This page is new and being developed for educators. The current project is to describe lessons from the 24-25 school year and how they impact learning and culture.

Big Bang Theory (20 min activity, 10 min wrap, 30)

This is how I start my freshman in Integrated Earth & Physical Science. Students are assigned to random groups (preferably 3 in each) and will only need paper and pencil. The song (Big Bang Theory show intro by Barenaked Ladies) is played (over and over) as students attempt to write down the lyrics. Encourage teammates to help each other, strategize, and overall succeed. As time progresses offer aid (like mouthing the words, offering closed caption, etc) & distractions (dancing around room, making random noises, etc). Another helpful aid is to go to each group and provide notes and feedback on their papers (blank spaces for where words should be, circle words that aren’t quite correct, etc). Once a team finishes, or for time nearly finishes, have two students go to boards. One student will take notes on what made the assignment easier, while the other takes notes on what made it more challenging. Review these lists with students and liken them to skills in the classroom they should adopt or avoid to be successful. Also refer back to specifics like when the teacher provided feedback and reflect on how helpful that was in completing the task. Additional thought: Ask if anyone got all the lyrics correct on the first attempt. Reinforce that no one cared if they didn’t have things right and we kept working to find the answer.

*Since this song plays on repeat for 20 minutes it (and the activity) are often remembered by students throughout the year. I like to end the year by playing the season finale version (which is slower) which always hits me in the feels.

What’s Your Vibe? (30 min activity, no wrap)

Adapting this from a social media account. I create a slide presentation that is shared with students. Each slide asks them questions about various favorites. Essentially a “get-to-know-me” type of assignment. The slides can be generic or modified to suit your needs or those of the program in which is taught.
Students have the entire class period to fill out the slides, answer questions, upload photos, whatever! I keep my responses posted on a SmartBoard to pace the class and share my vibe but otherwise I’m curculating and using the time to get to know students. As I see similar responses I’ll initiate classroom conversations to get students interacting with each other.
Low pressure welcome to the class. It ensures students have devices (charged of course), can access Google Classroom, and can navigate the LMS well enough to handle online assignments. Of course, paper and different language versions are available to meet needs of all.

*Since they submit these as their first assignment, I can reference them later should I need something to spark an idea if a student gets stuck later in the term.