• Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to footer
Swivl

Swivl

  • Products
    • Teams
    • Robot
  • Store
  • Resources
    • Support
    • Professional Learning
    • Blog
    • Events
    • Educator Hub
  • Request Consult
  • Login
  • Reflection
  • Coaching
  • News and Updates

Cementing Student Learning with Messy Play

March 24, 2016 By Brian Lamb1 Min Read

As a kid, returning to class after recess only to find out I’d be going back outside for a lesson was exciting every single time. It was usually for a science experiment, and there was always a mess (intended or not). It made learning even more fun.

That’s what AO.com is doing with Month of Mess challenge. Messy play helps young students in their early years of development by teaching them important life skills (e.g., communication, social behavior, creativity, problem solving, etc.). It forces students to interact with the world around them in a way that can be fun and familiar, while furthering a lesson.

Get Messy: Fossil Hunting with Your Students

If you’re searching for ways to get your students out of the classroom to continue learning, try fossil hunting. But don’t just hunt for the fossils—make them! Here’s how:

  1. Purchase or make a plaster or clay for making fossils (recommendations)
  2. Collect specimens for fossilization
  3. Make fossils
  4. Bury fossils
  5. Go hunting

When the fossils are back in the classroom, have your students match their fossil to the specimen used to make it. Then, have each student reflect on the entire process and what he or she learned.

Once everyone’s hands are clean, try using the new student video response and reflection app Recap. Create questions for your students and Recap will prompt them to capture their responses on video. For students who haven’t yet developed strong writing skills, Recap makes it easy to gather a snapshot of every students’ level of understanding.

Inspiration

Primary Sidebar

Topics

blended learning classroom observations classroom video coaching culture curriculum implementation distance learning feedback hybrid learning Learning Loss methodology More Conversations new teachers peer collaboration Power of Connections reflection relationship-building Relationship Loss Relationships remote learning Robot Robots Sessions social-emotional learning solution Special Education students Swivl Webinar teachers Teams tech tips user story video coaching videos

You May Also Like

Reflection Is Energizing When Paired with Absorption

Making reflection easy?

Four instructional coaches explain why reflection is essential for teacher growth

Footer

  • Support
  • Order Status
  • Accessories Store
  • About
  • Higher Ed
  • Early Childhood Education
  • Special Education
  • Social Emotional Learning
  • New Teacher Programs
  • Videos
  • Downloads
  • Press
  • Security
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Contact Us
  • U.S. 1-888-837-6209
  • Swivl Logo