MAGIC NUMBER
When Linda Turner of Jacksonville, Fla., gives a quiz to her math classes, she sometimes
announces a special number, which is the sum of the answers to all the problems. If the
answers are integers, her students get added practice in operations with signed numbers;
and if the answers are fractions, finding a common denominator is an extra challenge. The
magic number keeps the bright students occupied until the rest of the class has had a
chance to complete the quiz; students who get it wrong know to go back and check their
work, and those who get it right are excited to know they have a perfect paper.
NATURE WALK
After a nature walk--asking them to write down everything they remembered seeing, hearing,
smelling and touching. A small prize was given for the longest list and another to the
list with the most unusual observations. The second time on the trail, her class expected
a quiz and the lists became longer, more detailed and descriptive. "My young writers
have sharpened observation skills and used all five senses" to better communicate,
she says.
WIPED OUT
Third-grade teacher Jean Rizi of Cleveland, Ohio, hates dirty desktops, and her cure for
this is a box of baby wipes. Five minutes before the end of the day, she gives a baby wipe
to her students to use to clean their desks of stray marks and glue globs. "The desks
look and feel great--and smell nice, too."
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