MAKE LEARNING MAGICAL!
  • HOME
  • SPEAKING
  • RESOURCES
    • Memorable Beginnings >
      • PlayDough
      • Magical Planning Pages
    • Authenticity & Agency
    • Gamified Experiences >
      • Anywhere Learning Plans
      • The Amazing Race Game Plan Resources
      • The Race to the Golden Ticket
      • Ready Player One
      • The Amazing Food Truck Race
      • The Great Interior Design Challenge
      • The Final Table Challenge
      • Challenge Rubrics
      • Challenge Ideas
      • Kitchen Utensil Race & Other Variations
      • Code Names for the Classroom
      • Badges
    • Innovation
    • Creativity, Curiosity, and Collaboration
    • Authentic Audience
    • Legacy
  • ABOUT ME
  • BLOG
  • BOOK
  • PODCAST
  • T-SHIRTS
  • YOUTUBE
  • RECIPES
    • DESSERTS >
      • Mini Apple Clafouti
    • QUICK BREADS >
      • Dutch Babies
    • CAKES >
      • Southern Caramel Cupcakes
      • Chocolate Lava Cake
      • Chocolate Chip Chiffon Cupcakes
      • Hot Milk Sponge Cake with Broiled Coconut Topping
    • PIES & PASTRIES >
      • Eclairs
      • Pies
      • Puff Pastry
    • YEAST BREADS >
      • Bagels
      • Pullman Loaf
      • Cinnamon Rolls
      • Pretzels
      • Pizza
    • PASTA >
      • Macaroni & Cheese
      • Fresh Pasta
      • Italian Spaghetti Sauce
    • CHICKEN >
      • Chicken Satay
      • Chicken Enchiladas
      • BBQ Chicken Pizza
      • Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos
  • Workshop & Session Resources

BLOG

magical mystery relationship-buildingĀ  tour

8/15/2021

2 Comments

 
Picture
For far too many years I started the first day of the school year reading through the dreaded syllabus and going over classroom rules and procedures. Students would sit politely, but you could almost see their eyes glaze over and all color drain from their face as they feared the worst. Was all days in Mrs. Richmond's class going to be this boring?

I finally wised up and ditched the syllabus on the first day. Instead, I created an engaging and exciting first day activity called Favorite Things, and became intentional about getting to know my student's names and passions the first few weeks of class. I can't emphasize enough what a difference it made on our classroom culture when I made this shift. Students began to feel psychologically safe in my classroom as they got to know me and their peers. It may seem like a big investment at first when there is so much curriculum and content to cover. However, I will tell you from my own experience that when you take the time in the first weeks to prioritize relationships, it will pay dividends for learning in the long run. When students know they are seen and heard, trust you and their peers, and feel safe in their learning environment, they thrive. Nothing is as important in the first few weeks of school than building relationships with your students. 
​

A strategy that worked beautifully for building relationships and a positive, trusting classroom culture was developing an introduction unit that covered the important procedures and basic skills framed with team challenges and mystery badges. For those of you who have read Make Learning Magical, you are going to recognize this as the MasterChef Bootcamp. This is similar, but I've iterated it so that it could be used in any class or grade level. You can use this idea in elementary, middle, or high school and in any content area. Use this strategy as a launching point to creating your own rendition of the magical mystery tour with your students so you can create a classroom this year that is bursting with magical learning!

Magical Mystery Relationship-Building Tour

Directions:
Print the Magical Mystery Badges on card stock as follows:
  • 4 sheets of 100 point badges
  • 3 sheets of 150 point badges
  • 2 sheet of 250 point badges
  • 1 sheet of 300 point badges
  1. Cut badges along lines and place a silver scratch off sticker over each number. 
  2. Mix them up and place in a container or drawstring bag.
  3. The first 2 weeks of class, create an opportunity each day for a team building challenge. It can be a challenge related to learning classroom procedures and routines, getting to know students names and passions, or your content. Keep the challenges fun and light-hearted. Some days it can be a short 10-15 minute activity, and other days a longer one. Mix it up!
  4. Mixing teams each day helps build rapport and classroom culture. Find creative ways to randomly group students to add variety.
  5. Each member of the winning team for each challenge gets to draw Magical Mystery Badges from the container or bag. 
  6. But....wait! They can’t scratch them off just yet! They must hold on to them until the final day of the Magical Mystery Classroom Tour!
  7. To end the tour, have Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles playing as students come in to class. As they enter, hand them a penny for scratching and have them scratch off all their stickers. 
  8. Students with the most points unlock something of your choosing! It could be choice for an upcoming assignment, it may be an incentive that would be desirable for your age of student and classroom, or it could be something tangible!!
The best part is that everyone wins because they are now developing relationships with others in the class and you are getting to know them too! It's amazing how powerful a little mystery and magic in learning can be!! Share your team building activities and renditions of this activity on #MLmagical! I would love to see your classroom magic and ideas!
2 Comments
Lindsay Scurti
8/23/2021 07:03:09 am

This is fabulous! I am just wondering if this is for 1 class of about 30 kids? I have 7 classes, and I am just wanting to know how many I will need to make =) Thank you for sharing!

Reply
Tisha Richmond
8/26/2021 05:54:03 am

Yes, I think this amount should work for a class size of 30! Let me know how it goes!!

Tisha

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Buy Now
    Picture

    Tisha Richmond

    Student Engagement & PD Specialist in Southern Oregon, Canva Learning Consultant, Canva Education Creator, and author of Make Learning Magical. I'm passionate about finding innovative ways to transform teaching and create unforgettable experiences in the classroom.

    Follow me on Twitter!

    Archives

    December 2022
    October 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • HOME
  • SPEAKING
  • RESOURCES
    • Memorable Beginnings >
      • PlayDough
      • Magical Planning Pages
    • Authenticity & Agency
    • Gamified Experiences >
      • Anywhere Learning Plans
      • The Amazing Race Game Plan Resources
      • The Race to the Golden Ticket
      • Ready Player One
      • The Amazing Food Truck Race
      • The Great Interior Design Challenge
      • The Final Table Challenge
      • Challenge Rubrics
      • Challenge Ideas
      • Kitchen Utensil Race & Other Variations
      • Code Names for the Classroom
      • Badges
    • Innovation
    • Creativity, Curiosity, and Collaboration
    • Authentic Audience
    • Legacy
  • ABOUT ME
  • BLOG
  • BOOK
  • PODCAST
  • T-SHIRTS
  • YOUTUBE
  • RECIPES
    • DESSERTS >
      • Mini Apple Clafouti
    • QUICK BREADS >
      • Dutch Babies
    • CAKES >
      • Southern Caramel Cupcakes
      • Chocolate Lava Cake
      • Chocolate Chip Chiffon Cupcakes
      • Hot Milk Sponge Cake with Broiled Coconut Topping
    • PIES & PASTRIES >
      • Eclairs
      • Pies
      • Puff Pastry
    • YEAST BREADS >
      • Bagels
      • Pullman Loaf
      • Cinnamon Rolls
      • Pretzels
      • Pizza
    • PASTA >
      • Macaroni & Cheese
      • Fresh Pasta
      • Italian Spaghetti Sauce
    • CHICKEN >
      • Chicken Satay
      • Chicken Enchiladas
      • BBQ Chicken Pizza
      • Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos
  • Workshop & Session Resources