DZS Chapter 2

I would have never believed how powerful a memorization tool writing could be, until I used it effectively at a teacher's inservice at school. The reason I used the WTL process was because the principal said this was a game and there was a prize involved. I am very competitive by nature, as well as narcissistic and selfish, so this was the activity for me!!

To introduce themselves to one another at the beginning of a school year, all teachers were asked to stand up, state their name, and tell one fact about them no one else in the room knew. I decided to write down everyone's name and their unusual fact (as well as a description of them if I hadn't met them yet).

When everyone had finished with their introductions, we had a quiz. Everyone was asked to write down the unique fact of the teacher whose named was called. (Of course, no notes were allowed) Because I had written everything down and had a chance to see, as well as hear, the information, I remembered everyone's name and unusual fact.

I won the game. My prize was a free personal day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I always use this technique in my classes and explain to students why. I sometimes tell them they might just win a prize someday...

BPR Chapter 11-13

This I believe...that writing can open up your emotions, your passions, and it is a pathway to your soul. By writing, the author can verbalize emotions that my otherwise go unrecognized; can stimulate the brain to open up memories, or even prior knowledge and connections. For a student to be successful in any subject area, the brain has to be awakened from slumber. One sure way to engage the brain is to stimulate it with memories, feelings, opinions, thoughts, and questions. What better way to begin this than by writing? Even in math classes, students can learn better if they are emotionally connected to the lesson. Writing connects us to everything.

DZ Chapter 7 - Reflections

In this chapter, the authors mentioned grouping students in to small groups so they can help one another while they learn. This can be a bit tough at the beginning of school, because students don't always know their classmates well enough to speak up in small groups. However, the authors also mentioned a class game "Pig" which allowed students to play a dice game on probability and then work in a group to find the answer to the question, "How many rolls of the dice is statistically best to accumulate the most points, before you roll the number which takes your points away from you?"

I have personally played this game with my students in class. We called it "Greedy Pig". The students liked the competition and the thrill of a game and let their inhibitions go. The class got to see one another for who they truly were, and this helped facilitate the group getting to know each another quicker.

If group work is to be effective, I have found the best ice breaker for a class is the game "Greedy Pig".