Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Guest Post: Sandy from Soaring Through Second


Today, you guys are in for a special treat, my bloggy BFF, Sandy from Soaring Through Second is guest posting for me today!  One of my favorite things about blogging has been developing relationships with teachers all over the country, and I'm especially thankful for my friendship with Sandy.  She's such an awesome and innovative teacher, and I know you will really enjoy her guest post!  Make sure you stop by her blog sometime, she has so many tips for managing technology in the classroom! :)
Hi there!!!



It's Sandy from


Soaring Through Second

I have been teaching for five years (this will be my sixth)- two years in 4th grade and three years in 2nd grade. I started blogging in December and it has clearly taken over my free time and I am such a better teacher thanks to all of the amazing teacher blogs out there (like this one!)!!! I am SO SO SO super duper excited to be guest posting for my bloggy BFF Lisa while she is taking care of business and getting moved into her new home!!!

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite back to school activities! I'm all about cooperative learning and teaching my kiddos how to work together (because let's face it- they don't always know how to). And common core & 21st century learning are all about collaboration and working together! So this activity is a prefect way to kick start a great year together! 

All I do is put 15-20 pieces of uncooked spaghetti noodles and 20-25 marshmallows in a bag (easy and cheap!!!). I give each table a bag. And a time limit. And tell them their goal: 


Create the tallest tower possible using only spaghetti & marshmallows!


Before I've even finished explaining the kids are already working and engaged!!!  





In the past, I've assigned kids different roles for their group (see the little tags on their shirts to distinguish their role...); Team Captain, Team Timer, Team Recorder, and Team Presenter. Each team member has a different responsibility for their group- 

The Team Captain keep everyone on track and on task, and makes sure everyone is participating (this is usually the hardest role to teach- especially to the little ones).

The Team Timer watches the clock and lets the team know when/if they are running out of time. 

Team Recorder fills out any paper work or worksheets associated with the task or goal.

The Team Presenter presents the final project with the rest of the class. 

(I adapted all of these roles from the book Teambuilding: Cooperative Learning Structures by Kagan)


Here is the reflection sheet I use! Feel free to click it and grab it! (It's generic enough that you can use it for any group work activity!) 



The kids had SUCH a blast doing this, and they talked about it all year long. At least once a month, one of them would ask me, "When do we get to do that spaghetti and marshmallow activity again???" 

It's also very interesting to sit back and observe... you'll learn a lot about your kids and how they work together! 

This year, I am going to have the kids do one round with their table group, reflect on what worked and what didn't, and then assign them to another group so they can start to work with other new friends. 


Here's to a GREAT 2012-2013 school year!!!

Thanks for having me Lisa!!!

What a great lesson, Sandy! I can't wait to try it during the first few days of school!  :)

33 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing...love the reflection sheet since it gets the students focused on the real purpose (teamwork) of the activity. (Because mine will be all about the fun!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love this idea! The reflection sheet is great for making it more than just 'fun'- thanks so much for the freebie! :)

    Jenny
    Luckeyfrog's Lilypad

    ReplyDelete
  3. You're so sweet Lisa!!! :-) Thank you for having me!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. love the group work reflection sheet! thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I concur with your state of mind. Its truly decent and significant.its truly cool online journal.it is exceptionally helpful thing. online dissertation help you have truly helped heaps of individuals who visit blog and give them useful data.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Turn to best and cheap essay writing services and make your student life interesting and easier. So do not hesitate to contact us!

    ReplyDelete

  7. http://killbase03.wix.com/google-play-codes

    ReplyDelete
  8. I like your blog very much. As a professional writer in coursework writing service i would you are really encouraging the students. we too encourage the students in writing their academic task.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi, its fastidious piece of writing regarding media print, we all know media is a fantastic source of data.

    research paper writing service cheap

    ReplyDelete
  10. love the group work reflection sheet! thanks :)

    Send Flowers to Norway

    ReplyDelete
  11. These days its utilization isn't just restricted to the standard store and withdrawal purposes yet in addition for payrolls, business advances and even bill installments. So what's a check getting the money for framework? Fundamentally, it is a sort of exchange in which clients can approach the administrations offered by the bank as a check issued and approved by the bank itself. check cashing corona

    ReplyDelete
  12. Retrieving abstracts from MySQL table is the best common operation in web based application. mysql backup You can use mysql_connect() and mysql_query() to do this operation.

    ReplyDelete
  13. wonderful post. I learned some new info. Thanks for sharing this post as Tech Write For Us Free

    ReplyDelete
  14. If your looking for Online Illinois license plate sticker renewals then you have need to come to the right place.We offer the fastest Illinois license plate sticker renewals in the state. Guest Post

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great things you’ve always shared with us. Just keep writing this kind of posts.The time which was wasted in traveling for tuition now it can be used for studies.Thanks primary health

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hello, all the time i used to check website posts here early
    in the break of day
    SEO write for us

    ReplyDelete
  17. I started blogging in December and it has clearly taken over my free time and I am such a better teacher thanks to all of the amazing teacher blogs out there Oppo A52

    ReplyDelete
  18. Very informative post! There is a lot of information here that can help any business get started with a successful social networking campaign.
    please see best spark plugs for 5.7 chevy

    ReplyDelete
  19. replica bags and watches click for more c6a17f3h78 replica bags toronto More Info d3a84l6n94 Ysl replica handbags replica bags nyc 7a replica bags wholesale directory z6v40y8n46 replica radley bags

    ReplyDelete
  20. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...