I used popsicle sticks in my classroom all the time. I used them during math, during social studies, during reading– you name it. If there were a large number of students, I had a use for popsicle sticks. Here’s what I did. First, I wrote each child’s name on a stick, then color-coded the tip of each stick– one color for boys, one color for girls:
Then I put them all in a jar, mixed them up, and voila! I just created one of my most frequently-used teaching tools. What could you possibly do with this jar of names? Well, I’m so glad you asked!
1. Randomly select students. Like, ACTUALLY randomly select students. You might think you’re pretty good about random selection, but I have a feeling that we are not always as random as we think. I know I can’t help but factor lots of little things into my student selection– who looks more eager (or not), who probably knows the answer (or doesn’t), who gets along with whom, who is shy and doesn’t like to be called on, etc. But sometimes you really want random selection– to make groups, to make pairs, to keep students on their toes during a game, etc. and this is a quick, easy, and effective way to do it.
2. Make pairs quickly. If you need to pair off students quickly, use your jar of names. You can quickly make boy-girl pairs without thinking too hard about it. You also get a lot less whining from students because they know you just grabbed their names out of the jar, and that it wasn’t anything personal. Sometimes I let students choose their own partners, but there have been a good number of times when unexpected pairs happen and unexpected friendships are formed. It’s a beautiful thing.
3. Make groups quickly. Most of us have our students seated into table groups, but sometimes you want to change things up. Use your jar to quickly and easily make groups with the same number of girls and boys. Like the pairing situation, I am often surprised to see how wonderfully some classmates get along. They may never have exchanged a word before the popsicle-stick grouping, but they become more friendly afterward.
4. Play games. I did games like Jeopardy in my classroom (a complicated but fun version). Part if it involved randomly choosing students to select a question to answer. Using the popsicle sticks kept everyone on their toes and also helped me make sure everyone in the class was called on. After pulling out a stick, I would put it in the discard pile. This way, I was sure to go through everyone in the class at some point. To keep them on their toes, I would sometimes pull a name from the discard pile, so everyone was always ready to go!
Random note on Jeopardy– I made an extra rule that everyone in the class had to be privately writing the answer down on their whiteboards. If the person answering the question got it wrong, then I would immediately pull another stick and allow a classmate to try to be their “lifeline” and save them. If their whiteboards were blank, however, I wouldn’t take their response. This ensured that everyone always had incentive to stay engaged and work on every problem– not just the person that was selected to answer the question. (I know. I am too thorough. This is why I called it a “complicated” version of Jeopardy!)
5. Correct papers quickly. In a recent post, I talked about having students correct their own papers. One way to speed up this process is to use popsicle sticks to randomly call on students to provide answers, rather than waiting for volunteers to raise their hands. I wouldn’t always randomly call on students to give answers in class– it can add too much anxiety for students who don’t understand the material. However, for correcting homework, it’s usually okay: First of all, everyone has already thought it through. Secondly, everyone has the answer right in front of them already, so unless they really didn’t get it or didn’t do their homework, everyone should be comfortable answering. Thirdly, I frequently show the answer on the projector anyway, so if they were not comfortable reading off their own answer, they could always look up and use mine. The point isn’t to force them to share their answer, but to keep everyone on their toes, quickly following along as we move from one answer to the next.
6. Raffles and giveaways. Maybe you want to give away something and it doesn’t need to be based on behavior/raffle tickets. Use the jar of names to select students at random!
I hope I have convinced you that having a random name generator is a useful tool. It helps lessen the feeling that you are playing favorites (say, when you have to send someone to the office to pick up something and every hand goes up). It can help speed things up a lot since thinking up pairs or groups can be slower (and also invite whining). It also helps you keep track of students you have already chosen and still need to choose, such as when you’re doing a game where you want to make sure everyone has a turn.
It’s at 5-minute project that will definitely save you more than five minutes of time and brainpower over the year!
7 responses to “How to Save Time (and Keep Students Engaged) with Popsicle Sticks”
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Love it! As you know I teach 12-13 year old girls at church each week. But I also started a music class (for fun and to get Jaylee into music) for children 5 years and under. I swear… every time you post you give me new ideas to find ways to spice up my classes. Although I don’t deal with a huge class or anything like what you dealt with, I can almost always adapt the amazing ideas you suggest to something I’m doing. So THANK YOU seriously. PLEASE keep doing your blog. You amaze me!
Aww YAAYY!! Music class!!! That sounds like so much fun! I’m so, so happy to hear the stuff I’m sharing inspires and helps you! Woohoo! Thanks for dropping a note :D.
Yes, thanks for posting!! But what do you do when you don’t have an equal number of boys and girls? I’m convinced by your system, please tell me more!! 😉
I just make things as even as I can, and end up with some that are not boy-girl pairs. But at least this way, even that is randomized? =)
Just curious because I’m interested in the subject of gender and kids: can you elaborate on why you sometimes need the color-coding of boys vs. girls? Why do you sometimes choose to tip the drawing in one direction or the other? If you were to draw pairs truly at random, without considering the gender, wouldn’t you have a more natural blend of boy/boy, girl/girl, boy/girl pairs? Thanks!
Hi Camille,
Yep, I frequently pair students up by just pulling two sticks out of the jar without looking, so it’s a whole variety of combinations. I can’t really think of a situation right now where I’d really want boy-girl pairs.
The colors are more useful when I’m trying to quickly make two teams for games or quick groups for an activity and I want a roughly balanced group of boys and girls.
Got it, thanks for your response!