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Community Builders

  • I hate the term icebreaker. It makes everyone groan - better think about my favorite color, food, and animal so I can get this over with...

  • The idea behind an icebreaker is a good one - it is really all about building community. We can't build a community if we don't know anything about each other.
 
  • The problem with most icebreakers is that the questions we ask and the answers we get are superficial, boring, or just tell us very little about the person answering.

  • Here's the good news - we can build better getting to know you and community building activities that serve many purposes at once.
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  • And, we don't just have to do icebreakers at the start of a course, we can do them continually - building community is a process.
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  • We will be doing several getting to know you activities this summer. I want you to think about the way these activities are constructed - the purpose(s), the outcomes, and what it feels like to be a part of them.
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Middle School Memory Walk

  • It demos an important activity/lesson.
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  • It puts us all in the right frame of mind to teach middle schoolers.
 
  • It reminds us of some important details to remember when teaching.
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  • Even if you did it last summer, your answers will likely change.

Agenda

Fill out the first row (10 mins)
(returners - you can also answer in regard to what you noticed with students last summer)

Share out
  • With a partner (5 mins)
  • Whole group share (10 mins)

Fill out the second row (10 mins)

Share out
  • New partner (5 mins)
  • Whole group share (10 mins)

Partner Discussion (10 mins)
  • With your last partner - based on what you wrote and what others said during discussion - come up with a list of at least 5 things that will be important for you to remember/do this summer (let's look at my examples)

  • Finish early? Why are these things important and how will you do them?

  • Group share - each group will pick their most important/favorite to share
middle_school_memory_walk_2026.pdf
File Size: 144 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
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Pedagogy Reflection (20 mins)
  • What did I do during this lesson that you might use in your own classroom? - Take out your pedagogy list we are creating
 
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Black Out Poems

  • A type of found poem

  • To create a found poem, we gather another creator’s words and rearrange them to create a new poem of our own

  • In a black out poem, take any page of any text, select words and phrases in order and black out the text around it to leave a poem on the page
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  • Illustrate the page however you wish.
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  • Pedagogy list
Instructions
  • We will be using passages from the three books students will be reading this summer.

  • Select the passage of your choice. Read the passage. On the back of the passage/blank answer the questions about the passage, then do your blackout poem.
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  • Create a black out poem that expresses something about you (your identity, beliefs, values, thoughts, feelings, etc.). It can be as long or short as you want.

  • Use the supplies to illustrate on the poem in any way that you choose

  • We will share out these poems and then talk about the activity in terms of pedagogy.
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  • How might you be able to translate this kind of activity into your own classroom/subject.
Poems in picture above:
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1. You can be what you want

2. Darkness spread where it touched and stars clear the fear
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