Want to Boost Classroom Participation? This Easy Creative Curriculum Activity Will Get You Started
Here’s an arts-based tool to empower every voice!
It’s the first day of school. The bell rings and in the first moments of class, you can tell who the talkers and non-talkers are going to be for the year. So often, those first few days of school establish patterns in our classrooms that stick the whole year. When you ask questions, the same 4 or 5 hands go up. Or maybe you use a management tool like popsicle sticks labeled with students' names to ensure you are hearing from everyone during the day, but you notice the non-talkers are still hesitant to share.
For some students, sharing ideas and thoughts comes easily. For some others, though, it’s terrifying. Speaking up in class in front of peers means taking a risk. Students may fear saying the wrong thing, dislike the sound of their voice, feel nervous about sharing in a non-native language, or shy away from accepting the attention of the class. But we know that students have to learn to speak confidently in order to succeed in life. Even people in the most individually-based jobs have to be successful speakers in job interviews and report to bosses.
So, how can we help students build comfort in interacting with each other?
Use a creative curriculum tool in the arts!
Here’s an active discussion starter that helps build the foundation needed for eventual arts integration work. With this strategy, you can expect students to
Personalize their response to a teacher-given prompt
Share their written ideas anonymously
Read and report out others’ ideas
Build connections with other students
And maybe, just maybe, have FUN!
Here’s how it works.
Active Discussion Starter - Grades K-12 - SNOWBALL
Teacher Preparation
The teacher should decide on a prompt or several prompts for students to respond to.
Student Preparation
Students should have a slip/ piece of paper and something to write with.
Instructions
Introduce the lesson. Today you’ll be making snowballs out of this paper! Remind students about classroom boundaries and expectations. You should also address that this is a team activity, and set your expectations about how the teams will work together.
Give the prompt. The teacher announces a question for students to respond to, like, “What was the best part of summer?” or “What’s your favorite Saturday morning activity?” or “What’s one thing you want to learn in this class?”
Students respond by writing the answer on their slip of paper. Then, they ball it up like a tiny snowball.
Snowball! Now, the fun part-- students throw their snowballs toward the center of the room. (Who doesn’t love to throw things in class!?) Then, they retrieve a snowball that is not theirs, open it up, and share it with the class. Simple as that!
Snowball is a creative curriculum tool and is very adaptable to interdisciplinary learning. Apply Snowball to any Georgia Standards of Excellence.
In math, allow students to write numbers, snowball the numbers and then practice math facts with different functions.
In science, ask students to describe an animal, rocks, etc. and have them classify the animal.
In ELA, practice writing parts of speech (like, everyone write an adjective) and have them practice writing sentences with their snowball answer.
In social studies, have them write characteristics of the Regions of Georgia or parts of a map.
Or have students use different colors of paper.
Write verbs on blue paper, adverbs on yellow paper, and a noun on pink paper. Use the combination as a story starter!
Write one thing you learned today on blue paper and a question you still have on yellow paper. Use the yellow papers to start tomorrow’s discussion.
Write an external conflict of a character on blue paper and an internal conflict on yellow.
Reflect
Allow students time to reflect on the experience of the lesson. Ask them the following questions:
Think through the subject matter: what answers did you hear today that you did not expect?
Think like an artist: why is it important to share our ideas with other artists?
Think like a teammate: how can Snowball help us collaborate more effectively?
Having students think about the activity in different ways helps their learning stick.
But wait — you have concerns.
Here are some ways we’ve addressed hesitation with Snowball in the past:
My students cannot handle throwing things. They are too wild!
Have students throw their snowball in a basket you are holding as you walk past their desk.
My students are not writers. I teach early elementary.
Have them draw a picture of the prompt. Or choose a picture from a pile of pictures. Or draw/ choose an emoji!
It takes so long to hear from every student. I need to keep them moving!
If there are common answers, have students group themselves based on the answer on the paper. For example, if 8 students wrote “sleeping” as their favorite summer activity, allow the students to move around the room into groups and have all of the “sleeping” answers say it in unison!
They don’t want to read their paper out loud.
Two solutions: either have them tell a partner/ small group their answer and the group reports out, OR incentivize it! When they share the answer in their paper, they get to shoot the snowball basketball-style and the winner gets to be first in line/ not clean up papers/ a sticker or candy/ decide their seat for the rest of the day.
Remember — you are the creative curriculum wiz! Set the boundaries and expectations for your class based on what works for you.
Not only does Snowball give students a low-risk way of sharing ideas (and you can correct the incorrect idea without the student feeling wrong), but it honors a variety of experiences and cultures of students. It allows students to share their classmates’ words, and somehow, by sharing ideas that are not their own, students begin to empathize with someone else’s experience.
Snowball is a great way into active discussions in your classroom, but it may be new for your students too. Try not to expect perfection the first time — just like it takes practice to improve math skills, listening and collaboration take practice too!
Want more support to help develop your creative curriculum and arts integration skills? Contact us to find out more about what the PAIR Program can do for your school!
