Search online for some advisory ideas and activities and share them with your classmates. These can be projects or simple activities.
In your other class, I am sure you have talked about how rapidly adolescent's bodies change. There are a couple of ways you can document that growth at the beginning of the year that really makes an impact at the end of the year. I would use these activities at the beginning of the year when I was getting to know my students and creating a sense of community. The first is to have students measure each other's heighth with a string. Cut the string, wind it up and tape it and label with students' names. At the end of the year have them cut a new string measuring their heighth and compare it with the first string. It is one thing to say "I've grown 4 inches--eventhough they know what an inch is--it is surprising when they see the visual representation of their growth. You can do the same type of thing by taking a picture of them next to a poster on the wall and compare how tall they were based on the poster.
This is just a quick and easy activity - there are a lot of resources to use for advisory. If you come across a really good site, include the url.
One advisory activity I found is called the Trust Walk. It's an activity where you split your group into teams of two and in each team one person gets a blindfold to wear and while the other person gets to lead their partner around the school or classroom by hand or by verbal cues. Then when one round is done, the students switch roles.
ReplyDeleteThis activity is good for middle schoolers because it gives them a chance to learn to trust their teammates and to learn how to give/follow directions. This is beneficial when it comes to working in teams whether in the school or job atmosphere later in life.
My idea for advisory was to have a doorway that you take yarn and weave it back and from from jamb to jamb securing it with tape creating a spiders web look. You would then need some kind of a floor mat for the bottom of the doorway for protection. Depending on the size of your group, you need to get everyone through from one side to the other only using the hole once. It would take teamwork and everyone would have to work together. Student size is usually always an issue, but coming together as a team and getting a good plan can bring a group together very fast. Success is the goal, but this is a great learning experience of being a team player and that everyone has different strengths.
ReplyDeleteSomething I used to do with groups in the outdoor field, especially when my goal was focused on team building, was playing The Name Game. All students sit in a circle. It might be fun to have everyone sitting on the floor, indian style, while in a classroom. The first person says his/her name with the addition of an adjective like "jovial Jenny". The next person in the circle must pay attention so he/she can remember jovial Jenny's name and then add his/her own name plus an adjective. The game continues around the circle until the last person must recall every person's name/adjective who went before him/her. It sounds challenging, but it's really not. I've gone last many times and after having heard every person's name 10 or 15 times you tend to remember.
ReplyDeleteAn activity I found online is entitled "If You Had a Magic Wand". A wand of some sort is passed around the room to each person who must name something about him or herself that he or she would change if he or she had a magic wand. Self-depricating? Yes, but a good way to provoke honest conversation if it's a safe environment.
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ReplyDeleteAn activity I found online was one that originated on Facebook called "25 Random Things" in which students post random facts about their interests and personalities. When doing this in a classroom, I would have the students write them and then share them verbally with the class, after which I would post them on a bulletin board for their fellow students to see. I think this activity would work because middle school students love to talk about themselves and also the fact that it started on Facebook is a major selling point that a teacher can use to spark interest in the activity.
ReplyDeleteSomething that I found was called Pressure Role Play. This is a very good way to see through the eyes of other students, whether it is the person pressuring or the one getting pressured. This is done very simply by having situations laid out and the students have to act them out in what they believe to be the right way. This could be the difference between a student starting to drink alcohol or drugs and overcoming the obstacle. I found this at http://www.ehow.com/way_5314974_middle-school-advisory-activities.html for anyone who wants to look.
ReplyDeleteWe talk about character a lot in school, but what does that really mean? What is a person of character? What traits do they show on a daily basis? The following is designed as a discussion activity with personal reflection at the end.
ReplyDeleteWhat is a person of character? Create a definition as a group.
Can you name any famous people that you would consider to be a person of character? What makes them a person of character?
Can you name any real life people that you would consider to be a person of character? What makes them a person of character?
For the following activities, you can use this sheet to guide the conversation.
Create a T chart and write Trustworthiness at the top with a DO and DON'T column. Have students generate ideas about what you should do to promote trustworthiness and what you shouldn't do.
Make a T chart for the other pillars and follow the same instructions as above: respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, citizenship
Print out enough copies for your advisory of this character rubric sheet. Have them fill it out individually and then have a discussion about what they need to work on.
An activity I found is called the bucket filler, but it is better for grades 4 or 5 than 6,7, & 8. This activity involves giving every student a bucket that they fill a little more everytime they do something kind for someone else or the class. Students' buckets are emptied when they are unkind to students. The teacher is given a decreative bucket for the class of the room that students can put in notes of saying kind or unkind things they have seen.
ReplyDeleteI think this would work for middle school because they students respond to positive reinforcement, so if they do something kind and are acknowledged for it they may want to do it more. It can also help with bullying problems.
I found this activity at http://www.character.org/lessonplans
An activity I found is called question cards. The students at this age have a hard time asking questions or discussing certain topics because they embarrass easily. One way to help discussion is to pass out index cards to students. They are to write a question on the cards without writing their name. The cards are collected and shuffled and passed out. The students read the card they were given and the class has a discussion on it. I think this could work for middle school students because it would allow them to ask questions anonymously in order to keep them feeling comfortable and not embarrassed. I think it will help to bring up discussion topics of issues going on in the students lives and can help you as a teacher understand the problems students are having.
ReplyDeleteI found this activity at http://www.ehow.com/way_5314974_middle-school-advisory-activities.html
The activity I found online is called 'Who are You' All you need for this activity is a foam ball. You start by having the students form a circle. Each student will say their name and then toss the ball to another student. Each student can only get the ball once (thus, the student’s have to pay attention). Once they have done that, have student’s say the name of someone in the circle and then toss the ball to that person. Again, each person gets the ball only once. Once they seem to know everyone’s name, the teacher can time them. Give them time to talk about strategy to see if they can “beat” their previous time. (Eventually, they will figure out to go in a circle). After they complete the circle you want to discuss with them the process for improving their time. This activity needs teamwork so it will get the students working together and help them learn each others names. To add to this, if the group is small enough you could have the students say one thing about themselves to let their peers get to know something about them. The website is www.middleschoolmatters.com. It has a whole bunch of useful information on it besides just advisory activities.
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