Though I’ve maintained an entirely lax seating policy this year, I told them I was bored with the configuration, which had been constant since August. I told them to pack up, go outside, and wait near the door.
I walked outside and tossed out some mental arithmetic:
- What’s 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1?
- What’s 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1?
- How many quarters are in $7.50?
- What is the only state that grows coffee?
As students tossed hands up and answered questions correctly, I let them grab a friend and pick any seat inside.
As far as meaningful assessment goes, I doubt Bloom would approve. As far as seating selection goes, it’s my favorite.
[meekly pickpocketing my high school math teacher, Sid Bishop]
10 Comments
Jenny
January 29, 2008 - 5:32 pm -What is the only state that grows coffee? Don’t leave us hanging!
Nancy
January 29, 2008 - 5:46 pm -Ben Bloom would like it—knowledge, comprehension and application to answer the question; synthesis and analysis to choose the person they wanted to sit by and evaluation–“where to sit so Mr. Meyer doesn’t call on me all the time?”….and all on the fly.
Tim
January 29, 2008 - 5:59 pm -I love it! I need to work on a language arts version.
dan
January 29, 2008 - 8:15 pm -Jenny: Hawaii.
mathmom
January 29, 2008 - 10:48 pm -Hawaii?
mathmom
January 29, 2008 - 10:49 pm -oops, you beat me to it (by hours it looks like, though that answer only popped up here after I entered mine, really!)
dan
January 29, 2008 - 10:58 pm -You’re still a winner.
ken
January 30, 2008 - 7:00 am -For those in LA:
– Provide an example of onomatopoeia.
– What is a pangram?
– What are the four words in the English language that end in ‘-dous’?
– What are the minimum parts of speech needed in a prepositional phrase?
dan
January 30, 2008 - 7:20 am -Yeah, that’s good stuff.