Monday, April 9, 2012

What Happens First Matters

At our school we have a thing called What Happens First Matters (WHFM) which is all about getting the students engaged first thing on Monday morning as well as at the beginning of each term.

As teachers we aim to creatively design lesson openings which set the scene....creates interest....motivates and engages....set standards and declares expectations.

It is a really fun way to start the week, the scene is set straight away for meaningful and engaging learning (instead of rote learning of spelling or times tables).

One of our activities this term was called 'Tied up in Knots'. It was an game that I used to play in youth group and as a leader I play with my youth group kids. It is all about teamwork and communication to 'untie' the human knot that the students have made. Below is a little video showing what the students did.


Fun hey???

On the last week of term we had  Maths Mania morning, where the students were involved in a number of fun maths activities including...
  • Multiplication Memory
  • Area Hysteria (TeachThis game)
  • Times Table Jenga
  • Rainbow Snake (Converting measurement games - TeachThis)
  • Times Table Twister

Times Table Twister
On the spinner board, times tables facts (answers that are written on mat circles). For example the spinner might land on 4x6 left foot green. Students have to figure out multiplication problem and then find the answer on the mat and put their left foot on it.

Times Table Jenga
When students pull out a block, they need to tell their peers the answer, before they place it on top and the next player goes.

Have fun trying these out!



No comments:

Post a Comment