Sunday, September 10, 2017

First Days of School: Teaching Teamwork

Tomorrow, the class will focus on teamwork. As soon as the students arrive, I'll ask them to complete this short teamwork questionnaire. We'll discuss the teamwork related to Friday's notecard challenge--what worked and what did not. Then I'll introduce the marshmallow-spaghetti challenge via a number of videos. After that, students will work in groups of 2, 3, or 4, to build a sturdy marshmallow-spaghetti tower. I'll likely take a lot of photos, photos that students will use later as they reflect on their efforts and teamwork.

Later during our math class, students will create a Math Team bulletin board with their images and team numbers--numbers created via math review work and calculation. The activity is a good way to get to know a bit more about one another too. We'll also continue our efforts to complete Selfie projects too, and display those results as another way to build knowledge of each other which is important to good teaming. There's always that temptation to rush into the curriculum in the first few days of the school year, but good teachers know it's integral to set the stage for learning first by getting to know one another, teaching/creating main tools/protocols, and building team. Onward.