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The funny thing about that one is that some of these kids just love to come in and put their head down and tune out, but when you make them do it, or even give them permission to, they hate it. I remember once a kid had finished a test early and wanted to know what he could do. I suggested that he finish some homework (shakes head), read a book (wrinkles up nose), or take a nap. (look of shock and distaste) This was a kid who slept thru everything. I had to wonder: what did he think I was going to say?
This one sounds like it's worth trying. They do not like being treated like children even then they are acting like children.
I've heard of mini marshmallows and toothpicks for molecular shapes. Or tinker toys. Maybe you can find some cheap TT at a garage sale next summer.
One fun idea I did for science with my girl scouts and a middle school science class I was subbing for: Get an old fashioned milk bottle--you can get those at the grocery store with milk in them or ask the manager for a returned for deposit bottle. Then you get a hardboiled egg--med is best. You roll up a wad of newspaper and light it on fire and stick it in the bottle then set the egg on top and after a few seconds the extinguishing newspaper will suck the egg into the bottle. It's quite comical really. Even more fun is how you get the egg out. You turn the bottle upside down so that the egg blocks the opening and blow hard into it and the egg will pop right back out--make sure you blow hard b/c you don't want it coming halfway out. This would be a good one to introduce a unit and I'm sure you science teachers can actually explain how it works. Also, I guarantee that no one will sleep thru this one and they'll have a great time laughing at you with black stuff on your face from blowing into the bottle. Maybe you should find a student volunteer.
I do this demo to show the relationship between temperature and volume/pressure of a gas. They're equally amazed at how you get the egg out. You also need to watch that you don't get a soot covered egg in your face. That's what happened to my student volunteer last year .
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Another demo they like is the rainbow tube acid/base demo. Every time we have open house I put that one out. They think it's the sugar water denisty demo until I tip the tube and let the bubble go to the other end and the colors stay.
Unfortunately, tinker toys have the wrong angles. I think I'm ok with lollipop sticks cut in half and clay. We'll see. I shy away from food in the lab. It, really, never should be done but there are a couple of food labs that I do anyway. Last year we had after school detention and I would just borrow those kids to scrub down and cover the tables the day before. We don't do after school detention anymore so I'll have to do the cleaning myself.
I do this demo to show the relationship between temperature and volume/pressure of a gas. They're equally amazed at how you get the egg out. You also need to watch that you don't get a soot covered egg in your face. That's what happened to my student volunteer last year .
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Another demo they like is the rainbow tube acid/base demo. Every time we have open house I put that one out. They think it's the sugar water denisty demo until I tip the tube and let the bubble go to the other end and the colors stay.
I am SO glad you shared something that really went well! It is always great to show the kids something unexpected.
This one sounds like it's worth trying. They do not like being treated like children even then they are acting like children.
I'm telling you, it works. Of course, there were protestations from those who had been reprimanded for sleeping in class. However, such an argument is very easily dismissed with a "because I said so--would you all prefer referrals?"
And yes, they despise being treated like children, which is probably why this method is so effective. It also helps to mention to them that the method is one that you normally reserve for third graders (which is true and which is another grade level with whom this method works wonders) and how you can't believe that you're having to use it for high schoolers; such a comment usually drives home the point.
A word of caution: while effective, your students will probably hate you for using this method
A word of caution: while effective, your students will probably hate you for using this method
That's for sure--I used it once as a sub with 8th graders and they still glared at me months later. The high point that day though, was that one of the boys who was extra bad that day--a real little stinker--came in after class with a point sheet for me to score his behavior. Of course I didn't give him a good score, and wrote some comments on it. His juvenile officer came in with him after school and we had a conference and it went so well that the boy never misbehaved for me again and always came in to talk to me when he saw me subbing. He turned out to be a really neat kid.
Okay, I was reading last night and saw this suggestion that sounded like it'd work well for sped, but also for gen ed. When you give a test and if some are really sweating it out, tell them that they can have 10 min at the end of the test to look up any answers in their notes or the textbook that they just can't remember. This has several positive effects--1. they probably won't forget those answers again after agonizing about them during the test. 2. It forces them to become more organized b/c 10 minutes isn't really that long so they need to be able to get to the notes quickly. 3. cuts down some on cheating and takes the fun away. Some teachers will think this is a bad idea, but if we keep in mind that the point is for the kids to learn and it's not a competition, it will put it into perspective. Also, as an adult, if I forget a formula I look it up. I'm not expected to keep all that stuff memorized in my head for eternity.
A variation is to tell them that they can come back and test for 15 more minutes the next day so they can go home and study up on the stuff that they think they missed or didn't get at all.
One that worked well for some students with AD/HD: When they have an assignment to do, all they can see is eternity. I would get out a timer and set it for 2 minutes and tell them to hurry up and do as many problems as they could get done in that amount of time. They were always amazed at how short 2 minutes was and how much they could get done in that time and were always eager to reset the timer and then disappointed when it was over. I've not tried it but it just occurred to me too, that if you know they can finish a WS in a certain amt of time., give them that time limit and if they make it, give them a high interest activity as a reward. See, I know the ADD brain like it was my own.
That's for sure--I used it once as a sub with 8th graders and they still glared at me months later. The high point that day though, was that one of the boys who was extra bad that day--a real little stinker--came in after class with a point sheet for me to score his behavior. Of course I didn't give him a good score, and wrote some comments on it. His juvenile officer came in with him after school and we had a conference and it went so well that the boy never misbehaved for me again and always came in to talk to me when he saw me subbing. He turned out to be a really neat kid.
Okay, I was reading last night and saw this suggestion that sounded like it'd work well for sped, but also for gen ed. When you give a test and if some are really sweating it out, tell them that they can have 10 min at the end of the test to look up any answers in their notes or the textbook that they just can't remember. This has several positive effects--1. they probably won't forget those answers again after agonizing about them during the test. 2. It forces them to become more organized b/c 10 minutes isn't really that long so they need to be able to get to the notes quickly. 3. cuts down some on cheating and takes the fun away. Some teachers will think this is a bad idea, but if we keep in mind that the point is for the kids to learn and it's not a competition, it will put it into perspective. Also, as an adult, if I forget a formula I look it up. I'm not expected to keep all that stuff memorized in my head for eternity.
A variation is to tell them that they can come back and test for 15 more minutes the next day so they can go home and study up on the stuff that they think they missed or didn't get at all.
One that worked well for some students with AD/HD: When they have an assignment to do, all they can see is eternity. I would get out a timer and set it for 2 minutes and tell them to hurry up and do as many problems as they could get done in that amount of time. They were always amazed at how short 2 minutes was and how much they could get done in that time and were always eager to reset the timer and then disappointed when it was over. I've not tried it but it just occurred to me too, that if you know they can finish a WS in a certain amt of time., give them that time limit and if they make it, give them a high interest activity as a reward. See, I know the ADD brain like it was my own.
I don't know about going home and studying. I allow my students to retake the exact same test for a maximum score of 75% the second time. The vast majority of students who do a retake score the same or lower than the first time. It's like they think because they've seen the test before they'll just know the answers this time.
Even though our class rosters/attendance were kept on the computer program, I always did a paper roster and kept notes on it, including 100 for the Day. This worked very well with 'motivating' my HS students.
I'd record them as 100 for the day, and it translated into a bigger deal at the end of a grading period, when I'd flip thru the paper roll, looking for them. It might mean the difference between an A and a B, a D or an F, and the like (and really was participation points, if you really look it). For a kid to ask me for 'some help' at the end of the grading period, I could let them see those 100s, too. If none, it was hard for me to justify bumping them up, if only a point. Also drove home the point that when I threw out the question:
Who wants 100 today?,
for them to listen-up. The 100 for the Day could be anything (for me it was an attention-grabber). I might ask a question from the last night night's HW, or one related to the lesson from the day before, or it could be long-standing (and relatively simple) like, "how should a paper be headed before you turn it in to me?" First hand up, got to answer first. If wrong, the next hand. If someone blurted the answer out, then it was to ask, "do you agree?" and if it was indeed, a right answer, I'd explain no one got the 100 because they had blurted it out. Throughout a 90 minute class session, I might throw several 100 of the Day Questions out, many as they occured to me, and as class interest might wane. The most fun questions often appeared to be absolute trivia, but was often much-deeper than what it appeared.
For example, I always ended the King Arthur unit (in Grade 12/British Lit with HS SRs) with the last few minutes of the film, Camelot with Richard Harris -- where Arthur stumbles upon the very young boy who tells Arthur he's there to fight for the him and the knights of the Round Table. Arthur tells him he needs him to live, and tell the story, and sends him off to shouts of "Run, boy! Run!" The boy's named 'Thomas,' and I ask the students to tell me 'why,' or who he is. It takes them awhile, but eventually, one student will guess 'Thomas Mallory.' My next 100 of the Day question might be to ask someone to explain 'why' Thomas Mallory.
The kids also had to see you write 100 on the roll, which was easy enough as I always kept mine on the OV, or on my podium. The paper roll was also an excellent place to note other less-favorable things, like NB for no book (if having it that day was critical to what we were doing), NP for no pen or pencil (again, if critical); and I could make note of 'sleeps' or TTM (talks too much), and I could make note of RR for restroom trips, which noted frequency for the kid who always wanted out-of-class.
Took me less than 20 seconds to walk across the classroom from where I was to make a note, and again, it proved incredibly valuable at the end of a grading period. Good too for the times a parent wanted to argue a grade with me. I'd just let them look at that roll, which let them see how their kid measured-up against say others with many 100s, no 100s, infractions, blah blah blah. of course, I did not let them 'study' the roll per se, but it was an easy-to-deciper visual record of the weeks, and where their child 'had been.' I could make note of PCH (phone call home) or Det (detention) or Ref (referrals), or whatever.
I would get out a timer and set it for 2 minutes and tell them to hurry up and do as many problems as they could get done in that amount of time. They were always amazed at how short 2 minutes was...
Along that line, The Mad Minute. Sheets copied from the book and handed out: multiplication problems, one-step algebra problems, addition facts, whatever you want to use. Or make your own. Set the timer for one minute, they complete as many problems as they can. You can read the answers out loud after the minute is up or ask students to read a column of correct anwers. They can correct their own paper or another student's immediately afterward. It's quick, fun and grabs their attention (and might even improve their math skills ). Can be adapted to different subjects.
Even though our class rosters/attendance were kept on the computer program, I always did a paper roster and kept notes on it, including 100 for the Day. This worked very well with 'motivating' my HS students.
I'd record them as 100 for the day, and it translated into a bigger deal at the end of a grading period, when I'd flip thru the paper roll, looking for them. It might mean the difference between an A and a B, a D or an F, and the like (and really was participation points, if you really look it). For a kid to ask me for 'some help' at the end of the grading period, I could let them see those 100s, too. If none, it was hard for me to justify bumping them up, if only a point. Also drove home the point that when I threw out the question:
Who wants 100 today?,
for them to listen-up. The 100 for the Day could be anything (for me it was an attention-grabber). I might ask a question from the last night night's HW, or one related to the lesson from the day before, or it could be long-standing (and relatively simple) like, "how should a paper be headed before you turn it in to me?" First hand up, got to answer first. If wrong, the next hand. If someone blurted the answer out, then it was to ask, "do you agree?" and if it was indeed, a right answer, I'd explain no one got the 100 because they had blurted it out. Throughout a 90 minute class session, I might throw several 100 of the Day Questions out, many as they occured to me, and as class interest might wane. The most fun questions often appeared to be absolute trivia, but was often much-deeper than what it appeared.
For example, I always ended the King Arthur unit (in Grade 12/British Lit with HS SRs) with the last few minutes of the film, Camelot with Richard Harris -- where Arthur stumbles upon the very young boy who tells Arthur he's there to fight for the him and the knights of the Round Table. Arthur tells him he needs him to live, and tell the story, and sends him off to shouts of "Run, boy! Run!" The boy's named 'Thomas,' and I ask the students to tell me 'why,' or who he is. It takes them awhile, but eventually, one student will guess 'Thomas Mallory.' My next 100 of the Day question might be to ask someone to explain 'why' Thomas Mallory.
The kids also had to see you write 100 on the roll, which was easy enough as I always kept mine on the OV, or on my podium. The paper roll was also an excellent place to note other less-favorable things, like NB for no book (if having it that day was critical to what we were doing), NP for no pen or pencil (again, if critical); and I could make note of 'sleeps' or TTM (talks too much), and I could make note of RR for restroom trips, which noted frequency for the kid who always wanted out-of-class.
Took me less than 20 seconds to walk across the classroom from where I was to make a note, and again, it proved incredibly valuable at the end of a grading period. Good too for the times a parent wanted to argue a grade with me. I'd just let them look at that roll, which let them see how their kid measured-up against say others with many 100s, no 100s, infractions, blah blah blah. of course, I did not let them 'study' the roll per se, but it was an easy-to-deciper visual record of the weeks, and where their child 'had been.' I could make note of PCH (phone call home) or Det (detention) or Ref (referrals), or whatever.
How timely. I was just researching quick ways to record this kind of information. Do you ever give less than 100? Or is it a 100 or a note?
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The high point that day though, was that one of the boys who was extra bad that day--a real little stinker--came in after class with a point sheet for me to score his behavior. Of course I didn't give him a good score, and wrote some comments on it. His juvenile officer came in with him after school and we had a conference and it went so well that the boy never misbehaved for me again and always came in to talk to me when he saw me subbing. He turned out to be a really neat kid. 
100 for the Day
). Can be adapted to different subjects.
