Light Bulb: Now the Room is Brighter

Ever had a "light bulb" go off with a thought, wished a person would stop so you could ask questions or wish the instructor would get the move on because you got the "point".  I am sure we have all had those moments as well as our students.  Here is an idea for your classroom:  You will need small solo cups - red, yellow, green and white, a set of each color for your students.  Number the groups of cups (classroom management inventory, helps you keep up with the cups. Assign each student a set of cups to be responsible to take care of).  Each student will have a set at their desk.  You will need to teach the students how to use the cups which could be done by playing some simple games at the beginning of the school year.  You can also put a visual up on the wall to help promote the use of the cups.  Students will start with the green cup on the top of the stack representing they are ready to learn, they understand a concept or they finished with a task.  The yellow cup represents caution - slow down - might need some assistance - going to fast.  The red cup represents "stop", help is needed. The white cup represents "light bulb" just went on - "I know something about this", "I can see clearly now."  Demonstrate the use of the cups by giving the students situations that may occur in class. Example:  When students come into the classroom, they view that you are learning about "Exponents". The student places the green cup on top if he/she feels he has the understanding of exponents, Yellow cup if he is cautious about his knowledge and red if they are totally lost with just the word exponents.  During "bell work time", as they are given a mini-kick-off assignment, the "light bulb" goes off, the cup may change to white or other colors.  Help the students to feel comfortable about using the cups.   If a student has a green cup, allow them to give help to those with red or yellow cups.  If a white cup goes up, let them share what turned the light-bulb on - perhaps their "switch" will turn on other switches.

Classroom ideas are only limited by your imagination.  Any new idea takes time to develop its use.  Once or twice failures does not constitute throwing the idea out the window.  How many times do you think the Wright Bros failed before the plane took flight? How many tries did Eli Whitney do before the cotton gin was successful?  I am sure that after a great trip to a far away place and the cool cotton shirt you have worn over the summer, you are glad they did not give up after a few tries.