Interactive Classroom Structures:
Create Classroom Magic with Driven Student
Engagement
John Hardison-Studio 113 at East Hall High in
Gainesville, GA
PowerPoint: http://goo.gl/RLlh4
Twitter hashtag: #GAETC
E-mail: John.hardison@hallco.org
Twitter: @JohnHardison1
Blogspot: http://gettingsmart.com/cms/blog/author/johnhardison/
What is needed to create classroom magic?
1. Passion for teaching and genuine concern for
students
2. Strong classroom management
3. Energy
Traffic Light System for B.Y.O.D.
My Favorite Sites Integrating Cell/Smart Phones
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Polleverywhere
Socrative
Posterous
Voicethread
My Favorite Sites for Backchanneling
• Polleverywhere
• Todaysmeet
My Symbaloo Webmix for PBL Assignments
• Creative Gallery
The Foundational Model/Structure
ABCD Model/Structure (An Organizational Structure)
• Team construction (count-off, random Excel, teacher
assign, student assignments, website, etc.)
• Building blocks for many other structures
• Every student is a number and a letter
• Team make-up is interchangeable
Practice (A-Statue B-Rap C-Preacher D-Artist)
•
•
Most embarrassing moment?
Greatest accomplishment with students?
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
• Alphabet Conversation (timed or untimed)
• Questions Only
• One-Word Song
ABCDEFGHIJKLM
NOPQRSTUVWXYZ
1. ABC Conversation
2. Questions Only
3. Soap Opera (OverDramatization)
4. Country
5. Rap Genre
6. Detective (Freeze)
7. One-Word Song
8. News Conference
9. CD Compilation
10. Director’s Cut
***T-Rex***
Model/Structure #1
Wax Museum
• Teams create symbolic wax statue
• Use any appropriate materials from classroom/home
• Must hold statue for two rounds
• Round one: students are still and silent while recorded
• Round two: students explain but still while recorded
• Students do not move until cue is given
Practice
• Create a successful/unsuccessful team of
three-four castaways to be stranded on a
deserted island? Give this team a name and be
prepared to explain your reasoning.
Model/Structure #2
Recording Artists
• Teams create a standards-based song or…
• Teams select a famous song that relates to the
assigned standards(s).
No Practice---Notes Only
• Math Rap song
• Of Mice & Men song
• Improvisational song
• Another original song
• As always, teachers model everything
• Optional: Use Posterous to collect videos
Model/Structure #3
The Voting Chips
• Students work with partners to complete task (i.e. multiple
choice questions)
• Teams of two begin with set number of points (chips)
• Partnerships sit around stage as front/back channel
• Front Channel has all control (final vote)
• Back Channel indicates initial vote (by hand or
Polleverywhere.com)
• Teams share initial vote then have 10 seconds to change after
hearing class majority vote
• Teacher announces/explains answer
• Teams double points or return chips to center
• If team changed from correct answer to incorrect answer, they
must pay extra 10% of current points
• Optional: Use Socrative for rounds of silent voting
White-5
Yellow-10
Green-25
Blue-50
Red-100
Borrowing:
First Time: 25 Points Max. @ 10% Interest
Second Time: 15 Points Max. @ 20% Interest
Third Time: 10 Points Max. @ 50% Interest
(from a classmate only)
Model/Structure #4
Gamify (Mitcheopardy with musical chairs)
• ABCD Foundational Model/Structure
• Use pre-planned Jeopardy template in
PowerPoint or Jeopardy Labs
• Use Google Forms to collect relative media
examples before beginning structure
No Practice---Notes Only
• Mitcheopardy
Model/Structure #5
Flip Forum
• Students sit around the stage
• Each student has a visible number in front of him/her
• Each student reads/answers questions/participates in
discussion and flips his/her number over
• He/she then calls on a remaining number to continue
the thread of discussion
• Polleverywhere is used as a backchannel the entire
time
• Discussion resets after no numbers are visible
Practice
• How can administrators support today’s
teachers?
Model/Structure #6
Flip Forum (with Unaware Speaker & Silent Discussion)
• Stations A & B: Flip Forum (discuss questions verbally
and with use of cell phones/one person speaking at a
time)
• Station C: Unaware Speaker (team acts out answers
while unaware speaker reports to camera man)
• Station D: Silent Conversation (students discuss
prompts by using www.todaysmeet.com)
• Diagram
No Practice-Notes Only
• Stations A & B
• Station C
• Station D
Discussion Leader---Please
Announce Before Beginning
•Cover only two questions per rotation
•Raise your hand to speak
•Speak when your number is called
•Place number face down after speaking
•Text to polleverywhere.com if you wish to
comment nonverbally about the discussion
Model/Structure #7
The Chosen Ones
•
•
•
•
Selected students go to stage & become A, B, C, or D
Volunteer student runs the spinner (number/letter)
Volunteer student is the camera man
Spinner selects student to deliver answer in center of
stage
• If correct, remaining students on stage select “door”
• If incorrect, speaker and his original team chooses
“door”
Practice
• Create a superhero who embodies the skills
and talents of your team members. Be sure to
name this superhero and mention his/her
weaknesses.
A
D
X
C
B
Model/Structure #8
Doorball
• Uses ABCD foundational model/structure
• Students must catch teacher-thrown balls (racquet ball
and nerf balls)
• If caught, team answers prompt.
• If dropped, team selects door number from post-it
notes and performs assignment.
• May offer double-or-nothing (ping pong ball)
No Practice
Model/Structure #9
Cell Phone and Seismograph
(Literature Example)
• Partners should read literature while noting key points
• Review seismograph and Richter scale
• Do not allow team members to discuss the scale
before collaborating to draw the scale
• Team member #1 calls other team member and
articulates how the scale should be drawn
• Team member #2 may only say, “Pardon,” “Yes,” or
“No.”
No Practice
• USA Today article or Flanner O’Connor’s “The
Life You Save May Be Your Own” excerpt.
Seismograph
Seismograph
Seismograph
Model/Structure #10
Floorgame
• Pre-assigned teams of four study certain
sections of a lesson (i.e. Julius Caesar Act I)
while taking notes on the assigned standards
• After studying assigned sections, students will
play floorgame
• Designated areas/tiles on floor correlate to
standards-based team assignment
• Teams must complete assignment before
moving on to next section
• Unsuccessful teams go to the infirmary to
perform extra assignment before returning
Model/Structure #10-Continued
Floorgame-Continued
• Excel sheet determines assignment and
modality
• Teams take a knee after obtaining teacher’s
approval
No Practice---Notes Only
• Julius Caesar Act I standards
• Floorgame diagram
• Excel assignment sheet
1
5
9
17
13
2
6
10
18
14
11
3
7
19
15
4
8
12
20
16
Model/Structure #11
Concentric Circles
• A=Reading and Addressing Questions (No Cell Phone)
• B=Socratic Thinking (Verbal or Cell Phone)
• C=Answers (Verbal Only)
• D=Comments (Todaysmeet or Polleverywhere)
• Diagram
Practice
• “Social Media…U.S. Classrooms” by Greg
Toppo *
A
B
C
D
Model/Structure #12
Double Trouble
• Teams discuss prompt
• Team/individuals chosen via number/letter selectors
• 1-2 team members present answer in front of webcam
in a teacher-selected style
• Team member must complete assigned round(s) of
video game (Angry Birds, Frogger, Pacman)
• If unsuccessful, consequences are assigned
• Video answers mashed up as online movie
• As always, teachers model everything
No Practice
• Notes only
Model/Structure #13
Stage Fright
• Uses ABCD Foundational Model/Structure
• Best to use number slips, spinner, and one die
• One student per team is called to center of
room/stage via teacher-drawn number slips
• Selected students stand in circle on numbered
queues
• Teacher selects one student via
number slips/spinner/die to go to center of
circle/stage.
Model/Structure #13 -Continued
Stage Fright-Continued
• Student must successfully answer prompt.
• Audience may vote or teacher(s) may approve.
• If student is unsuccessful, he/she will roll the
die to determine how & what his/her team will
improv.
“ETC Version”
Thinking of characters from the following
four movies (Forrest Gump, Titanic, Rocky,
Avatar), be prepared to present on the
following prompts:
1. Pick any three or more characters from the
aforementioned movies and create a
superhero who embodies the obvious
qualities of the characters.
2. Pick any three or more characters from the
aforementioned movies and give a
complete character description of each.
1. ABC Conversation
2. Soap Opera (OverDramatization)
3. Country
4. Film Noir
5. Moving Bodies (All 4
team members)
6. Director’s Cut
1. Perform the T-Rex to music for 30 seconds.
2. Improv four students in a boring classroom
discussing their overbearing parents. When music is
played, the discussion pauses and the students dance.
When the music ends, the discussion resumes as if no
dancing ever occurred.
1. ABC Conversation
2. Questions Only
3. Soap Opera (OverDramatization)
4. Country
5. Film Noir
6. One-Word Song
7. Moving Bodies (All 4
team members)
8. News Conference
9. CD Compilation
10. Director’s Cut
Incorrect Answers: T-Rex
with music
Model/Structure #14
Revolutionary Battle
• Team captains secretly select teammates via a draft
• Teams draw number to determine bracket placing
• Teams complete class assignment
• Teams discuss and plot strategy
• Teammates select “card” or “power”
• Team A vs. Team B
• Teams-in-waiting can work on next lesson or
participate via silent conversation/texting/voting
No Practice-Notes Only
• Example
Interactive Classroom Structures:
Create Classroom Magic with Driven Student
Engagement
John Hardison-Studio 113 at East Hall High in
Gainesville, GA
Voicethread for post-workshop questions
E-mail: John.hardison@hallco.org
Twitter: @JohnHardison1
Blogspot: http://gettingsmart.com/cms/blog/author/johnhardison/