Chapter 10: 25 Ways to Fill "Odd" Moments
by Marlene Caroselli
500 Creative Classroom Techniques for Teachers and Trainers
- 500 Creative Classroom Techniques for Teachers and Trainers
- Copyright
- Introduction
- An Investor's Guide (1/2)
- An Investor's Guide (2/2)
- Chapter 1: 25 Ways to Have Participants Introduce Themselves
- 1. Use the course title.
- 2. Test their intuition.
- 3. Challenge them to tell why the course is important.
- 4. Assign partner-interviews.
- 5. Give participants a choice of questions to answer.
- 6. Have them explain why they’re studying this subject.
- 7. Make them think: What future use can they make of what they're about to learn?
- 8. Let them critique you.
- 9. Task the group with collecting knowledge.
- 10. Give one course-related word as a prompt.
- 11. Tell them to find an object that symbolizes themselves.
- 12. Ask for truth and lies.
- 13. Use pennies as prompts.
- 14. Provide examples of "try-umphs" and ask them to write their own.
- 15. Quote Drucker. Then ask them to ask questions.
- 16. Have them speculate about the agenda.
- 17. Activate change in their learning.
- 18. Help them define the course.
- 19. Involve them in their own learning.
- 20. Elicit a wish; make a promise.
- 21. Provide lists of words.
- 22. Supply a list of metaphors.
- 23. Tape flipcharts around the room.
- 24. Ask each person to stand, give his name, and state oneadjective that describes him well.
- 25. Prepare a list of incomplete sentences.
- Chapter 2: 25 Ways to Test for Understanding
- 1. Prepare at least ten questions.
- 2. Excerpt ten key statements from the curriculum.
- 3. Have each person record an important point.
- 4. Have them prepare exam questions.
- 5. Form groups of five.
- 6. Form groups of five again.
- 7. Let them "pig out."
- 8. List ten key terms related to the course.
- 9. Ask them to describe someone they know.
- 10. Lead them in stating a mission.
- 11. Omit a key point from your summaries.
- 12. Help them stratify.
- 13. Draw a body; use it for review.
- 14. Have them create an alliterative phrase.
- 15. Have them develop a rhyme.
- 16. Convert them into teachers.
- 17. "Idol"-ize them.
- 18. Develop their authoring skills.
- 19. Turn them into cartoonists.
- 20. Have them develop a rhyme.
- 21. Appoint them the "de-terminators."
- 22. Encourage group exam-preparation.
- 23. Ask for a signature attesting to their learning.
- 24. Appoint a roving reporter.
- 25. Give them a choice of questions to answer in a group essay.
- Chapter 3: 25 Ways to Add Humor
- 1. Incorporate a humorous bit of information.
- 2. Find fodder in the familial.
- 3. Use cartoons.
- 4. Use drama.
- 5. Ask a question that reveals something about you.
- 6. Self-deprecate.
- 7. Invite participants to share their relevant jokes.
- 8. Give a list-example; then ask for a list.
- 9. Show examples of typo-bloopers.
- 10. Show them how to refute criticism humorously.
- 11. Find a relevant, funny line.
- 12. Develop your own funny lines.
- 13. Use your own experience.
- 14. Capitalize on in-class humor.
- 15. Create two diametrically opposed outcomes.
- 16. Give them a common saying, and call for a response.
- 17. Encourage their cartoon-ability.
- 18. Have them create a saint.
- 19. Use animal phrases.
- 20. Type, copy, and distribute proverbs.
- 21. Make collective nouns a source of humor.
- 22. Spend $10 and get guaranteed laughs, forever.
- 23. Imitate Jay Leno or David Letterman.
- 24. Start with a funny greeting card.
- 25. Draw on their television viewing.
- Chapter 4: 25 Ways to Give Feedback
- 1. Prepare critique sheets.
- 2. Give them a choice: Invite them to one-on-one meetings with you, or with a partner of their choosing.
- 3. Make it a group thing.
- 4. Comment on a paper they have written.
- 5. Correct publicly.
- 6. Implement peer evaluations.
- 7. Invite an outsider in.
- 8. Go Greek: Use the Delphi Technique.
- 9. Ask participants to prepare a self-evaluation.
- 10. Use the old standby: give feedback yourself.
- 11. Give a private audience; prepare unique comments.
- 12. For the confident, ask groups to provide feedback.
- 13. For the super-confident, ask the whole class to provide feedback.
- 14. Provide reality-TV judges.
- 15. Have them select their own feedback.
- 16. Tape-record their presentations.
- 17. Do a mini-force field analysis.
- 18. Lift sentences.
- 19. Have them introspect.
- 20. Admit that turnaround is fair play.
- 21. Ask if they are confident enough to have their gradepublicly posted.
- 22. Use a scoreboard.
- 23. Have pairs critique other pairs.
- 24. Create a list of attributes, and have participants use it to deliver feedback.
- 25. Collect pictures or drawings of animals.
- Chapter 5: 25 Ways to Use Questions
- 1. Use questions for discussion.
- 2. Use questions for review.
- 3. Use questions for homework.
- 4. Use questions to reinforce.
- 5. Use questions to encourage introspection.
- 6. Use questions to ascertain the ability levels within thegroup.
- 7. Use questions to increase participation.
- 8. Use questions to compliment.
- 9. Have groups choose their own question.
- 10. Use questions to stimulate creativity.
- 11. Engage partners in questioning each other.
- 12. Allow them to stump the teacher.
- 13. Obtain questions from others.
- 14. Ask the "eternal questions" related to the course.
- 15. Tell the famous "Why?" story.
- 16. Force the questions.
- 17. Ask, "What have I not made clear?"
- 18. Draw up a list of questions.
- 19. Use the old questions in a new way.
- 20. Use questions to make them "bloom."
- 21. Use quotations about questions.
- 22. Have a Q & A session after every big module.
- 23. Compile a list of questions for those in authority.
- 24. Prepare a list of questions from popular songs.
- 25. Use questions from the world of sports.
- Chapter 6: 25 Ways to Use Quotations
- 1. Post the quotations around the room.
- 2. Ask group leaders to choose a favorite quote.
- 3. Use an especially pertinent quote to generate discussion.
- 4. Present opposing viewpoints.
- 5. Assemble familial wisdom.
- 6. Use quotations as examples of what not to say.
- 7. Have them decide quote-attribution.
- 8. Have them match quote and quotee.
- 9. Have them match a quote with an era.
- 10. Find quotable material within the class.
- 11. Have them quote you on that.
- 12. Go from the familial to the curricular.
- 13. Use ad agency talent to elicit student talent.
- 14. Let them paraphrase a famous quote.
- 15. Use participant-created chiasmus statements.
- 16. Take quotations from popular music.
- 17. Synthesize the course in a single quote.
- 18. Encourage diversity through quotations.
- 19. Use titles or phrases that have numbers in them.
- 20. Debunk myths or prevalent wisdom.
- 21. Have them stratify the course content and then recall quotes related to the stratifications.
- 22. Use multi-quote lists as stimuli.
- 23. Use quotations to end the class on a high note.
- 24. Use quotations as the basis for role-plays.
- 25. Assign quote-discovery for homework.
- Chapter 7: 25 Ways to Have Groups Report
- 1. Challenge them to condense.
- 2. Have them identify five key points.
- 3. Alternate the groups that report.
- 4. Call on groups at random.
- 5. Ask them to report to each other.
- 6. Post their reports around the room.
- 7. Have group leaders make a collective report.
- 8. Have group leaders decide which report the class most needs to hear.
- 9. Ask group leaders to report to different groups.
- 10. Involve all group members in the reporting.
- 11. Request the definitive definition.
- 12. Have them haiku it.
- 13. Stimulate report-thinking via vocabulary.
- 14. Provide the rubric.
- 15. Have them decide whether or not to report.
- 16. Have them present a wordless report.
- 17. Select a reporter by popular choice.
- 18. Call for the creation of a headband or bumper sticker.
- 19. Have them punctuate the report with sound effects.
- 20. Challenge them to create a portmanteau.
- 21. Have an individual do a collective report.
- 22. Read their written, flipcharted reports.
- 23. Play devil's advocate to their advocacy.
- 24. Gather supplies and have participants make storyboards.
- 25. Ask them to design a logo for their report.
- Chapter 8: 25 Ways to Get Through Printed Material
- 1. Tell them key words to underline.
- 2. Let them stop after finding two gems.
- 3. Have the group isolate the most important point.
- 4. Catch them off-guard.
- 5. Divide the material into sections.
- 6. Let there be contrapuntal movement.
- 7. Assign reading for homework.
- 8. Allow choices based on your designation of what thematerial covers.
- 9. Have groups do the dividing and titling.
- 10. Assign paragraphs in round-robin fashion.
- 11. Provoke deep thinking.
- 12. Add variety to the two-point theme.
- 13. Have them create headlines.
- 14. Call for outlines of the reading passage.
- 15. Do a mix 'n' match.
- 16. Ask them to develop a test.
- 17. Have them report only new knowledge.
- 18. Have them choose a word or concept from the reading selection and report on it.
- 19. Request prioritized nuggets of information.
- 20. Elicit "fire" analogies.
- 21. Have them create questions.
- 22. Have them express the concept in terms of sports, books, or television.
- 23. Ask them to assign a numerical rating to each paragraph.
- 24. Take an approach from psychology.
- 25. Apply Zipf's Law.
- Chapter 9: 25 Ways to Choose Group Leaders
- 1. Ask about longevity.
- 2. Appoint on another "long" basis.
- 3. Alphabetize their names.
- 4. Celebrate and appoint a leader at the same time.
- 5. Ask who needs the practice.
- 6. Rotate the role.
- 7. Ask for a volunteer.
- 8. Give them a topic related to the course.
- 9. Make an acronymic appointment.
- 10. Place a star on one set of materials per group.
- 11. Use a hiring technique.
- 12. Distribute a list of leadership traits.
- 13. Identify those who have not served.
- 14. Do the usual: Appoint.
- 15. Appoint co-leaders.
- 16. Assign roles.
- 17. Enlist judges to help you choose.
- 18. Experiment: Have a leaderless group.
- 19. Have them make lists.
- 20. Divide and compare.
- 21. Have them vote on you as their leader.
- 22. Use world-famous leaders as exemplars.
- 23. Prevent deep-vein thrombosis, and find a leader in the process.
- 24. Have group members listen and decide.
- 25. Develop their ability to "read" other people.
- Chapter 10: 25 Ways to Fill "Odd" Moments
- 1. Do an assessment.
- 2. Have them walk in a curriculum-designer's shoes.
- 3. Employ metaphoric assessments.
- 4. Utilize a musical comparison.
- 5. Elicit ideas for applying knowledge.
- 6. Have them respond to a parent's or boss's question about what they have learned so far.
- 7. Have them write a "singles ad" to attract others to their school or firm.
- 8. Distribute a sheet of animals from cartoons or a coloring book.
- 9. Stretch them to develop a course definition.
- 10. Have them write sentences with repeated key words.
- 11. Teach vocabulary and a course concept at the same time.
- 12. Skim the material covered, and give an impromptu vocabulary test.
- 13. Play course-charades.
- 14. Use a continuum.
- 15. Use punch lines, phrases, and anecdotes.
- 16. Have them make their own learning profile.
- 17. Give them phobias.
- 18. Use letters of the alphabet.
- 19. Ask for famous-in-the-field bios.
- 20. Elicit improvement ideas.
- 21. Ask them to create ground rules.
- 22. Relate action verbs to the course.
- 23. Use an old standby from IQ tests.
- 24. Develop one-minute teachers.
- 25. Develop course-related brainteasers.
- Chapter 11: 25 Ways to Deal with Reluctant Learners
- 1. Take him aside.
- 2. Pair him with an enthusiastic learner.
- 3. Give a mini-lecture on the importance of learning.
- 4. Give him the choice to leave.
- 5. Ask him, and four others, what aspect of the course would be most appealing.
- 6. Make your expectations clear from the outset.
- 7. Point out that your job is to teach.
- 8. Ask a direct question.
- 9. Try to determine what his problem is.
- 10. Use the "Crawford Technique."
- 11. Give an imaginative assignment.
- 12. Share a personal anecdote.
- 13. Appoint him as leader.
- 14. Share some research.
- 15. Have him hold up signs.
- 16. Use the K-I-N-D approach.
- 17. Confer with colleagues.
- 18. Invite someone important to the class.
- 19. Leave a funny card or note.
- 20. Place relevant quotes around the room.
- 21. Ask about his easiest learning modality.
- 22. Observe him carefully.
- 23. Hand out classroom dollars.
- 24. Switch activities every 15 minutes.
- 25. Give him a chance to prove himself.
- Chapter 12: 25 Ways to Make the Subject Matter Relevant
- 1. Find newspaper articles.
- 2. Have table groups do "brain dumps."
- 3. Lead a discussion.
- 4. Invite a guest speaker.
- 5. Find fascinating factoids.
- 6. Reflect on your own student-experiences.
- 7. Have them make a five-year projection.
- 8. Have them imagine themselves as award recipients.
- 9. Have them list ten negatives often heard in relation to training or schooling.
- 10. Challenge them: What is the most important word (or sentence) in the world of education?
- 11. Appoint a designated listener.
- 12. Distribute skewers or chopsticks.
- 13. Make a game of relevant words.
- 14. Make journalists out of them.
- 15. Turn them into subject-matter-experts (SME's).
- 16. Capitalize on the scrapbooking craze.
- 17. Prepare a time capsule for the next class.
- 18. Have them determine an "oops" moment.
- 19. Call on each person to repeat the objectives.
- 20. Distribute an evaluation form halfway through.
- 21. Explore two types of structure.
- 22. View the course from the eyes of a famous figure.
- 23. Orchestrate a chorus.
- 24. Have them personify a course concept.
- 25. "Columnize" their persona and the way the course impacts it.
- Chapter 13: 25 Ways to Review
- 1. Have them determine MSF's (most significant facts).
- 2. Use an outline.
- 3. Assemble and moderate a panel.
- 4. Pop-quiz them.
- 5. Draw a body on flipchart paper . . .
- 6. Have each one teach one.
- 7. Use forced fits.
- 8. Obtain permission to create a rock garden.
- 9. Create a fill-in-the-blanks letter.
- 10. Have them take an analogy test.
- 11. Twist popular phrases into course-related ideas.
- 12. Use the "been-there/done-that" phrase to review.
- 13. Draw inspiration from the Great Communicator.
- 14. Ask them to connect national issues to the subject at hand.
- 15. Make the review an emotional experience.
- 16. Do list compilations.
- 17. Be the fact-finder and ask them to be the fact-embellishers.
- 18. Use birth order to bring order to the review.
- 19. Ask them to make anonymous admissions.
- 20. Ask them to be lie-detectors.
- 21. Let reporters report review-news.
- 22. Produce a class video.
- 23. Make masks and use them to liven up a review.
- 24. Seek partial if not total recall.
- 25. Have them itemize benefits.
- Chapter 14: 25 Ways to Encourage Participant-Learning After the Course Has Ended
- 1. Write a letter.
- 2. Appoint a scribe to send updates.
- 3. Seek a ten-minute commitment.
- 4. Ask partners to exchange e-mail addresses at the end of the course.
- 5. Call on them to become one-person teachers.
- 6. Have them do an action plan.
- 7. Build a library.
- 8. Set up a schedule for pairs or triads to reconnect with class members.
- 9. Conduct a post-class survey.
- 10. Encourage participants to ask themselves questions.
- 11. Optimize e-feedback.
- 12. Invite them to come up with their own ways to continue the learning after the class is over.
- 13. Encourage journal-keeping.
- 14. Invite participants to visit your Web site or the organization's Web site.
- 15. Extend an invitation to group leaders to make a presentation in the next course.
- 16. Distribute a reading list.
- 17. Use the walls for hanging.
- 18. Arrange informational interviews.
- 19. Develop connections with former students.
- 20. Use completion certificates as bribes.
- 21. Have them create a game board.
- 22. Find a course-related competition.
- 23. Create a hook to entice them to keep on learning.
- 24. Poll the class regarding pedagogical proclivities.
- 25. Collaborate with another instructor.
- Chapter 15: 25 Ways to Encourage Managers, Principals, and Parents to Continue the Learning
- 1. Extend an invitation to the most senior person in the organization.
- 2. Seek funds for an annual consortium.
- 3. Help them find advocates.
- 4. Send a monthly e-newsletter.
- 5. Organize a competition.
- 6. Create a Hall of Fame.
- 7. Start a "concept club."
- 8. Collect loose change and subscribe to a trade journal.
- 9. Make eponyms part of the organizational culture.
- 10. Enlist the aid of others significant in participants' lives.
- 11. Initiate an organizational Kwanza.
- 12. Move into other realms.
- 13. Create a boon box.
- 14. Invite participants and stakeholders to a Serendipi-Tea party.
- 15. Send course-related birthday cards signed by their supervisor or leader.
- 16. Hold a benchmarking meeting.
- 17. Award a prediction prize.
- 18. Make a verbal necklace with pearls of wisdom; get leaders to use or display it.
- 19. Publish a collective poem.
- 20. Get rid of mental and physical white elephants.
- 21. Pave two-way streets via personification.
- 22. Take a hint from secretaries.
- 23. Invite collaboration on M-Proves.
- 24. Use class products as part of new-employee orientation.
- 25. Celebrate Janus, organization-wide.
- Chapter 16: 25 Ways to Develop Study Habits
- 1. Skim the material.
- 2. Make use of typographical aids.
- 3. Interact with the material.
- 4. Use advance organizers.
- 5. Get some sleep.
- 6. Take breaks.
- 7. Snack healthfully and helpfully.
- 8. Visualize.
- 9. Create an environment conducive to learning.
- 10. Record those stray thoughts.
- 11. Make good use of your alarm clock.
- 12. Add variety-spice to your study recipe.
- 13. Schedule a review every 20 minutes.
- 14. Expect discomfort.
- 15. Pep-talk; self-talk.
- 16. Take advantage of chronobiology.
- 17. Make discuss-able notes.
- 18. Make your learning murally visible.
- 19. Deliver a speech to an empty house.
- 20. Do a soundless, sightless review.
- 21. Become a teacher, if only for a day.
- 22. Steal a memory trick from the ancient Greeks.
- 23. Borrow from the Greeks again: Go mnemonic.
- 24. Create a song.
- 25. Make a tape recording.
- Chapter 17: 25 Ways to Conduct Non-Threatening Competition
- 1. Ask groups to decide if they want to engage in competition.
- 2. Reward speed at the end of the day.
- 3. Announce in advance that group membership will change with every assignment.
- 4. Compile a list of daily competitions.
- 5. Exonerate the winners from the homework assignment.
- 6. Extend favored status to every participant.
- 7. Limit the competition.
- 8. Make it real via reality television.
- 9. Use job applications as an example.
- 10. Discuss the origin of the word "competition."
- 11. Take them to Olympian heights.
- 12. Distance yourself from the decision.
- 13. Define "winning" and "losing."
- 14. Use the Ben Franklin columns.
- 15. Tell some "loser" stories.
- 16. Distribute bricks for an educational edifice.
- 17. Conduct informational relay races.
- 18. Use the sumo strategy.
- 19. Have an ongoing series of challenges.
- 20. Encourage comparisons to favorite sports teams.
- 21. Develop self-competition tendencies.
- 22. Draw the name of a group from a hat and issue a challenge.
- 23. Ask them to choose their game preference.
- 24. Give the competition a metaphorical twist.
- 25. Have them create a motto.
- Chapter 18: 25 Ways to Make Take-Home Assignments Relevant
- 1. Have them watch television and draw a parallel to class.
- 2. Give them a choice of a homework-discussion partner.
- 3. Take them one step beyond the reading.
- 4. Have them make a game out of the assignment.
- 5. Have them evaluate the material in a "love-to-hate" vein.
- 6. Have them sum it up in an insect analogy.
- 7. Have them interview the first person they see after class (in a safe setting) regarding the upcoming take-home assignment.
- 8. Make the last thing the first thing on the next day.
- 9. Bring antiques off the road and into the classroom.
- 10. Follow the Hans Selye example: Give choices, give control.
- 11. Elicit anonymous feedback for anonymous reports.
- 12. Use props to help them discuss the assignment and to develop listening skills at the same time.
- 13. Pass out puzzle pieces.
- 14. Elicit freely associated words in relation to the take-home assignment.
- 15. Give them a chance to advocate.
- 16. Make use of the titles that rock their worlds.
- 17. Employ circles to summarize.
- 18. Have them design a greeting card.
- 19. Ask for a midway assessment.
- 20. Give them assessment choices.
- 21. Ask them to write a letter.
- 22. Garner ideas for a survival kit.
- 23. Require them to write two questions.
- 24. Provide materials for creating gems of homework-knowledge.
- 25. Challenge them to start a tradition or establish a legend in relation to the homework assignment.
- Chapter 19: 25 Ways to Think on Your Feet
- 1. Paraphrase.
- 2. Take note (literally) of classroom interactions.
- 3. Watch television—especially political debates.
- 4. Practice by taking the last word spoken and using it to start your own sentence.
- 5. Explain a quote—without hesitating.
- 6. Practice having a questions-only conversation.
- 7. Take a word and make an association.
- 8. Circumvent.
- 9. Define.
- 10. Expand your repertoire of examples.
- 11. Think F-A-S-T.
- 12. Have lines ready for use.
- 13. Practice with odd questions.
- 14. Count backwards.
- 15. Choose a letter and ask for words.
- 16. Toss it back; gain some time.
- 17. Plant red flags.
- 18. Anticipate objections.
- 19. Improve concentration.
- 20. Take ten; give five.
- 21. Elicit prevarications.
- 22. Practice giving impromptu speeches (if only to yourself).
- 23. Expand your vocabulary.
- 24. Create creative lists.
- 25. Use the P-P-F Technique.
- Chapter 20: 25 Ways to Develop Self-Confidence
- 1. Have them describe incremental journeys.
- 2. Ask them to list who's or what's.
- 3. Alter their perspectives.
- 4. Offer leadership opportunities to each participant.
- 5. Develop "autabe" leaders.
- 6. Have them step into the positive (spot) light in which others see them.
- 7. Quote Darwin.
- 8. Develop their confidence by moving from small to large.
- 9. Give them a chance to self-propel.
- 10. Let Friedrich fuel them.
- 11. Assign the reading of a biography.
- 12. Begin emotional self-examinations for them.
- 13. Adopt the "Fish philosophy."
- 14. Have them go from 0 to 10 within hours.
- 15. Express appreciation for hard and soft knocks.
- 16. Have them create their own success-formulas.
- 17. Encourage collective accomplishment.
- 18. Suggest individual projects.
- 19. Write a note to each person.
- 20. Give clues to a mystery to the quietest members.
- 21. Nominate yourself or others for a standing "O."
- 22. Delineate serve-possibilities.
- 23. Compile a list of shatter-able myths.
- 24. Take (and give) lessons from parenting texts.
- 25. Use the government's list of competencies.
- Appendix
- List of Collective Nouns
- Discussion Questions About Feedback
- Sample Grammar Test
- Sample Grammar Test
- Sample Intuition Quiz
- Selected Quotations on Leadership
- Thought-Provoking Proverbs
- Sample Letters of Commendation
- A Training Checklist
- About the Author
141
Chapter 10
25 Ways to Fill “Odd” Moments
Chapter Overview
They used to be called “sponge” activities: those fillers that can be used when you have a few minutes
left before lunch, before breaks, or before dismissal, as well as after a large chunk of material has been
covered, after a break when you need to transition back to the subject mater, or after a video has been
shown. You can also use them when some of the students have finished working and others are sitting
there waiting for them to finish. Call the faster workers together and do a sponge activity with them.
The word “sponge” is most appropriate, by the way, because the majority of these exercises can be
expanded or contracted, depending on the amount of time you wish to allocate to them.
1.
D
o an assessment.
This assessment will test participants’ knowledge of the subject matter at any point during the
course: Following the presentation of a discrete concept or learning module, distribute small
scraps of paper. Ask each participant to write one word on the paper that reflects their
comprehension of the concept presented: “Little”; “Half”; or “Total.” Have someone tally the
results. If the results show that the majority understood only a little or a half of the material,
assign one “Total” teacher to small groups of “Little” and “Half” participants. Have those who
wrote “Total” teach the concept to one or two others.
The student assessment of their comprehension is also an assessment of your approach to that
particular module. If the tally shows that fewer than one-third of the class have a total
understanding of the concept, you should probably re-write the lesson plan.
Brainteaser:
Which mixed-up word does not belong with the others?
1. E I A T L N C R
2. T T H G P S E A I
3. B M N T R O O E
4. I I O L N V
Answer: 2. Spaghetti. (The others are musical instruments: Clarinet, Trombone, and Violin.)
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