There was laughter and smiles and conversation. The room was a buzz with engagement. The conversation was all about numbers. They were playing a game called, Anything but Ten! Using a hundreds board and a pair of dice, my students were trying to get to a counter to 100 but if you roll the sum of 10 then your counter is sent back to 0. Cheers or groans or giggles were the typical response every time someone rolled a 0. I felt the voice volume was getting a bit loud and then I realized this is what a classroom should sound like, not the quiet stillness of standardized testing. I can't wait to hear more cheers or groans or giggles all next week.
Sounds like a lot of fun in your classroom today.
ReplyDeleteI remember playing games like that when I taught primary grades. So fun to hear students engaged and excited about math. Thanks for bringing back memories.
ReplyDeleteThis game sounds like fun!
ReplyDeleteYes, fun for everyone ~ joy and relief. The feeling of all being in it together has to make it more bearable too
ReplyDeleteThere are days when I think, if the superintendent comes into my classroom (never mind my principal), they are going to see chaos. It's what learning often (not always) looks like. But that's the insider's view. The outsider's view might be different. Still, I keep it going ...
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Kevin
Yup, those are the sounds of learning. What a fun time after the grueling testing.
ReplyDeleteSo true! When I first started teaching, that was the expectation and the norm. Not so today; thank God!
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