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MotivationActivities
If you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond your hopes.
[St. Clement of Alexandria]
We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided
each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all
gates, all opportunities. [Ralph Waldo Emerson]
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General Tips for Motivating Students
Robert Harris
Version Date: March 2, 1991
1. Explain. Recent research shows that many students do poorly on assignments or
in participation because they do not understand what to do or why they should do it.
Teachers should spend more time explaining why we teach what we do, and why the
topic or approach or activity is important and interesting and worthwhile. In the
process, some of the teacher's enthusiasm will be transmitted to the students, who
will be more likely to become interested. Similarly, teachers should spend more time
explaining exactly what is expected on assignments or activities. Students who are
uncertain about what to do will seldom perform well.
2. Reward. Students who do not yet have powerful intrinsic motivation to learn can
be helped by extrinsic motivators in the form of rewards. Rather than criticizing
unwanted behavior or answers, reward correct behavior and answers. Remember
that adults and children alike continue or repeat behavior that is rewarded. The
rewards can (and should) be small and configured to the level of the students.
Examples include: books, lunches, certificates, exemptions from final exams, verbal
praise, and so on for good performance. Even something as apparently "childish" as
a "Good Job!" stamp or sticker can encourage students to perform at higher levels.
And the important point is that extrinsic motivators can, over a brief period of time,
produce intrinsic motivation. Everyone likes the feeling of accomplishment and
recognition; rewards for good work produce those good feelings.
3. Care. Students respond with interest and motivation to teachers who appear to
be human and caring. Teachers can help produce these feelings by sharing parts of
themselves with students, especially little stories of problems and mistakes they
made, either as children or even recently. Such personalizing of the student/teacher
relationship helps students see teachers as approachable human beings and not as
aloof authority figures. Young people are also quite insecure, and they secretly
welcome the admission by adults that insecurity and error are common to everyone.
Students will attend to an adult who appears to be a "real person," who had
problems as a youth (or more recently) and survived them.
It is also a good idea to be approachable personally. Show that you care about your
students by asking about their concerns and goals. What do they plan to do in the
future? What things do they like? Such a teacher will be trusted and respected more
than one who is all business.
4. Have students participate. One of the major keys to motivation is the active
involvement of students in their own learning. Standing in front of them and
lecturing to them (at them?) is thus a relatively poor method of teaching. It is better
to get students involved in activities, group problem solving exercises, helping to
decide what to do and the best way to do it, helping the teacher, working with each
other, or in some other way getting physically involved in the lesson. A lesson about
nature, for example, would be more effective walking outdoors than looking at
pictures.
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Students love to be needed (just like adults!). By choosing several students to help
the teacher (take roll, grade objective exams, research bibliographies or biographies
of important persons, chair discussion groups, rearrange chairs, change the
overhead transparencies, hold up pictures, pass out papers or exams) students' self
esteem is boosted and consequently their motivation is increased. Older students will
also see themselves as necessary, integral, and contributing parts of the learning
process through participation like this. Use every opportunity to have students help
you. Assign them homework that involves helping you ("I need some magazine
illustrations of the emphasis on materialism for next week; would someone like to
find one for me?").
5. Teach Inductively. It has been said that presenting conclusions first and then
providing examples robs students of the joy of discovery. Why not present some
examples first and ask students to make sense of them, to generalize about them, to
draw the conclusions themselves? By beginning with the examples, evidence, stories,
and so forth and arriving at conclusions later, you can maintain interest and increase
motivation, as well as teach the skills of analysis and synthesis. Remember that the
parable method of making a point has some significant historical precedent.
6. Satisfy students' needs. Attending to need satisfaction is a primary method of
keeping students interested and happy. Students' basic needs have been identified
as survival, love, power, fun, and freedom. Attending to the need for power could be
as simple as allowing students to choose from among two or three things to do--two
or three paper topics, two or three activities, choosing between writing an extra
paper and taking the final exam, etc. Many students have a need to have fun in
active ways--in other words, they need to be noisy and excited. Rather than always
avoiding or suppressing these needs, design an educational activity that fulfills them.
Students will be much more committed to a learning activity that has value for them,
that they can see as meeting their needs, either long term or short term. They will,
in fact, put up with substantial immediate unpleasantness and do an amazing
amount of hard work if they are convinced that what they are learning ultimately
meets their needs.
7. Make learning visual. Even before young people were reared in a video
environment, it was recognized that memory is often connected to visual images. We
can provide better learning by attaching images to the ideas we want to convey. Use
drawings, diagrams, pictures, charts, graphs, bulleted lists, even three-dimensional
objects you can bring to class to help students anchor the idea to an image.
It is very helpful to begin a class session or a series of classes with a conceptual
diagram of the relationship of all the components in the class so that at a glance
students can apprehend a context for all the learning they will be doing. This will
enable them to develop a mental framework or filing system that will help them to
learn better and remember more.
8. Use positive emotions to enhance learning and motivation. Strong and
lasting memory is connected with the emotional state and experience of the learner.
That is, people remember better when the learning is accompanied by strong
emotions. If you can make something fun, exciting, happy, loving, or perhaps even a
bit frightening, students will learn more readily and the learning will last much
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longer. Emotions can be created by classroom attitudes, by doing something
unexpected or outrageous, by praise, and by many other means.
The day you come to class with a bowl on your head and speak as an alien observer
about humans will be a day and a lesson your students will remember. Don't be
afraid to embarrass yourself to make a memorable point.
9. Remember that energy sells. Think about these problems for a minute: Why
would so many students rather see Rambo, Robocop, Friday the 13th, or another
movie like that than one on the life of Christ? Why is rock music more popular with
youth than classical music or Christian elevator music?
Being energetic in your teaching is a motivating factor in itself; adding energy to the
ideas you want to convey will further enhance learning and commitment to the ideas.
Baseball and Motivation
It has been pointed out that students who are bored by school and "unmotivated" in
the eyes of the teacher nevertheless find plenty of motivation for playing a sport.
The obvious question, then, is, What is motivating about a sport? Think about a
group of young people in a baseball game. The very things that motivate them to
work hard and do well playing baseball can be adapted to the classroom. Let's look
at them:
1. Teamwork. Humans are gregarious and like being around each other. Young
people and adults usually like working as a team. Yet often the learning activities we
assign call for individual effort. Young people especially complain that they don't like
doing homework alone, yet we often insist that it be done that way. By designing
more team assignments, we can exploit the benefits of teamwork, where the weaker
students will learn by having others help. And, of course, since teaching someone
something is the best way to learn, the students who teach each other will learn
better than if they were learning alone.
Why not let or even encourage your students to do their homework as a group? You
will still have measures of individual learning when exam time comes.
2. Fun. Sports are fun, exciting, sometimes thrilling, highly emotional. Learning
experiences should provide as much fun (or at least enjoyment and satisfaction) as
possible. We sometimes think that some learning tasks are by necessity boring (like
learning definitions, grammar, vocabulary), but perhaps this attitude reflects only a
lack of creativity on our part. Americans especially have indulged the myth that work
and play are two distinct entities that should never overlap. Work can be fun; it
should be fun.
3. Enjoyment of success. Playing a game provides a constant flow of
accomplishments and the enjoyment of those accomplishments. Even the team that
ultimately loses enjoys, say, a strikeout, a base hit, a well-caught fly ball, and so
forth. Teachers should think about this stream of small but constant ego rewards.
Breaking learning into small packages that can be conquered and that will in some
way produce a feeling of accomplishment and success will help motivate students to
go forward, even through very difficult material.
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4. Active. A baseball game is not passive (like too much learning). It requires both
mental and physical activity. Teachers should strive to make learning always at least
mentally active and perhaps often physically active as well. The students should be
responsible for producing something, rather than just sitting passively, soaking up
the lecture.
5. Flexibility and Creativity. Baseball has rules, of course, but there is within
those rules a large degree of flexibility, so that a player has a range of choices and
strategies for accomplishing a given goal. In education, it has been found that
students learn better when the directions given them have a similar flexibility so that
they can put some of their own creativity--some of themselves--into the assignment.
The freedom to follow hints, suggestions, and their own inclination will produce a
greater desire to perform and a better long-term learning experience.
6. Tangible Thinking. The game connects thought with the tangible in that every
decision is worked out physically and its result is seen in three dimensions. This kind
of connection is the best there can be for learning and remembering, as well as for
providing fun. Teachers should therefore attempt to connect ideas, concepts,
conclusions, and so forth with physical reality, whether as effects and consequences
or in a symbolic way.
Bring objects to class that will make or illustrate a point you want to convey. Call up
students to stand before the class and give them roles or use them as examples of
something. Connect ideas to pictures or to visual images in the imagination (that is,
use concrete analogies whenever possible).
7. Outside the Classroom. It has been said that most learning takes place outside
the classroom. It's important, then, for the teacher to prime students to continue
learning after class, to prepare them to be aware, to ask them to apply concepts in
their lives after they leave class, to shape their out of class learning experiences
through hints, suggestions, assignments.
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F
a
l l
The significance of man is not in what he attains, but in what he longs to attain.
-kahlil gibran
Present fears are less than horrible imaginings.
--William Shakespeare
Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ballpark.
-David Ogilvy
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K e e p Y o u r R o o m N e a t & T i d y–
B u t I n t e r e s t i n g T o o!
We all know the importance of a tidy classroom, however you should also try to keep
it from looking sterile. Try to keep your room as interesting as possible for students
to look at. If you have permission, paint your room an inviting color. Hang student
work prominently and change it often. Use the walls to reflect what you are
studying, as opposed to just having the same three posters hanging up all year. You
spend even more time in this room than your students do, so changing it on a
regular basis will keep things fresh and new for you as well!
A t t e n d S c h o o l F u n c t i o n s
Your students want to know that you think of them as more than just a grade. It’s
tough to hang around school more than you have to, but attending after school
functions is a good way to connect with your students. Try to attend at least one
basketball game, band concert, track meet, drama performance, etc. every year. If
the students know that you care about their lives outside of your class, they will be
more likely to care about what happens inside of your class. If nothing else, you’ll
have something to talk to them about during passing period.
Set the stage!
Think about how you can aesthetically motivate your students. Consider everything
from your classroom arrangement to the posters and pictures hanging on the wall to
the colors in your classroom. Make your classroom an upbeat, inviting space where
both learning and fun take place.
Get to know your students
This may seem obvious, but especially in those first few weeks of school, make it a
point to learn all of your students’ names as quickly as possible and to find out
something about them. This will show students that you truly care about and are
interested in them.
Let your students be In the drIver’s seat
Giving your students control over some aspects of the classroom and their learning
increases student buy-in, which in turn increases motivation. According to “The Art
and Craft of Motivating Students,” whenever possible “students should be allowed to
determine class rules and procedures, set learning goals, select learning activities
and assignments, and decide whether to work in groups or independently.”
EstablIsh a system of classroom management
(see 5-Star Count idea below)
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The 5-Star
Count
Practical classroom management for extrinsically motivated students.
Q: What is “the 5-star count”?
A: It’s a system of classroom management in which the teacher uses a
simple countdown in order to get students’ attention and later positively
reinforces and rewards that behavior through “choice time.”
Q: How does “the 5-star count” work?
A: At an interval during class in which the teacher wishes to gain the
attention of her students, she holds up her hand and begins a verbal
countdown: “Five stars”—pauses for students to tune in—“Four stars”—
acknowledges that some students are listening and attentive while others still
need to tune in…etc. The countdown continues until the majority of students
are listening and focused. Next, the teacher goes to the “Star Board” (a
small whiteboard located within view of all students) and marks the
appropriate number of stars that the class has earned.
Stars are
accumulated throughout the course of the week and are tallied Thursday
afternoon. Each star that each class period earns equates to one minute of
“choice time” at the end of class on Friday. For example, if 1st period earned
eight stars throughout the course of the week, they would have eight
minutes of choice time on Friday. In addition, every Friday students also
have a 10-minute work period preceding choice time.
If all of their
assignments are completed, then the work period becomes bonus choice
time for those students.
Q: So what’s the point of “the 5-star count” and why does it work?
A: The main philosophy behind “the 5-star count” classroom management
system is that by tuning in quickly and listening, students are saving the
teacher valuable class time that would otherwise be wasted nagging students
to focus and listen. Choice time is a way of rewarding students for their good
behavior and positively reinforcing their ability to focus and be attentive in a
quick and efficient way. “The 5-star count” is especially successful because it
aims to encourage students to complete their work on time so that they are
eligible for bonus choice time. This extrinsic motivation is particularly useful
in students who aren’t typically motivated by grades because it positively
reinforces good work habits and responsibility by providing a relatively
immediate incentive. And let’s face it—we all know that students LOVE free
time!
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Football Review Game
1. Write questions on index cards. The students can do this as well.
2. Cut a football shape out of construction paper.
3. Draw a football field on the whiteboard (use a visa-vis pen so lines don’t erase
unintentionally but you can still wash it off with water and a paper towel). Be sure to label the
yard lines. Don't forget the goal posts.
4. Divide the class into teams of equal ability.
5. Flip a coin to see which team receives the ball first. Let them decide which side of the field
they want.
6. Go down the rows and ask each team member a question. If the team member answers
correctly, 10 yards are awarded. Be sure to move the football.
7. A FUMBLE occurs if the player gives the wrong answer. It becomes the other team's turn,
and they get the same question.
8. An INELIGIBLE RECEIVER is a wrong player on the team giving the answer. It becomes the
other team's turn, and they get a new question.
9. OFF SIDES occurs when someone on the other team answers. The team with the ball is
awarded 10 yards and gets a new question.
10. It is time to PUNT when the ball is fumbled three consecutive times. Say, "Punt." The first
person from either team to raise his hand and give the correct answer is awarded 10 yards
and his team gets a new question.
11. If a team gets a TOUCHDOWN, award six points. The additional point may be earned by
either answering another question or using a mini paper football and trying to flick it between
your fingers as the goal posts. If the team wants to go for three points, make the question
more difficult.
12. It now becomes the other team's turn.
13. The team with the most points at the end of the allotted time is the winner.
W I N T E R
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Unrest of spirit is a mark of life; one problem after another presents itself and in the solving
of them, we can find our greatest pleasure.
- Kal Menninger
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Make deals with your students and chart their progress
Maybe you want the class to work
homework turn-in, or maybe you
progress on their essays. Create a
somehow account for their progress
achieving their goals.
together to see if you can get 100%
want to individually chart students’
big chart and have students graph or
so they can visually see how they are
Make your students feel competent
Increase students’ feeling of competence by connecting real-world
experiences to what they are learning in class. Make your lessons relevant
and valuable.
Help students to feel connected to the classroom
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
Celebrate birthdays.
Organize a birthday database so you can
acknowledge your students’ special day. Make a class calendar of
birthdays.
Greet students at the door using their first name.
Take a photo of each of your students and create a class bulletin
board.
Have class officers, such as a secretary to record notes and maintain
an absent work folder and a social chairperson to plan class parties
and events.
Start a “Quote of the week” program
to success when they gave up." ~Thomas Edison
~Michelangelo
didn't trust me so much." ~Mother Teresa
~Thomas Edison
- if we have the courage to pursue them."
~Walt Disney
matter and those who matter don't mind." ~Dr. Seuss
~Winston Churchill
where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." ~Henry David
Thoreau
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Basketball Review Game
1. Write at least 25 ‘easy’ review questions.
2. Write at least 25 ‘hard’ review questions.
3. Buy or make a small (3-4 inches diameter) ball. I make mine with a paper wad in
the middle surrounded by a few layers of masking tape.
4. Set up the room with a (clean) garbage can in the front. This will be the ‘basket’.
5. Place a piece of masking tape on the floor approximately 3 feet from the basket.
6. Place a piece of masking tape on the floor approximately 8 feet from the basket.
7. Divide the students into two teams.
8. Explain that each student must answer the questions given to them. Easy and
hard questions will be evenly interspersed.
9. Keep score for the questions. Easy questions are worth 1 points each and hard
questions are worth 2.
10. If a student gets an easy question correct, they have a chance to shoot for an
‘extra point’. They will shoot from the tape mark that is furthest from the basket.
11. If a student gets a hard question correct, they have a chance to shoot for an
‘extra point’. They will shoot from the tape mark that is closest to the basket.
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Snowman Challenge!
Uses:
 I used it with balancing chemical equations, but it can be modified for any
subject where students will be asked to practice a skill they have just learned.
 Gets kids to practice without knowing they are practicing and without the
moans and groans accompanied with doing worksheets.
How to Play:
 Instead of giving the students a worksheet with practice problems, put them
onto fun shaped/themed cards (make sure each problem has a number).
 Prepare 39 beach ball cards by printing beach ball shapes on one side of the
page and the problems you want the students to solve on the other side. Cut
apart.
 Set aside an area of your classroom, such as a table, or tape them to the
wall/whiteboard.
 Create a key for yourself with all the problems for easy check off.
 Create an answer sheet for students with game rules, directions, and answer
boxes (or use the masters provided at sciencespot.net).
Tips:
 During the game, I sit at the front counter and have the teams come to me to
have answers checked. I am able to see everyone working and I don’t have
to try to run all over checking answers.
 I reward the top teams with candy or other prizes. This helps to prevent the
sharing of answers or tips on the problems.
 If you have challenge problems you can indicate them on the cards, if the
students choose challenge problems they are rewarded with extra credit.
 I limit the teams to a total of 2 people. If I have an odd number, I ask for a
volunteer to work alone.
 For Honors and high achieving classes I used it as a class competition, the
first 4 teams to finish both the front and back side of the answer sheet got a
candy prize. For my lower achieving classes, I de-emphasized competition by
giving the class the “goal” of completing a certain number of problems. Each
team that met their goal was rewarded with a prize.
 The game can also be modified by season, using different shaped/themed
cards.
 I told my students at the beginning of the period that we were going to be
playing a game with candy prizes, but that first they needed to learn the skills
necessary to play the game. This caught their full attention right from the
beginning and got them keyed into the lesson (i.e. balancing chemical
equations).
 http://www.sciencespot.net/Pages/classchem.html#Anchor8 has a better
description. The author provides masters, answer sheets, etc. It is under the
balancing equations lesson.
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Realistic
Games
to
Review
for
Finals
Are your students feeling stressed out by final exams? Try to lighten the mood with
a review game. You can find them at http://teach.fcps.net/trt10/PowerPoint.htm.
You can add content from any subject matter. They work especially well if you have
a Smart Board, but even if you don’t they still have the desired effect. If the game
in your classroom looks more like the game on TV (and therefore more “official,”) the
students will be more likely to buy in.
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S
P
R
I
N
G
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
-Eleanor Roosevelt
In absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of
trivia.
-Unknown
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Toothpick Fish Lab
Purpose
We are going to experiment with genes and environment for a population of
“toothpick” fish. You will learn how a specific trait, fish skin color, is controlled by
different forms of a gene (red, yellow, green).
You will also see how the
environment can change a population by selecting for or against certain traits.
Introduction
The colored toothpicks represent three different forms of a gene (green, red, and
yellow) that controls one fish trait: skin color. The table below tells you which forms
of the gene are dominant, which are recessive, and which are equal (or codominant).
The green gene (G) is…

dominate to all other color genes
The red gene (R) is…




recessive to green
equal (“co-dominant”) to yellow *
recessive to green
equal (“co-dominant”) to red *
The yellow gene (Y) is…
*Combining red and yellow genes results in a fish with orange skin color.
REMEMBER: EACH TOOTHPICK REPRESENTS A GENE, NOT A FISH.
1. Answer questions 1-3 on your lab sheet.
2. Make a first generation of fish. To do this, pull out genes (toothpicks) in pairs
without looking and set them aside carefully so that they can stay in pairs. This
simulates the way offspring are formed by a sperm from the male fish combining
randomly with eggs from the female fish. Once you have drawn the 12 pairs, record
the results in Table A.
3. Count the numbers of each color of fish offspring and record the numbers in Table
B where it says first generation. Table B is at the very end of your lab sheet.
4. What is the genotype of a yellow fish?
The stream where the fish live is very green and lush with lots of vegetation and
algae covering the streambed and banks. The green fish are very well camouflaged
from predators in this environment.
The red and orange fish are fairly well
camouflaged as well. However, the yellow fish can be seen very easily against the
green algae and vegetation. Because of this, predators are easily able to find them
and eat them, and none of the yellow fish survive or reproduce. If you have any
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yellow fish (fish in which both toothpicks are yellow), put those fish aside
and do not use them for the rest of the period.
5. Put all the genes you have left back in the gene pool (remember you have set
aside yellow fish) Draw a second generation of fish, again without looking. Record
your gene pairs in Table A. Total up the fish of each color and record the numbers in
the second generation row in Table B.
6. The well camouflaged fish live longer and have more offspring’s, so the numbers
of those fish are increasing. However, your yellow fish die can still be easily spotted
and die again!!!! Move them to the graveyard (toilet). Draw toothpicks to make a
third generation of fish. Record your data in Table A and then write the total
numbers of each color in the third generation row of Table B. Now, return survivors
to the gene pool (be sure to set aside any genes from yellow offspring).
STOP HERE. Answer questions 4-7 on your lab sheet
7. Draw more pairs of genes to make a fourth generation of fish. Record that data in
Tables A and B. Do not remove the yellow fish.
STOP! An environmental disaster occurs. Factory waste harmful to algae is
dumped into the stream, killing much of the algae very rapidly. The remaining rocks
and sand are good camouflage for the yellow, red, and orange fish. Now the green
fish are easily spotted by predators and can’t survive or reproduce.
8. Because green fish don’t survive, set them aside. Now record the surviving
offspring (all but the green) in the last row of Table B (fourth generation survivors
row). Contribute your final data on the class tally. Your instructor will total the data
for the class.
After examining the data for the class, answer questions 8-10 on your lab sheet.
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Name ________________________________
Phenotypes (fish color)
Period ______________
Possible Genotypes
Green
Red
Yellow
Orange
Based on the answers you gave in the table above, answer the questions below.
1. Can two red fish mate and have a green offspring? Why or why not?
2. Can two orange fish mate and have a red offspring? Why or why not?
3. Can two green fish mate and have an orange offspring? Why or why not?
Table(s) A: Gene Pairs and Resulting Fish Colors in Generations 1-4
Offspring
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Phenotype
1st generation
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Offspring
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Genotype
1st
generation
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Genotype
3rd
generation
Phenotype
3rd generation
Genotype
2nd
generation
Offspring
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Offspring
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Phenotype
2nd generation
Genotype
4th
generation
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
4. Have all the yellow genes disappeared?
5. Has the population size changed? In what way?
6. Would you expect this to occur in the wild? Explain.
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Phenotype
4th generation
7. How does the population in the third generation compare to the population in the
earlier generations?
Table B: Phenotypes (color of fish) for Surviving Toothpick Fish
Environment
Generation
Green
Red
Orange
Yellow
There is a lot First
of
green Second
seaweed
Third
everywhere.
All
the Fourth
seaweed dies Fourth
and
leaves (survivors)
bare rock and
sand.
8. Has the population changed compared to earlier generations? How?
9. Have any genes disappeared entirely?
10. Yellow genes are recessive to green; green genes are dominant to both red and
yellow.
Which color of genes disappeared faster when the environment was hostile to them?
Why?
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INSERT “Reebops”
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INSERT “2. Lay out the chromosomes….”
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INSERT
“Name, Date, Period” Page
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INSERT “Your Baby’s Birthdate”
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Reebops Teacher Setup:
You will have to construct identical sets of Mom and Dad Reebop’s chromosomes fro
the students to sort. Place each set into an envelope. “Chromosomal analysis” has
revealed that Reebops have seven pairs, or 14 total chromosomes. To do this, cut
strips of pink (Mom) and blue (Dad) construction paper to create the chromosomes
(see below). Each envelope should contain one color of 14 chromosomes; each pair
of students receives two envelopes, one pink (Mom) and one blue (Dad). Each
parental set consists of pairs of chromosomes of seven different lengths. Each
chromosome pair has the one of each of the two alleles for the given traits written on
one side (i.e. A, a or E, e). More traits, such as sex, can be easily added if you wish.
Mom’s chromosomes (pink)
Dad’s chromosomes (blue)
How to run the activity:
Introduce your students to Mom and Dad Reebop and distribute the chromosome
sets to each pair of students. Have the students open and take out the contents of
each envelope. Have them turn the chromosomes face down on the table so that no
letters (alleles) are visible, and ask each student to sort them by length. When both
the Mom and Dad have been sorted, it is now time to “make a baby.” Each student
will arbitrarily take one chromosome of each length and place it in a separate “baby
pile.” This will be their Reebop baby’s chromosomes. The remaining chromosomes
can be returned to the appropriate envelopes. Each Reebop baby will have 14
chromosomes, half pink and half blue. The students can then discover what their
baby will look like by turning over their baby’s chromosomes and decoding the
alleles, referring to the Lab Sheet for the key to Reebop traits, and filling out the
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attached worksheet. Once the students have determined their baby’s traits, have
them come to you for the materials to build their babies. When they are all finished,
students should see that each Reebop baby should look different than all the other
Reebop babies, despite all having the same parent Reebops. Have students think of
a name and complete the questionnaire for their baby.
Extra Time at the End of the Lesson?
Try a puzzle! You can use word puzzles, logic puzzles, history-themed puzzles… you
get the idea. Students sometimes enjoy a little competition, so if you like, make it a
race to see which student or team of students can be the first with the correct
answer, and small prizes can be awarded. Small activities like this will hopefully
keep them in their seats until the bell rings.
SEE NEXT PAGE FOR ANYTIME ACTIVITIES…
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Language Arts and Social Studies Extras
“It’s All About You”: Using Student-Centered
Activities to Motivate Students
Context:
The following techniques/projects were employed in two 12th grade
Language Arts classes at Bishop Blanchet High School during the second
semester of the 2006-07 academic year.
Rationale:
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It is no secret that seniors become increasingly difficult to motivate as
graduation approaches.
In light of this trend, I decided prior to the
beginning of the second semester to make a concerted effort to find creative
ways to keep the students engaged.
In addition to responding to the “senioritis” effect, I sought to make all
material we were covering in class relevant to the lives of the students. This
rationale is based on a pedagogical platform that I tried to employ in all my
classes: the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm. This model is based the work of
the philosopher Bernard Lonergan, and seeks to lead the students through
the following steps: 1) context (for the learning experience), 2) experience,
3) reflection, 4) action, 5) evaluation. In this approach, contextualizing and
reflecting on an experience is critical.
Techniques:
1. Freewriting on Quotes
Description:
I often began class by giving students a half-sheet of paper with a series of
quotes and asked them to reflect on 1-2 of the quotes for 10-15 minutes.
This simple freewriting exercise served multiple purposes, as it gave students
a respite from a hectic schedule and allowed them to be quiet and relaxed for
a period of time. However, the most critical elements of this simple exercise
were as follows:
1) Students were exhorted to think of this exercise as “thinking on paper.”
Those students who were traditionally most resistant to writing initially
protested this type of activity, so I chose to frame it by arguing that
writing is simply thinking, and while you may not ever take another
Language Arts course again, you are most certainly going to think. This
angle, combined with the following aspects, seemed to take the edge off
what is often viewed as a mundane activity.
2) The quotes students were asked to respond to included not only quotes
from the text we were reading, but also quotes that were loosely related
to the text. For example, after completing a large essay assignment, I
had students reflect on the writing process by responding to 2-3 of the
following quotes:
Easy reading is damn hard writing. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops
of blood form on your forehead. ~Gene Fowler
Writing comes more easily if you have something to say. ~Sholem Asch
If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad. ~Lord Byron
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Writing is utter solitude, the descent into the cold abyss of oneself. ~Franz
Kafka
I do not like to write - I like to have written. ~Gloria Steinem
The above quotes gave the students the opportunity to vent (or praise)
regarding the process of writing, which provided both a sense of closure and
a cathartic effect.
In addition to quotes related to writing, reading, or the text we were reading,
I would usually offer one prompt that was seemingly unrelated to the
curriculum and offered the students the opportunity to escape from the
reality of school life for 10-15 minutes.
Rationale:
This exercise also proved to be beneficial for the following reasons:
i) It gave students practice in reading and responding to the ideas of
another.
ii) It fulfilled a therapeutic need as it allowed students to center
themselves and “unload” daily stresses or concerns in a productive
manner that was aligned with the class goals.
iii) The casual nature of the writing removed the pressure to “write
formally” and in many cases yielded the most thoughtful, honest,
and stylistically and grammatically correct writing students did all
semester.
iv) The personal nature of the writing allowed for students to
communicate with me as their teacher, and they appreciated the
fact that I wanted to hear what they had to say.
v) The exercise provided an opportunity for genuine reflection, which
was a vital component of the teaching paradigm I employed (see
above).
2. The Senior Memoir Project
Description and Rationale:
Fitting in with the theme of student-centered learning (or self-centered
learning), I wanted to have the seniors complete a final project that summed
up their four years of high school at Bishop Blanchet. I wanted to give them
1) a context in which to relive their high school experiences, both good and
bad, 2) an opportunity to reflect on these experiences, and 3) a platform for
making informed choices in the future.
Project Outline (as given to students):
A memoir is a work concentrating on the writer’s personal experiences. It is
an autobiographical account whose focus of attention is usually the persons,
events, scenes, and times known to the author.
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Your task will be to write the memoir of your high school years and to
illustrate it with photos that underscore, capture, and represent your career
at Bishop Blanchet High School.
You will need the following sections:
A.
Then and Now
Great literature often feeds on the remembrance of our perceptions that
are no more, since they belong to a moment in the past. Our
remembrances of things that are past allow for dispassionate description.
Simone Weil says, “Distance is the soul of beauty.”
1. Describe who you were as a freshman. Who were you then?
Please focus on the following:
a. Physical appearance, physical skills – coordination, athletic
skills, dance skills, etc.
b. Attitudes toward academics, your peers, social interaction,
teachers, parents, siblings, family time, etc.
c. Interests – in school and outside of school. For example,
sports, drama, service, hobbies, etc.
2. Describe the person you have become since your freshman year (You
are a dynamic character!).
3. This section will utilize a comparison and contrast form of organization.
B.
Significant Experiences That Have Changed You
1. What have been the moments and experiences you have had in the
past four years that have shaped who you are today?
2. Have there been any turning points, epiphanies, moments of insight,
realizations, awakenings, or enlightenments?
3. What accomplishments have been sources of pride? Did you overcome
any obstacles? Did you discover that you had resources and gifts you
never realized you had? Did your accomplishment require cooperation
and teamwork?
4. Your task here is to show the “domino effect.” How did you become
the person you are today?
C.
Storytelling
1. You have had the opportunity to read many stories over the course of
your career at Bishop Blanchet. Some have made you laugh, some
have made you think, and some have made you sad. What are the
lived stories of your high school experience that have made you laugh,
think, reflect and cry?
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D.
Friends
Aristotle links friendship to happiness.
Friends, he says, are a
necessary condition
for
happiness, and friends are a component of
genuine happiness. Without friends
our
lives are diminished; with
friends our lives are enriched.
1. Who have been some of your friends these past four years?
Describe their physical characteristics, their personalities, their
gifts. Try to paint a picture of these people with words.
2. Are you presently friends with someone whom you would never
have imagined being friends with earlier in high school?
3. How have your friends enriched your life?
4. What have you learned about the nature of friendship from your
experiences?
E.
The Soundtrack of Your Life
Imagine, if you will, that you wanted to put together a collection of
songs for your Ipod that
have meant a lot to you these past four
years, some that bring you back to your frosh days,
some to your soph,
and others to your junior and senior years.
1. What would be some of those songs? Why are they important?
Are they connected to certain times and places? Certain people?
2. Reflect on the songs you’ve chosen. What do they say about
you? Your interests? Values?
3. Include what you consider to be the lyrics of your favorite song.
F.
Inspiring Individuals, Memorable Individuals
In all your classes, you’ve learned about many new people, people
whose lives have caused
you to pause and think, people whose
lives have given you inspiration, people whose lives
have given you an
insight into yourself and life in general.
1. Who have been some of these people? (historical? literary?)
2. Explain what has touched you about these people? Why have
their lives resonated in your hearts and minds?
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G.
A Piece of Literature
You’ve read novels, poems, short stories, and plays.
1. Which novel, short story, or play really grabbed you? Explain
why.
2. Include your favorite poem of the last four years.
H.
Visual Art
Select one of the following options:
1. What is the definitive film of your generation? Discuss why this
film embodies the spirit of your high school years.
2. Discuss your favorite work of visual art (a painting, poster,
photograph, sculpture, etc.).
I.
The Blanchet Years…
1. What have you loved about the last four years? What in hindsight
would you have appreciated more of?
2. If you had to do it over again, what changes might you make?
J.
…And Beyond!
After you have thoughtfully answered #1 and #2 below,
answer #3.
1. Who are you? What are your enthusiasms, qualities, gifts?
What do people admire you for?
2. What are your values?
How would you describe your
personal code/spirituality?
3. Where do you see yourself going in the future? What are
your hopes for the future? a specific career? marriage?
family?
Required Elements:
1. A cover/title page with a creative, original title and a photograph.
2. Photographs on as many pages as possible. Have fun with your
use of images, and make your memoir visually appealing.
3. Binding:
i. Your entire document should be bound in a professional
manner. Binding can be done at Kinko’s, the UPS Store, or a
similar business.
4. A back cover with a photograph of yourself.
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5. Two page minimum for each lettered section above (typed, double
spaced, 12 point font, etc.). This is your life – say what you have
to say!
Optional Element:
1. If you are an artist, you may choose to integrate your own work
into the paper.
Please speak to the teacher to discuss the
possibilities before you begun working on this option.
2. Multimedia component: If you are so inclined, you may explore the
possibility of submitting this project in a multimedia format on a
DVD. You will still be required to submit a bound hardcopy as
detailed above. Again, please speak to the teacher to discuss this
option.
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TEED 540 Self-directed Group Project
Dr. Cowan Pitre Summer 2007
Project Compiled by SU MIT Students:
Meredith Jarvimaki
Marisa Muniz
Stephanie Stansell
Jason Odem
Elizabeth Nicholls
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