Last week, my 5th grade group took on the Marshmallow Challenge. 20 spaghetti noodles, 1 yard of tape, 1 yard of string and a marshmallow are all they get to attempt to build the tallest, freestanding tower to support their marshmallow. It is the second year I have begun the year with my 5th grade math group with this activity so I think we have begun a new tradition. Why do I love it? First, it is a great way to begin to build our community of learners. Building a marshmallow tower is impossible to do by yourself. The students begin to see how important teamwork is from day one of our time together. Another reason I love it is it isn't easy! Ultimately this time, only one of our groups managed to get a tower to stand and support their marshmallow after 18 minutes. Gifted students (as a general rule) like to succeed - don't we all?! One group this year set a new record - the shortest tower ever - when their marshmallow tower fell over and bent lower than the table (we officially recorded the height as a negative number! !) This activity creates an opportunity for the students to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. Perseverance to a task is a great life skill, and this challenge begins setting that expectation in my classroom from the beginning. And, of course, it is a great way to start the year simply because it is FUN. Shouldn't students want to come to a school environment that is challenging but allows room for mistakes and yet is fun? Check out the photos page of the website for all of the pictures from our challenge.
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Tracey BeanWerner Elementary Archives
May 2018
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