Spaghetti Tower Group Dynamic Exercise

For some of my students, twenty percent of their grade is determined by group work. They have "learning teams," which are governed by a self-written charter. How they cooperate in these teams is essential to their success.

I like to do this exercise at the beginning of the class, before they form learning teams, to help students recognize how they, and others, work in a group dynamic.

1. Divide the students into teams of four to five.

2. Give each team half a package of spaghetti, a jumbo box of Dots candy and one regular size marshmallow.

3. Tell the teams they have 18 minutes to build a tower. The tallest free-standing tower at the end of 18 minutes wins. When time is up, hands off.

4. The only rules are:  the tower must be free-standing (no propping), the marshmallow must be at the top of the tower, and teams must use only the materials provided.


The exercise is a variation of one that a friend participated in at a police academy. They also use it in business schools, and in various employee retreats. If you search "spaghetti team building" you will find the original exercise using 20 spaghetti noodles, a length of string, a length of tape and one marshmallow. I modified the materials to get more inventive, taller towers.

After the exercise, I have students write a few paragraphs of reflection:

1. How did your group work together?
2. Did someone emerge as the leader? How were decisions made?
3. What was your role in the group dynamic?
4. Was someone primarily a creative thinker? A practical thinker? An analyzer?
5. What could your group have done better?
6. How could you better contribute to the group dynamic?

Students love this activity, and it gets them thinking about the different ways people approach group work. The discussion is afterwards is always interesting.

Most recently, one group said they worked together seamlessly because they were all ex-military and had a similar mindset, with no problem trading off leadership. Another group had some contention because one of the members was eating the Dots and the self-appointed leader was trying to convince her that the group needed every Dot. One all-male team finished two minutes early and sat back. One all-female team fussed with their tower until the very last second. Every team is different, but there is always plenty to analyze.

 The winning tower!

Ender's Game - Perfect Timing

 Ender's Game the movie is coming out this November. This is a book I teach in my Humanities class because it draws in the male readers, and it's a big hit with science fiction and fantasy fans, and also those who don't normally appreciate this genre (including me!).

The characters and themes in Ender's Game are classic and compelling, making this novel a good choice any year, but since the movie will generate excitement, using it this fall in the classroom makes sense. You could also assign it or suggest it for summer reading.

A movie/book comparison is perfect for the common core standards that ask for comparisons between books and other mediums. (CCS RL; R17)

 My current class is about 1/3 of the way through the novel. I showed them the trailer for the movie, and the discussion afterward was amazing. I can't wait until they've read the whole book, then watched the movie. Here is the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP0cUBi4hwE

I have heard that the reason is took so long for Ender's Game to be made into a movie was because Orson Scott Card didn't want to give up creative control, and he wanted the integrity of his story and characters to stand. Let's hope he got what he wanted with this film. So often a movie is far removed from its roots, and usually not for the better. I have high hopes for this one.

If you choose to teach Ender's Game, I've put together a packet you might be interested in. It's got quizzes, discussion questions, graphic organizers, etc....everything I use in my classroom. Click on the image to get to the packet.  It will save you a lot of preparation time!

Calming the Chaos

I like to use engaging, small group activities toward the end of the year as opposed to individual work. Let's face it - the students have ants in their pants and engaging socially in a worthwhile activity can settle things down. Here's an activity that I can't take credit for creating, but have been using for a few years. I've found it several places on the internet, and I can't nail down the original creator, so if you know who it is (or if it's you!) please let me know so I can give credit. It's become a favorite, and I look forward to it every year.

The exercise is meant to help students understand that although we may all read the same text, we all react differently, based on our experience, culture, perceptions, emotions etc...Pass out Pablo Neruda's "Ode to My Socks" (link here), divide the students into groups of three or four, and pass out paper and markers. Have the group read the poem, and then create an artistic rendition of the socks. Post each piece of art on the board and have the groups explain why they made the decisions they made and which images spoke to them. A great discussion generator!

FREEBIE! Here is a link to an SQ3R note-taking freebie that will help your students study their textbooks for finals. 

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End of Year Blog Hop and Giveaway

We've all experienced the almost-the-end-of-the-year restless class syndrome. One strategy I've used successfully to get students to focus and finish strong is to pass out raffle tickets for doing well (getting a certain score on a pop quiz, participating in a class discussion etc...). I also give out tickets after reviewing each student's grade sheet, and making a plan for the rest of the year.

The raffle takes place the last week of school, and I display some of the prizes early on to motivate the students. I keep an eye out all year for interesting prizes, and have found they don't need to be expensive or fancy--a plate of Rice Krispie treats was the first to go last year. It's worth it to ask for donations from local companies--many are happy to oblige.

 It's also always a good idea to introduce fresh material at the end of the year. Below you will find a blog hop and giveaway (April 27 - 30) where you can win a plethora of free classroom materials, a $35.00 Amazon gift card, and an additional three products from Lessons from the Middle TPT store.

The product I am donating for the giveaway is a set of 20 figurative language posters. Click here for a freebie sneak peek at the product (5 free posters!). Below are all the participating blogs where you will get great end-of-the-year ideas and the giveaway information. Good luck!

Fear of Presenting

Today was the end of a quarter and the last assignment for my students was an oral presentation on the topic of their research papers. I always think of this as a break for them - no MLA formatting, no worrying about fragments or run-ons or proper in-text citations. I was reminded today, however, that some students suffer extreme fear of speaking in front of the class.

One of my students is outgoing, gregarious, and is often told to be quiet by the other students because he talks and talks and talks - loudly. Before each class period, he asks me if the topic for the response paper for the day is going to be controversial, because he loves to debate. He is always the first with his hand in the air, and often interrupts and talks over other students in his enthusiasm to be heard.

Imagine my surprise when today he announced that he would not be giving a presentation because it caused him too much anxiety. I thought he was joking at first, but then I saw the tension in his face. I protested--it would be the difference between an A and a B, and he surely deserved an A, but he said he'd rather take a B than speak in front of the class. I explained my surprise since he seemed to enjoy an audience. He said he couldn't explain it; he knew it wasn't rational, but he'd always suffered from this paralyzing fear. Then, he disappeared from class, presumably to avoid the pressure to speak. 

There have always been a few students who decline to present, but this case, in particular, brought home how important it is to be sensitive to those who suffer from this phobia and to devise ways to help alleviate the stress ahead of time. In the coming week, I'll post some things I've done in the past, but I'm curious how other teachers handle this situation. All ideas are welcome!

Organization Resources

I wrote a book on being an organized mom, because I have that down, but I'm constantly trying to figure out how to stay organized as a teacher. Drowning in the paperwork is my achilles' heel. At the beginning of each quarter, I tell myself that THIS time, I will clean out my briefcase every day, file everything, purge etc... and every quarter I find myself facing a briefcase, drawers and a classroom awash in paper, despite some methods that have tamed portions of the beast (see this blog and this blog).

So I am constantly on the lookout for good ideas to improve. Here is a book, The Together Teacher, by Maia Heyck-Merlin, that the publisher sent me to review quite a few months ago. I finally had a chance to read through it, and I'm sorry I didn't read it earlier. There are a lot of great practical ideas here, but I like her approach of looking at the big picture first--determining what matters. There is also a CD included with customizable templates.

 The go-to source for keeping an organized classroom is Charity Preston's Organized Classroom Blog. She has many links, products, freebies and even an online magazine to help in the quest for organization. There is no better one-stop source.

What's in the Sack? Group Brainstorming Activity

Whether your students are preparing for a big essay assignment or a quick in-class effort, coming up with a topic to write about can be the hard part. Here is a fun activity I've used with my classes with good results. It loosens up the thought process, and is a nice change of pace.

Divide the class in to groups. Give each group a bag with six everyday items in it, such as a rock, a deck of cards, a piece of fruit, a magazine, a quarter, etc....Set a timer for two minutes and have the group pull one item out of the bag. During the two minutes, the group should come up with as many topic ideas as possible related to the object. For example, if the group pulls out the quarter, some topic ideas might be money management, saving strategies, summer jobs, economic policy, reward motivation, allowances from parents, getting paid for good grades....Tell the students to list everything that comes to mind without editing. The more ideas, the better. After the activity, have each group share of few of their best ideas for each object with the whole class.