Forum

'Tis the season…and here in Tahoe, we're getting lots of snow, so I'm thinking "snowball"
This is a great reflective practice strategy – to check on skills, assess one another's work, and get feedback, in general.
Choose topics that are sequential.
For example: For the first round, have each student write a topic sentence; after they "snowball", have students each read the topic sentence on the paper they have retrieved, and then write a sentence to detail the topic sentence…and so one – when finished, there should be some good examples of a four sentence paragraph…or not? Then you know what to do about that?! (…why this is a 'reflective practice')
Good topics for this are: math equations (great for order of operations); creative writing (story starters); vocabulary (definition, part of speech, synonym/antonym, and use in a sentence); steps in conflict resolution;, etc. Lots of possibilities.
Warning!: This strategy can be loud and active! If you do not have good classroom management, then the content you are using might be lost on the behaviors you must manage. Set this up for success by having verbal/aural cues for crumpling, tossing, retrieving…the snowballs. I recommend that you do NOT allow snowballs to be thrown anywhere but at a specific target – like an empty trashcan in the middle of the room.
Don't forget to reflect on the content, the agreements (behavior) and the personal experience.
Enjoy!