Last year the cup stack was one of my FAVORITE team building activities (see post here). So, naturally, I wanted to give it another shot! The Cup Stack is a fun, yet challenging activity that promotes team work. The supplies are basic: cups, string, rubber bands. I go ahead and tie the string to the rubber bands so it is ready to go. I make a few for groups of 4 and a few for groups of 5, this way no matter what the numbers are in the classroom I can make it work. I start by asking students what teamwork is. What does it look like? sound like? feel like? We brainstorm a list of ideas that I hang in the classroom for students to refer to. Each class comes up with a variety of ideas, but they all center around the same theme. Then I introduce their challenge. I start off my admitting that this will be a frustrating activity. We discuss ways to handle our stress and feelings that arise when others make a mistake or don't do what we want them to do. I model that they will each be given 6 cups and a rubberband with strings attached to it. Their job is to stack the cups into a design by only holding onto their individual string. I demonstrate that when everyone pulls on their string the rubberband opens wider, and vice versa. I also show them the challenges of picking up a cup that has tipped on its side or fallen on the floor. No matter what happens, they must follow the one rule: YOU CAN ONLY TOUCH YOUR STRING. No touching the rubber band, no touching the cup, and no touching other group member's strings. I reinforce how communication is so important in order to reach the goal. Then I set them off. Here are some videos and pics. After about 10-15 minutes, we pause and reflect on our experiences. I ask them to rate their group on how well they worked together using the ideas we wrote at the beginning of the lesson. I ask them what went well for their group. I also ask them what didn't go well for their group. We talk about different strategies and ways we an handle ourselves when things don't go the way we want them to. Throughout the activity I walk around and facilitate positive communication, so I usually have a few examples to help springboard the discussion.

I did this research on the "Seed OF Life" for my Jurnal. Original Artwork By Me. Part of "Fertility Prayer" This… by gabchik

Geometry resources for teaching and learning mathematics. Fun and visual resources for maths teachers and kids.

Revision notes on Parts of a Circle

Operations with Polynomials Worksheet. Operations with Polynomials Worksheet. Operations with Polynomials Worksheet

5 Ways to use GIFs in Math Class (Or any class really!): More than a picture, but less than a video, and loads of fun of course! Come see how I use GIFs in my math class!

difference of squares - quadratics

Phibonacci, or actually, Fibonacci, was a man once known as Leonardo of Pisa in Italy around the 13th century A.D. Today we know this name, and the associated Greek letter ø or "Phi", in relation to the spiraling sequence of numbers that form a 'golden spiral'. I recently learned there are silver and bronze spirals

APRENDIZAJES ESPERADOS • Conocer las fórmulas para calcular el área del círculo y de sus partes notables. • Conocer l...

The Pythagorean theorem can be extended to any number of dimensions. In 2D space, the Pythagorean theorem gives us the length of the diagonal of a rectangle. It turns out, a simple modification (addi…

"Cheat sheets" always helped me in school. Being a visual learner, they were a quick and easy way to memorize a lot of information in a short amount of time. Here are a list of my favorite

Fibonacci sequence is found by adding the previous two numbers of the sequence together. Have you spotted this in nature?

All these beautiful photographs were taken by other Flickr members. Their photostreams are linked to below. Please check out the full size photo for maximum enjoyment. All these photos are the property of the photographers linked to below. Enjoy. 1. St. Stephen's Basilica Stairway, 2. dSIGN, 3. Glory, 4. up stairs, 5. Spirograph, 6. The Shape of Things to Come, 7. Gazebo Spiral, 8. Chinese Gardens - Pagoda Spiral Staircase (top down), 9. Spiraling Stairs, 10. Spiral stair, 11. Slipping Chocolate, 12. Lighthouse spiral staircase from below, 13. The Tulip Stairs, 14. Lookin' down, 15. Spiral Staircase., 16. Spiral Clocktower - Escher Droste Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Here is one of my favourite blogs from my website which is essentially a library of gold nuggets and is just my… by sebastianjago

Are you looking for some real world practice to teach the Pythagorean Theorem? This set of Pythagorean Theorem practice is a great way to help kids see its importance and relevance in life. Kids do well with math problems that they can relate to, or at least ones that would make sense in their worldviews. This post shares some understanding of what it means and how to apply it to solve problems.

Mark Parisi is a 59-year-old cartoonist born in New England, and is the creator of his own comic series called "Off the Mark." His comics revolve around good-hearted humor, visual gags, and jokes that stem from witty observations. In these dark times, where everything may offend everyone, the comics provide people with lightness and smiles.