatures  are well into the  high 90’s daily so we are all looking for ways to cool off, and I have a few ideas from several different sources that are water activities that you can do easily with very few materials at home or school.

My co-teachers  and grade-level team of  Tami Garvin, Quetta Hammonds, Tammy Swartz and I put on our first Water Olympics in May. Earlier in that same week, we also did several team-building activities that involved water during our end-of-the-year camping unit. One challenge was building a paper cup with only one sheet of paper and glue ( we used glue sticks). I was impressed by the ingenuity of the kids’ designs and how well their designs held up! We also had the traditional water balloon toss the same day as our water games. The kids ( and teachers) had a BLAST!



Our activities were  based on  several ideas suggested by Victoria Jasztal on her Scholastic blogs at Top Teaching last year.
http://blogs.scholastic.com/classroom_solutions/2010/05/incorporate-math-and-science-with-an-outdoor-camping-day-event.html
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3756002

Our  water-based activities were  adapted from similar AIMS units:

http://cmase.uark.edu/teacher/workshops/AIMS-lessons/mini-metrics.pdf
http://cmase.uark.edu/teacher/workshops/AIMS-lessons/Water_Olympics.pdf

There are plenty of resources of water sports and games online that can easily been done at home, and while they are just good, old-fashioned fun, some also involve really using your brain!

http://www.kidactivities.net/category/Games-Outside-Water.aspx

The team building and thinking games such as the paper cup challenge that I used with our students came from a great new set of  resources that I really LOVE! These are  my new favorite books for cooperative games, brain teasers and challenges and team-building  and are all by Lorenz Publications. I have about five total that I can use in any subject area and also can be used to start class instead of “bell work” or to end class but some are JUST FOR FUN!  Some of the activities require little or no materials, and the activities we’ve used have left my kids begging for more. That’s the best review anything can get!

 

Have fun and I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday, too!

As I’m ending my day, I’m thinking about some potential themes for this blog. I noticed as I thought about change that I was humming an Eric Clapton song,CHANGE THE WORLD. I also happen to find a great YouTube Video with really COOL graphics to share.



The  chorus of this song reminded me of  the book, MISS RUMPHIUS by Barbara Cooney. The character Miss Rumphius sets several goals for herself as a child, but her grandfather reminds her that she needs to do something to improve the world. This book is a great  read at the beginning of any school year or any new venture  as a way to encourage students to set similar goals.

We as teachers need to encourage our students to look ahead, set goals,  and plan their futures because the outcome of our lives begin with a single thought whether they are positive or negative.

As the saying goes,

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

( from http://thinkexist.com)

And like Miss Rumphius, we need to help students see their lives as a  whole- a destiny, a legacy that can be planned with set goals that go behind ourselves.

Why  should parents teachers, and children think of leaving a legacy? According to the Legacy Project website,
“Leaving a legacy is a human need. It is in part selfish -- we want to feel immortal. The idea of leaving something behind that will "live forever" is appealing. We also want to feel like we matter in the vast sea of humanity. By connecting with those at the beginning of their lives, we do complete a full circle in life's journey and leave some of our "selves" -- our experiences, ideas, values, and personal example -- in the minds and hearts of others. But leaving a legacy also has an altruistic component. If we don't leave a positive legacy, what kind of society are we building? What kind of world are we leaving behind? What are we passing on to our children and grandchildren?”

The Legacy Project has a huge list of  many wonderful ideas, lessons, and books to help parents and teachers teach the idea of leaving a legacy in children and in families.
http://www.legacyproject.org/teachers.html


Here’s a new charmer: A wonderful story that reminded me of my Grandmama who left behind a legacy of love and living  a life for something more than  ourselves.



We can really change the world and leave a little something good of ourselves behind just like Miss Rumphius.
?