I may not be teaching in the garage anymore. In fact, I am not even in the school with that garage space. However, some activities that I utilized during those years still have a lot of value to me in my new space. While I find that every year I recreate so much, some things are just meant to be used again and again. Let’s talk Tick Tack Treat.
As a team, we have been discussing the need for our students to reimagine group work. After a solid year hiatus, we decided to use advisory as a space to talk about community and meaningful collaboration. We started the conversation by having the boys look at the Yardsticks pages about adolescents ages 12 and 13. The boys read these pages and were asked to note things that they wish their parents, teachers, and peers were aware of. They began to see how things change physically, cognitively, and socially over time and relate to how this might affect them daily. This allowed them space to reflect on how they have changed as individuals and students.
Following that discussion, we got started with Tick Tack Treat. To be honest, I had hopes early on that they were going to start working together. But, after 30 minutes we had to point on the obvious - A Win-Win mentality is THE way to go. This video put things in perspective and was a fun debrief tool. This activity is a great tool for all ages!