Teaching with Taco Bell...and other Real World Lessons!

This teaching tip comes from my 9th grade son! 

We were having lunch after a soccer game this weekend at Taco Bell, per his request.  As we were eating, he noticed something about the sauce packets that warmed the heart of his English teacher mom.  "Look at the way the sauce types are punctuated, Mom," he said.  "The word 'mild' is in parentheses, so it's like quiet.  'Hot' is underlined, like important.  'Fire' has an exclamation point, so it's like yelling a warning."

Taco Bell teaching a grammar lesson?  YES!!!  First of all, "Yay!" for the kid who notices such things, but second of all, there is a super fun and tasty grammar lesson to be had here! 

I have to admit, I got WAY too excited about the prospect of having a punctuation lesson/taste test with my students in the near future.  Isn't this a fun way to get kids to understand the use of punctuation marks? Here's all you need to do:

GRAMMAR LESSON OF THE DAY!

1. Go to Taco Bell, grab a few packets of each type of sauce.

2. Buy some tortilla chips.

3. Have your students try each type of sauce, discuss the different tastes.

4. Have students "close read" the packets, what do they notice?

5. If they don't notice on their own, point out the punctuation marks.

6. Connect the taste test to the punctuation marks.

I absolutely LOVE any opportunity to connect curriculum to the real world!  I give extra credit to students who find typos or mistakes on signs and in published texts.  I have a collection of signs, mugs, dishtowels, etc. with funny grammar sayings.  We watch video clips to analyze speech patterns and impressions of the speaker based on their grammar and usage. It's these connections that help students understand why grammar lessons are important, and helps them become "close readers" of the world.  Grammar and punctuation lessons can be dull if just presented in diagramming sentences or fill-in-the-blank worksheets.  I like to jazz up my lessons with real-world connections, and fun activities like this taste test!

I can't wait to do this activity with my middle schoolers next week!  Let me know if you try this activity in your classroom and how it goes!  I'd also love to hear about your great ideas for making grammar fun!  Comment below with your ways to make grammar fun and engaging!

Gamify Your Classroom!

At this point of the year, I think it's safe to say the kids are losing interest in being in school and teachers are pulling out all the stops to keep kids motivated and engaged!

Between state standardized testing, end-of-the-year evaluations, and the weather finally improving in some parts of the world, student engagement is probably pretty weak in your class...am I right?  I'll bet most of you are running on fumes, too...I'll admit that I am!

Well, here's my secret to re-energizing yourself, your students, and your curriculum...

gamify (ˈɡeɪmɪˌfaɪ)

verb

(transitive)

to adapt (a task) so that it takes on the form of a game

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

What does "gamifying" look like in a classroom?  It can look a few different ways!  Read on...

Low- or No-Tech: I love using Task Cards with my students as a way to up the fun while learning! Task cards require no technology at all...well, once you've printed them!  I use task cards in a few different ways, depending on my mood:)  

• Play Scoot! "Scoot"  is a fun way to get kids moving.  I tape as many task cards as I have students around the room or on desks.  Each child gets an answer form, then they move from one card to the next in number order and responds to each task card on their answer sheet.

Scoot!

• Pass the Cards! In this version, the kids stay at their seats, but the cards move.  Once a child answers the card's question, they pass it to the person next to them until they've responded to all the cards.  This works especially well for task cards with multiple choice or short answer questions.

Poetry Vocabulary Task Cards

• Scramble!  I give students parts of a sentence that they have to unscramble to create a complete, correctly assembled sentence with proper punctuation. You can find this game (in a non-holiday version) "The Great Clause Race" in my TpT store for only $1!

The Great Clause Race

• Around the World! This is the classic game we all played as kids in school, usually with multiplication flash cards.  2 kids stand up next to each other, the teacher reads a question from the card, and the first child to shout out the answer moves to the next opponent.  
• Team Challenge! This may be my favorite!  I make 5-6 sets of the same task cards.  Rather than giving students an answer sheet, I put them in small groups and have them race against other groups to sort them.  (This doesn't work for all types of task cards, though!  I especially like to do this with parts of speech, three types of verbs, verbals or other grammar topics.) This variation requires kids to work together and gets their competitive juices flowing.  It's great support for weaker students and they don't feel as intimidated.

Task Cards

• Minute to Win It!  This is also a great team variation.  I separate kids into teams and create challenges like "find all the cards with a noun underlined, then be the first to clothespin them together", or "be the first to alphabetize the words", or even "use all the sentences containing an infinitive to build a house of cards".  My middle schoolers LOVE playing Minute to Win It!

 

• I Have, Who Has? You can't do this with basic task cards, but you can find specific "I have, who has?" cards on TpT, at teacher stores, or you can make your own.  This is a great game to calm kids down and really make them focus.  Each student gets a card or two (you have to pass out all the cards in the set for the game to work and come full circle).  One card will say "start"-that student begins by reading his card.  The rest of the students have to listen to the speaker, then look at their card to see if they have what the speaker is looking for.  For example, card one may say, "Who has the prefix that means 'under'?"  The student holding the card that says 'sub-' responds, "I have 'sub-', who has the prefix that means 'to do again'?" and so on until one student is left with the "stop" card.  When I taught elementary, I'd often end my day with this game while we waited for buses, or right after lunch recess to calm students down and get them re-focused.

 

Tech Required: There are SO MANY amazing, interactive game programs designed just for schools!  If you haven't tried any, please do!  Here are a few of my favorites: 

• Quizlet and Quizlet Live! I really think this is the complete package of games!  It's really easy for teachers to set up an account at quizlet.com and to have his or her students join their class.  Once you've got an account, you can either create a set of flashcards, or use a set that another teacher has already posted.  Now that you've got a set of flashcards created, the FUN begins!  Kids can log in at anytime and use the flashcards in a variety of ways-as normal flashcards, as a matching game, a race between players, and my personal favorite in-class game-Quizlet Live!  Quizlet Live allows a teacher to break a class into teams that have to work together-YES! TOGETHER!- to match up terms and definitions.  They have to work together because each student only has a few of the answers.  As a team, they all see the definition, but only one teammate has the answer, so one kid can't do all the work!  Watch a demo here: https://vimeo.com/161809345.  Trust me your class will LOVE this!  Quizlet is something kids can do on their own at home to study, and it even has an option for teachers to create a variety of tests to print off.  Quizlet is super student and teacher friendly!
• Kahoot! This is actually my least favorite online game, but kids like it.  Kahoot allows you to create your own or use sets made by other teachers, just like Quizlet.  Unlike Quizlet, Kahoot is a multiple choice game.  Here's what I don't love.  The question is only visible on the teacher's projected screen, but the answers are only on a student's device.  That makes for a lot of looking up and down, and honestly some frustration visually.  This game is usually played with all students playing for themselves against the rest of the class, which is great for bright, competitive kids with quick fingers, but can be frustrating for slow-processing kids.  The newest update does allow for teams, which I think is an improvement to keep all kids engaged. 
• Quizizz!  Quizizz is my latest find and current favorite.  Quizizz is similar to Kahoot, in that it lets you create or use sets of multiple choice questions made by other teachers.  However, the big difference is that each student sees the question and answers on their own screen and that it is student-paced.  In Kahoot, the whole class has to wait for all students to answer (or the teacher can set a time limit) before moving on to the next question.  In Quizizz, as soon as a student answers a question, the next question pops up on their screen and they can move on.  It takes the pressure off slower students, and eliminates boring wait time for quicker students.  There is still a level of competition involved because the teacher can post a leaderboard and a winner can be named, but this is an option, not a necessity.  The other fun thing about Quizizz, is that after each question, a meme pops up congratulating them or encouraging them.  There are pre-loaded memes, or teachers can create their own.  The kids and I think they are pretty funny!
• Nearpod! Now, Nearpod isn't as much of a game, as the others, but it is still a fun teaching tool.  I wrote a blog post about it last year, if you want a more in-depth review.  Since that blog, they've made updates which I think make it more fun.  With Nearpod, you can upload your own powerpoint or google slide presentations and add student activities to the slide show.  When you present, each student sees your slide show on their own device while you project it.  Between slides, you can insert activities such as multiple choice questions, polls, short answer responses, drawing responses, true/false questions, etc.  The students answer the question or do the activity on their device, then all responses pop up on the teacher's screen.  It's a great way to quickly insert formative assessments in a presentation, and it keeps kids' attention and gets students actively learning  during what would otherwise be a lecture-based lesson.  Most of Nearpod's functionality is free, if you upload your own slide shows.  However, there is a paid option that allows you more choice of activities, and the ability to purchase already created Nearpod presentations.

If you are looking for ways to keep student engagement high right up to the end of the year, I hope you try out some of these activities!  Do you have other ideas to gamify a classroom?  Let me know by commenting below!  

My Summer Bucket List!

Happy Summer!  

Most of the country is already on vacation, but here in Michigan we still have a few weeks left!  June 16 is the magic day for my district...so the countdown is officially ON!  I absolutely love summer, so I've been planning my summer "to do" list for quite some time :).  

Summer in Michigan means great weather (finally!), fun in the water, art fairs galore, berry picking, and time spent "Up North".  (For those not from Michigan, "Up North" means anywhere that has a lake and cottages or camping...many people I know go "Up North", but really head southwest to the Grand Haven area!  Weird, right?)

I'm joining up with Katie at Mind Sparks and some other summer lovin' bloggers to share my "Summer Bucket List"!  So here's my plan to make the most of my time at home and in the sun!

1.  As an ELA teacher and avid reader, summer is my time to catch up on all the new books!  I spent many years as an elementary teacher, so I've read lots of great upper elementary books, but I'm still working my way through middle school reads.  I've been jotting down titles that I see my 8th graders reading all year, so I've got a great list to start with!  Plus, I always do the adult summer reading program at my local library, along with my kids!  I earn a $5 Starbucks gift card for every 5 books I read...that is win-win in my book!

I found a used book sale at the mall!  SCORE!

2. Art fairs are one of my absolute favorite things!  In Michigan, you can usually find one every single week of the summer.  I love wandering with my mom or my friends, looking at how creative other people are!  There's usually live music and outdoor lunches involved, too.  My favorites are Plymouth's "Art in the Park", and the Ann Arbor Art Fairs.

                        

3. I used to go strawberry picking with my grandpa, so this activity holds special memories for me!  Unfortunately, now that school goes so late into June, it's tricky to get strawberry picking these days, even though Belleville, Michigan (one of the largest berry picking areas) is nearby.  Lately, we've done better going blueberry picking near Tawas, Michigan.  My daughter loves picking berries, and we have fun making yummy desserts with them.  Berries are also great frozen in smoothies year round...and you can't beat the price when you pick them yourself!

Our blueberry haul!

Cherry Picking!

4. I extolled upon the virtues of our pool club in a blog post not long ago.  I really can't say how much I love it!  My kids are occupied, I can read or nap in a lounge chair, Jimmy John's delivers...what more can a mom ask for?  Plus, I like mixing up my workouts with some pool laps during adult swim time.  It is amazing how out of breath and sore I get from doing laps!  Swimming is such good exercise!

I can just sit and watch, or read, or nap!

5. OK, here's my dirty parenting secret.  I'm an ELA teacher, but my son HATES writing.  Thankfully, he loves reading, but his writing needs a lot of work.  He's going into 8th grade, and it is really a struggle.  We've had a come to Jesus discussion about how we will be having a writing boot camp this summer in between soccer camps and Boy Scout camps.  He's not thrilled.  I'm sure there will be arguments and stand offs...possibly we will end up with an outside tutor to save our sanity. (Isn't that always the way...kids don't work the same with parents as they do with other adults!)  Wish me luck and patience with this "to do" item!

6. Because of #5, I need the fruity drinks!  We are going to spend a week on the Gulf of Mexico in July...my entire plan for the week is fruity drinks and lounging.  

My view for a week each summer!

7. Even though it's summer, teachers still work, right?!?  Our school will be fully 1-1 tech integrated next year.  I've been using Google Classroom already, but there are SO MANY things I still want to learn!  I've been reading Alice Keeler's Tech for Teachers blog, and playing around with ideas I've seen others using.  If any of you are already doing 1-1 tech, please comment below with blogs and ideas I should look into!  

8. Photo albums are every mom's nemesis right?  How does the time go so quickly?  How did I end up with 10,000 photos on my camera, but zero prints?  I used to be so good about scrapbooking...I have travel albums and baby albums and toddler albums...then, I went back to work and it all. just. stopped.  I put in a ton of time over Christmas break and lowered my expectations.  I'm only 2 years behind now, and I'm only doing Snapfish or Shutterfly albums.  Ain't nobody got time for scrapbookin' no more!

9. We may be the only family in Michigan to not have a cottage...but luckily we do have friends' with them!  (and there are lots of hotels and campgrounds too :)  I love spending time on the lakes and in the small towns around Traverse City, Grand Haven, Tawas, and Petoskey.  As the T-shirts say..."Great Lakes, Great Times"!

Lovin' Lake Life!

10. This should probably be my #1!  I just got started on TpT last August after going to the conference in Vegas.  I have learned sooooooo much from veteran TpTers, blogger friends, and all the groups on Facebook.  I've been creating products slowly, but surely all year, as they fit into my personal curriculum needs.  This summer, I'm hoping to spread into a larger subject and grade range of products and add more Score Four! games and Color By Code activities.  If there is something you see a need for in your classroom, please comment below...I'm happy to take custom order ideas!

Click on the pictures below to snag a freebie and some other fun activities from my TpT store!

Try out one of my Score Four! games at home this summer :)

Math games to play at home with supplies you already have!

Snag this FREE Color By Code!

Click here to get to Mind Sparks to see all the bloggers who have linked up, too!

Using Games to Spice Up Your ELA Curriculum!

Use GAMES to keep MIDDLE SCHOOLERS excited about and engaged in learning!

A few weeks ago, I posted about how I jazzed up worksheets to make grammar practice more fun!  This time, I want to tell you about some games I use to keep kids engaged and excited about learning! Here are my Top 10 games to play in the ELA Middle School Classroom!

1. Kahoot

If you don't know about Kahoot yet, click on the link to check it out!  Kahoot is an awesome interactive quizzing game that kids absolutely LOVE!  Every student needs an iPod, iPhone, iPad, Android device, or computer to play.  The teacher can create their own "Kahoot", or choose from the millions of ready-made Kahoots on the site.  The teacher logs in under their own ID and projects their view, then kids log in using a game pin.  Kahoot takes it from there!  Questions are flashed on the projection and kids use their device to answer a multiple choice question.  Kids can then see who is winning, and you can see how many kids answered correctly or incorrectly!  You can even download the data!  Talk about a great formative assessment tool!  This is the PERFECT game for 1:1 technology schools!

2. Quizlet

I love Quizlet for a bunch of reasons! It is super adaptable!  Teachers or students can create flashcards to review vocabulary terms, or just about anything!  There are also tons of ready-made Quizlets out there to choose from!  Once you have a Quizlet set created, students can practice on their own devices in many ways: matching games, races, etc.  I love using Quizlet to play games in the classroom, like the old favorite "around the world", or Trashketball (see #3).  The benefit to Quizlet is that when used in the classroom, students don't need their own devices.

3. Trashketball

There are many versions of Trashketball, but my version is really simple and really effective.  I create a Quizlet, then I describe the rules to Trashketball which applies to any Quizlet set.

1. Break the class into teams. (3 usually works best)

2. Each team takes turns answering a question.  

Students on the team take turns individually.  

If the student answers correctly, they earn 2 points.  

If they need to ask the other team members for help and then answer correctly, they get 1 point.

3.If the team gets the question right, they shoot an extra point basket.

I use a garbage can and a foam ball.  

If the student who answered can make the basket, they get to add a point to their team score.

4. Minute to Win It

This is an absolute FAVORITE of my students!  I do this a few times a year to keep the novelty.  I use my task card sets like Parts of Speech or Verbals.  I make 3 or 4 sets of the cards and break my students into teams.  Each team gets a set of cards. Then I give them one minute to do tasks like "find as many nouns as you can" or "find as many sentences using infinitives as you can".  The team that gets the most wins that round.  I've also used Quizlet flashcards to make term/definition matching tasks!  I often make these more active by having kids move around and sort cards into boxes or something like that.

5. Scoot

This is another great way to use task cards!  Each student gets an answer sheet.  I tape the task cards to desks and tables around the room in numerical order.  Students move from desk to desk writing down the answer to each card on their sheet.  It doesn't matter what number a student starts with, as long as they write in the correct box on the answer sheet.  This activity is great for getting kids up and moving! Here is a sample from my "Types of Sentences" task card set.

6. Score Four

Do you know the card game "Spoons"?  You have to collect 4 of a kind, then grab a spoon from the middle of the table where there is always one fewer than the number of players (like musical chairs).  Well, I use my task cards to play my version of "Spoons" which I call "Score Four".  This is an AWESOME game for small groups.  I always give the groups an answer key so that they can self-check each other.  Rules for "Score Four" are included in each task card set! Click on picture to learn more!

7. Matching

As I mentioned in #4, I like using Quizlet flashcards printed out to have kids work together to match terms and definitions.  I usually make a race out of it!  Nothing motivates middle schoolers like a bit of competition!

8. Timer Games

Enough said...use a timer projected on the whiteboard and watch kids hustle to finish ANY task!  I like to pull out personal whiteboards or have a few students write on my big whiteboard and give tasks like, "write as many sentences using similes as you can before the buzzer", or "list as many adjectives as you can in 30 seconds".

9. Marker Toss

This is whole class fun!  I project a homework assignment on the whiteboard.  Kids take turns correcting their work up at the board (best to do with work that kids have already done once, so no one gets stumped on the spot).  I randomly call on one student to start, then after they circle, underline, or write the answer on the whiteboard, they toss the marker to any student to do the next one.  Kids LOVE being able to throw things, and it keeps all kids paying attention so they don't get bonked in the head with a marker ;)

10.Board Games

I often use board games and adapt them to whatever I'm teaching.  Maybe kids play Scrabble, but can only use verbs.  Or, we play Trivial Pursuit with comprehension questions from the novel we are reading.  You can do this whole group or small group and it is a really easy way to get kids engaged!

There you have it!  My TOP TEN ways to incorporate games in your Middle School and High School Classroom!  You can use these games with any subject!