100 Starburst Candy Drop

I know it has been awhile since my last post but with a new baby, life gets pretty busy. Here is a reflection on something I did with my tutoring students last Thursday. 

I love Starburst candy chews! I actually came up with an idea to have some fun with my tutoring group using them. 

There was a game show about 4 years ago called, "The Million Dollar Money Drop" hosted by actor and comedian Kevin Pollak. The premise was that two contestants, usually connected in some way, were given $1,000,000 to start the game and were given 7 multiple choice questions. As each round progressed the questions get harder and the choices get less and less. 

For example, Round 1 they are given a question and 4 answer choices. Then in Round 2, they are given a question and 3 possible answers and so forth until the 4th round where they are given a question and only 2 possible answers. For each question, they have to shift their money around to the answer they think is correct or if they are not sure, they can do multiple answers. They have to leave one answer choice empty if they decide to do more than 1 answer. With 4 choices, they can fill 3, 3 they can fill 2 and so on..

Now the fun part, as answers are revealed, if they put money on any incorrect answer, they lost that amount of money. If they lose all their money, the game is over. 

So, I decided to use this concept with the kids that I tutor at the Boys and Girls Club. I got some questions, some Starburst candies and got everything set up. 

I arrived on Thursday and explained the rules and they were eager to get started. They had to work together as a group (there were 4 kids today, usually I have 5) and I counted out 100 Starburst candies and started asking questions. 

I would like to say they got every question correct, but this was not the case but it was fun watching them try to decide on answers and moving all those candies around (good thing they are individually wrapped). 

They lost the whole pile a few times but I gave them second chances on some of the questions and at the end I gave them some Starburst as a consolation prize. I may do this again with them but we will see.

Making a List and Checking it Twice

             

 (4th Grade)

      Today’s product spotlight is actually two products. Here are a couple checklists for introducing Common Core Standards. 

 We have a 3^rd and 4^th grade list available for download for a dollar each! 

          

    These easy-to-use checklists allow you to enter a date and see at a glance when you introduced or covered a standard in an easy-to-read format. 

    It is always a good idea to make sure that you are always ready to give an account for when you covered a particular standard in your classroom to your principal or Director of Educational Services. Check them out today!

(3rd Grade)

No Talking...Just Kidding

          Today’s product spotlight is about my “No Talking Book Study”. 

It is based on Andrew Clements book, No Talking, which centers on a group of fifth grade students at Laketon Elementary School who decide to have a contest to see who can talk less, boys or girls. They develop rules and the contest begins but as they will find, it comes at a price in some cases.

            This book study includes 16 pages of comprehension questions, vocabulary and extension activities to make sure that you and your students are getting the most out of the book. You could use this for small intervention groups, guided reading or even whole class read-aloud.

            You could also challenge your class to try the “no talking” experiment that the students of Laketon Elementary went through. It could lead to a better appreciation of all the words we waste in order to get our point across. Have fun!