6309 SW Capitol Highway, Portland OR, 97239
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In working with the students at Bridlemile Elementary’s after-school electives class today, and the 4’s and 5’s class at the Westside Academy, Sifu Wally pulled out two classic kid’s games (most likely both stolen from our teacher, Sifu Kyle Alexander) that work to develop focus and incentive to participate in classwork at a high level.
For the elder group it was “Students vs. The Teacher.” I couldn’t even begin to recall how many times I must have used this one as a classroom teacher, but turns out it likewise works like a charm with a large, been-in-school-all-day-and-it’s gorgeous-outside group of 2nd-5th grade novices (whom we will only meet with once a week for a six week stretch). I got to play scorekeeper. Students were run through a series of progressively harder review drills, and if any number of kids lost their focus (or moaned and groaned, splayed their bodies out on the floor, engaged their peers in side conversations e.g.) Sifu Wally earned a point. If students executed all the challenges with grace and focused effort, they as a team earned a point. Final score today? Bridlemile students 15, Sifu Wally 5~Sifu ran a really hard class, and I was being a really tough judge too!
For the youngers, the game was “Victory Lap,” where Sifu Wally and I took turns seeking out students who were doing an especially strong job in executing technique, and giving them permission to take a victory lap, or run the pylon-marked track laid out around the perimeter of the training floor. This one I’d not seen before, but to me it seemed especially effective for our most reticent students, whose confidence appeared to rise with every additional lap they ran.
Bottom line, we got through a lot of material in both classes today, and student participation and attention to detail was at an all-time high! Also, the kids had a blast with it, and were run ragged by the end. What parent can object to that?